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Like many people in business - I have a Linked-in account with thousands of my closest friends connected to me.  In my previous business - I was constantly being solicited and bothered  - so I learned to ignore Linked-In for the most part.

Today I used Linked-In for its true purpose - to reconnect with other like minded individuals.

What I discovered was a feed full of desperate attempts at attention.  Stupid info graphics or quotes by authors that the poster is hoping will get engagement from their following.

The people that matter to me are on Linked-In but only use it as a place to update their contact information.  Only one person has gotten back to me so far though I wish she hadn't.

This woman switched really quickly from kissing my ass  to ignoring me.   I asked her a question - she gave me a snarky dismissive response.  These days  i'm not lining her pockets - why should she be nice?  I ended the conversation with a little bit of information - her ears perked up, demeanor changed and all of a sudden she wanted my information.   I decided not to elaborate - maybe she'll think about it.

The rest of the people I contacted i'm waiting to hear back from.  I know some people wont get back to me for weeks - but these people are my real life network - they actually will get back to me (and they all might be dismissive).

So who are the thousands of people on my Linked-In?   There are hundreds of people if not thousands that ive done business with - maybe I only spoke to them once - but I certainly did business with them.  

Like all social media - the less followers you have the less serious you look.  The more followers you have the more your feed is full of desperate pleas.  If most people could only keep 10 people on their linked in - it would probably be the same 10 people whose phone number they have programmed in their phone.

The worst part of LinkedIn is their monetization strategy.   As an employer I have used their services to find me qualified applicants.  After 2 weeks of sorting through a multitude of unqualified applicants - I ended up hiring a recruitment agency.

The problem with Linked-In is that it lost its way.  You shouldn't have to pay for added functionality - even if it is B2B.  The whole purpose of it is the "7 degrees of separation" model is to find people through your contacts.  Your friend has friends who have friends and you can meet all these people by carefully navigating your way through contacts.   I've never connected with someone 3 degrees away from me - but it sounds more valuable than their paid services.

Linked-In is essentially a giant resume with a feed that gets spammed with the same articles people are pushing on other social networks that day.  For me it is a giant broken network that probably will be replaced by something better.

Could the block-chain make a concept like linked in better?  Would an ecosystem like Steem be a better place for employers and employees to connect?  Could the flow of spam be stopped or reduced because of the Steemit ability to flag spam quickly?  

What I do know is Linked-In feels like a rickety ship that probably will go the way of Myspace.   I'm also learning that sometimes we become out of touch with a contact for a reason - sometimes its because they suck.