LINKEDIn vs. FACEBOOK

I just joined LinkedIn.

Big news for Moi the Luddite ... who will keep desperately--and lovingly--clinging to Blogger since she's used to Blogger!  But I decided to join LinkedIn because I'm mindful of mi hijo graduating from high school and moving on to college in two years.  At that point, I can widen my horizons beyond his high school even as I sincerely LOVE being a  socccer mom ... maybe even get a real job (hah).  Hence, LinkedIn!

But this gives me a reason, too, to meditate on LinkedIn vs. Facebook.  I much prefer the former.  I consider the latter too often to be the battleground of knuckleheads.  I appreciate the professionalism of LinkedIn, even as that comes with the territory of being profession-based.

And so I am amused when I see Peeps behave on LinkedIn without understanding it's not Facebook.  For example, several of my LinkedIn connections are poets.  Now, poets often have dayjobs that have nothing to do with poetry and those poets may have connections that relate to their dayjobs.  Say, a poet who, uh, trains hamsters for a living.  Then I start getting Linked-In requests-to-be-connected from professionals in the hamster-training industry.  Peeps: Heart those hamsters but I got nothing to do with your hamster-training profession.  Entonces, why do you want to link to me?

I had a theory -- checked it out, and theory is true.  My LinkedIn profile is rarely read.  These Peeps just want to be connected.  (Obviously, they grew up on Facebook....forgive the snark).  What this shows is the deep capacity for the human being to be pathetic, as facilitated by social media.  Can we please strive for balance?

Meanwhile, if anyone has a job for Moi, well ...