I haven’t been on LinkedIn much ever since it turned into “Facebook for Work” quite a few years ago. I maintain a presence because that’s what I’m expected to do, and I keep my work history up to date, but that’s about it. Here’s an email I got from them the other day.
The “Share your thoughts” button brought me to the beginning of a post that already embedded the article. Basically, LinkedIn wanted me, a professional automotive journalist, to write about rising used car prices for free.
“Oh, it’s exposure,” encouraging readers will tell me. While I did write for cheap or sometimes free at the beginning of my career, I was at the beginning of my career. Looking back at the cringe of some of my early articles, they certainly got what they paid for. That was a long time ago. Writing about cars, motorcycles, and transportation in general is now my full-time career, how I make a living, and how I pay my bills. I’ve been getting paid to do this for eight years, and the audacity of LinkedIn to think I’m just going to give it away is astounding.
Needless to say, they got nothing from me. If they really want my thoughts on used car pricing, or anything else, for that matter, they can pay me just like everyone else. I would say I’m not going to use LinkedIn anymore, but the truth is that I really can’t use it any less than I already do now.
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