LinkedIn is reported to be testing puzzles for us. To keep us on the platform longer. To engage us more? To create competition among us to think harder?
I am not sure.
I asked this as my own best question of the week, in a post the other day:
A question to you: will this entice you to spend more time on LinkedIn? Tell us: yes or no.
The responses were uniformly “no.” The reasons varied, but still negative opinions.
No wonder. We are here for more serious reasons, to meet, network, educate, change opinions with new methodologies, any of a number of reasons, but not in my estimation, to solve puzzles.
Most LinkedIn profiles are puzzling enough.
Many professionals are puzzled about what they want to, think they should, try desperately, and do a mediocre job of saying.
Ouch-but it’s true.
Their single, fleeting chance to impress makes their profiles unclear, miscrafted, and thus short-changes the subject’s reason to be (“ikigai,” as in my previous 5 serialized posts, to which I come back to again and again.)
Or their post is too long, too short, lacks a hook, a graphic, or they fail to provide a reason to open it, and the reader yawns as they leave their page.
Ouches again.
Puzzling how to make yourself better branded, more marketable on LinkedIn?
Let me know how I can help you. There I said it flat out.
You need expert help. Small ouch because you know it.
Puzzles are fine, elsewhere, and one of my favorite relaxing pastimes.
But at the speed of contemporary business conversation, not within the context of increasing interpersonal professional interaction.