Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my Close Up
If you even remotely know who Cecil DeMille is, you’re probably in my camp of disgust with our latest form of fame.
Oh to be an “Influencer.” The queen of unboxing, the youtuber, the social media “famous” star we’ve been waiting for. You thought Jackass was bad…this is a whole new level of ick.
6-year-olds that need makeup, every middle schooler with a Stanley, Lululemon anything and Nike dunks, or high schoolers eating Tide pods, this seems like backwards math. Influenced to be a moron wasn’t what we had in mind.
I was taught if I was under the influence, I was either drunk of high. Neither of which was a profoundly positive reflection of my household’s successful parenting. But here we are, being influenced to do nothing constructive by someone dumping millions of orbees into a house.
Unravelling the influence of these wackadoodles requires a lot of full contact parenting. The constant dialog, monitoring, activities, and technical oversight is worth it to communicate that what they see isn’t a daily operating guide to life. A major obstacle, these “Influencers” are also making millions.
But when did LinkedIn join the crazy parade? A little tip to keep in mind as you sift through the latest algorithm jacking up your feed, the loudest voice isn’t usually the expert. The X/InstaFace/LinkedIn “Influencer” could be our digital Johnny Knoxville. By the same logic, marginalized voices aren’t always amateurs. Time to be a little more judicious with those likes.
When I joined LinkedIn, it was for business networking. As social media evolved, so did the platform – more content, more connections, more available opportunities, and consequently more garbage.
My needs over time also evolved. I want to be influenced to stretch and grow, not the top 5 ways to quietly quit (tough to do as a leader…)
I want to be challenged to think differently and hear various perspectives.
I want to explore creative options for solving complex problems.
I want to be exposed to new ways of thinking and topics that broaden my knowledge.
I want to see and hear authentic voices.
I want to be inspired.
Perhaps I misunderstood the assignment. Isn’t that what LinkedIn is for? This was the world’s professional autobahn of the future! A way to supercharge the standard local awkward networking happy hour event of the past to a global audience, any time, any day, by anyone. I can hear Mark Cuban’s thoughts and expert guidance and connect with students looking for my guidance. An amazing full spin around the learning superhighway. I just didn’t expect so many people to think they were Master Class worthy. The amount of road debris I had to travel through to read the expert guidance had me seeking other platforms to connect.
For the moment, I’ll keep driving down this LinkedIn road with the hopes of connecting with people that restore my faith. I’ll also commit to doing my best to inspire because the alternative makes me just another digital Johnny Knoxville creating Noise.
So, if you’re looking for an “Influencer” I’m not the droid you’re looking for.