To gain some insight into the wild world of LinkedIn, we reached out to the creator of The State of LinkedIn on Twitter. They told us that this successful account originally started as a spin off to Didn’t Happen of the Year Awards, which we’ve also covered on Bored Panda before. “We got so many LinkedIn based submissions, then over the years it’s gained traction from there!” It certainly has. Since this account was launched in March 2017, it has amassed over 240k followers, and with the unlimited content LinkedIn has to provide, it’s likely to only keep growing.

But oddly enough, the person behind The State of LinkedIn told us that they don’t really use the site. “I have a profile, but I would say I open the app maybe once or twice a month. Considering the stuff that gets posted, it's probably for the best that I don't use it,” they added with a smile.

Considering the fact that LinkedIn is a treasure trove of cringey content, we were curious if the page’s creator has any favorite posts that they’ve ever shared from the “professional” site. “I find the posts that involve stuff their kids have said to be the best,” they shared. “The fact that people believe that a young child is interested in world politics or what goes on on Wall Street amazes me.”

And when it comes to why people post such outlandish things online, they hypothesize that it’s all a tactic to gain a larger following. “I think people started making their posts extravagant for the likes and comments, essentially more comments and likes pushes it to the algorithm,” they explained. “That way, their profile gets pushed out to a wider audience.”

The creator of The State of LinkedIn also has a message to everyone sharing ridiculous posts on LinkedIn: “Please carry on! It’s making a lot of people who like the page happy!” they shared with a smile. If you want to check out even more of these posts after finishing this article, be sure to give The State of LinkedIn a follow right here. And if you’d like to find even more outlandish tales people post online, you can see their other account, Didn’t Happen of the Year Awards right here!

To learn more about LinkedIn itself, we reached out to an expert, Salina Yeung. Salina used to work for LinkedIn, but she now teaches professionals how to utilize the site to its full potential through her company, TheInAcademy. First, we wanted to know how Salina feels about LinkedIn. “I'm absolutely obsessed with LinkedIn, but I could be biased because I used to work for the platform,” she told Bored Panda. “I enjoyed using it because I got 90% of our business from LinkedIn, all organically. My clients have the same results.” 

Salina also believes that we could all be utilizing the professional networking site. “LinkedIn is truly for everybody,” she told Bored Panda. “Less than 5% of LinkedIn members are sharing content on a weekly basis (yup, 95% are lurkers), which means an opportunity for you to dominate the news feed with your marketing message to reach business decision makers.” This also tells us that we can’t judge the whole site on the posts of a small percentage of people. Perhaps the state of LinkedIn isn’t so bad after all!

Salina also noted that she rarely ever sees cringey or untrue posts on LinkedIn, perhaps because she’s an expert on the platform and has curated her feed to show her what she’s actually interested in, but she understands that they can appear. Apparently, LinkedIn is the most trusted social network though, according to Business Insider. But if you’re unsure of where to even start when it comes to using LinkedIn, today is your lucky day. Salina was willing to share a few of her dos and don’ts for LinkedIn with us, so these may help you view the page as a useful tool rather than a necessary evil full of outlandish posts.  

If you want to get the most out of using LinkedIn, first, Salina notes that it’s important to optimize your profile from A-Z. You should also be focusing on your ideal customers, or your intended target audience. What do they want to see? And how can you wow them? You should also be strategic with your social interactions. Seek out people who can be valuable resources for you. “Understand that a number of likes does not determine your success,” Salina added. And engage with your fellow entrepreneurs within your niche.  

When it comes to Salina’s “don’ts” for using LinkedIn, she warns users not to use a boring headline with nothing but a simple job title. “Use ‘third person’ point of view to write your summary,” she added. It’s also not ideal to have hasty work experiences without detailed job descriptions and multimedia. Your profile should also have skills endorsements, recommendations and a customized URL. “Think of your LinkedIn profile as your digital handshake, where your potential employer, client or business partner is going to get a read of who you are,” Salina says.

If you’re sick of trying to navigate LinkedIn all by yourself, you can join Salina’s LinkedIn Signature Programs on TheInAcademy’s website right here!

Regardless of what you do for a living, LinkedIn can be an invaluable resource. But if you go on the site to scroll through posts by LinkedIn-fluencers and various professionals trying to flaunt their wealth, you might leave with a bad taste in your mouth. Keep upvoting the photos you find particularly cringey, and feel free to let us know your thoughts on LinkedIn in the comments below. Are you an avid user of the site, or do you avoid it at all costs? Then if you’d like to check out Bored Panda’s last article on The State of LinkedIn, you can find that right here!