LinkedIn and its users is a bit like Stockholm syndrome: we are held hostage by a platform whose limitations we can see, but for lack of a credible alternative, we force ourselves to convince ourselves that we are happy with it, even to appreciate it.
And what would be the point of wasting time complaining when we are condemned to put up with it?
But there would be another possibility: improving LinkedIn to erase its defects. Given that Microsoft has decided to let the tool languish for ages, you will tell me that there isn’t much to expect on that side, especially since, as we will see in the near future, they have absolutely no interest in improving things. But since I like lost causes, I have allowed myself to indulge in a few thoughts on the subject, which could also be ideas for a competitor who would not want to repeat their mistakes.
Review the user experience from top to bottom
Let’s start with what is most visible: the interface and the user experience. If I remember correctly, there have been no major developments on this front since 2017, apart from a little brush up in 2020. On a web scale, that’s like an eternity ago.
The interface is full of menus and submenus and some features are difficult to find. Why do I have to go back to the top of the feed to access the publishing tools or saved items? How many clicks does it take to access the statistics?
When I’m in the saved items, I want to read one and then go back to the list, I either have to go back or go through a tedious and time-consuming navigation.
Overall, the user experience is confusing and unpleasant.
Let’s move on to notifications. There are too many different types of things, often irrelevant and without the possibility of setting parameters. And why, when I receive a message, does it display a dot in the notifications when I already have one in my inbox! In short, it’s a poor signal-to-noise ratio.
But the news feed is no better. It’s too busy, full of ads (almost one in three posts) in an intrusive format and again of only relative relevance. It’s not right that I can’t see posts from people writing about my favorite subjects while I’m inundated with things that don’t interest me at all. And of course Linkedin favors native content and highlights it more than what points to an external source (and you can see that in the size of the thumbnail).
Like on BlueSky, I’d like to be able to see only the posts of the people I follow, and only theirs!
The job offers that are supposedly right for me? A joke.
The back office of tools for recruiters or marketers? I hope its designers rot in prison.
The indictment is long and I’m sure I’ll forget something, but the good news is that there’s nothing insurmountable: a lick of paint with some thought, better-thought-out paths and more relevant algorithms, in 2025 it’s not impossible.
Preserving the essence of the network
I’m going to go over this point more quickly as I’ve already touched on it recently (My new Linkedin hygiene).
In addition to and sometimes even before the user experience, the most common criticism I hear about Linkedin, and which is also my main source of irritation, is the decline in the quality of the network.
A decline in the quality of content but also of interactions. This ranges from form (the way things are done and said) to substance, with subjects that in my opinion have no place on a professional platform.
Some will tell you that LinkedIn is going Facebook-like, others that the platform is in the process of being ruined like X/Twitter before it ([FR]The Enshittification of Twitter and platforms in general) and I think it’s a bit of both.
Here we are in what I call behavioral but it can also be regulated. Just as Facebook has its “community standards” (I’ll let you be the judge of whether Facebook is a community or not), LinkedIn should define what professional content is, which shouldn’t be too complicated, and if they want, I can even help them.
Today, there is no way to report, hide or block this type of content other than for devious reasons.
It should be possible to report with one click that content is not of a professional nature, which could result in a temporary ban of the user. This would encourage many people to toe the line and make Linkedin what it was before, a quality professional space.
Come on, I propose several buttons:
- Non-professional subject
- Non-professional attitude
- Heavy self-promotion and other types of bullshit
Depending on the number of reports, the author loses reach, and when he has no more reports, he regains it. A bit like a professional credit score.
Much more relevant than adding games, isn’t it? Yes, because in case you haven’t noticed, there are now games on Linkedin…
I can already see the objections coming, but in fact we only have one question to ask ourselves. Is Linkedin and should it be a professional social network with the codes that go with it, or a generalist network? If we agree with the first option, we have the answer. If we think that the change in the nature of Linkedin is a good thing, then it is time to hope that a credible competitor will emerge.
Not long ago I had an argument with a friend who now spends his time pouring out his spleen on political matters in a peremptory tone on Linkedin. To which he replied, “Linkedin is no longer a professional network but an opinion media”. Well, I don’t agree unless they are professional opinions, and I refuse to see my feed looking like a trash can where people like him dump their rubbish. Too bad: I’ll “unfollow” until more radical solutions are found.
Bottom line
LinkedIn is now indispensable to many professionals, whether as part of their job or on an individual basis. But just because a tool is indispensable doesn’t mean it’s a good tool.
I’ve been using LinkedIn for over 20 years, but now I’d add that I do so for lack of anything better.
It’s as if I had to drive 100 km every day for work, but with a car that has a noisy and poorly tuned engine, an incomprehensible dashboard and a smell of excrement in the passenger compartment. But it’s the only car I have available…
However, improving things is not that complicated: a little work on the interface and the experience and a governance of the contents more appropriate to the essence of the platform would be a big step forward.
Dreaming is always possible…
Image: Linkedin by Natee Meepian via Shutterstock
