Lord, where do I start with this one!
My fellow ladies. I am disappointed and totally disgusted. Why? Because LinkedIn has become an online version of a New York City street.
When I joined LinkedIn, I did so because I wanted to network with other professionals and further my career. But instead, LinkedIn has become a place guys go to yell at me about my looks instead of my bag.
I will elaborate.
This is a LinkedIn message a friend of mine received last week. My friend is an attractive blonde, a UCSB graduate, and a tech recruiter in San Francisco. She had never met or heard of this guy before; this message was completely unexpected.
Subject: Nice smiles
What a beautiful smile you have here (in a beautiful profile) you look resplendent in such a way that it intrigues all who see your profile. In fact, I was browsing through the list of my connections when I found yours, I clicked and I couldn’t resist saying hello after seeing such a unique beauty.
I sincerely apologize for writing you such a personal message, as I understand this is prohibited by this professional networking site, but like I said, I couldn’t resist saying hi.
Please, do you mind keeping in touch? I would love to know more about you.
Hope to hear from you soon.
THE WARMEST THOUGHTS.
If this had been said in the workplace, it would be classified as sexual harassment.
While many of us will probably just laugh, why treat a professional networking site less professional than the workplace?
Women have worked hard and come this far to receive the same treatment at work.
Now, this is not to say that women don’t flirt with guys on LinkedIn too. And not all men are creepy LinkedIn nerds. This is just my personal experience. However, after talking to a few friends of mine, I KNOW this happens regularly with a lot of women.
Guys (and girls), if you find yourself wanting to flirt with someone, that’s fine. We all need love.
Just the next time you want to get nervous, follow these instructions:
Download Tinder
Download OKCupid
Download Coffee Meets Bagel
Troll as much as your heart can handle
Do you see how many alternatives there are? They are really dating sites. Unlike LinkedIn. Heck, OKCupid even has a filter so you can find someone within a specific income range. See, it’s much easier to keep online dating messages within an online dating site.
Unless, of course, LinkedIn has a filter for “sexy woman” and “at least an 8 out of 10.” Could it be a Premium feature?
And of course, if you want even more reliable advice, GET OFF THE COMPUTER! Hit a girl in person. As long as it’s friendly and fun, we love that shit!
one last thing
So, to prove my point, I did a little experiment of my own.
Just by posting a photo of myself as a model once a day for the last 5 days, I’ve received over 1600 new connection requests. ALL MEN! My profile views increased from 200 a day to over 1,000 a day. And of course the most disrespectful messages I have ever seen! It is more than deplorable. But hey, at least the creeps are consistent!
Please feel free to comment, good or bad.