It’s Spring. The sun is shining. It’s getting warmer. Birds are chirping. Time for digital Spring cleaning. After amassing more than ten thousand unread emails in my personal email box (yes, I probably need a better SPAM filter), there was only one sensible solution: delete all unread emails that were more than a few weeks old. If it was that important, somebody would have sent me a reminder. Drastic, perhaps, but certainly effective.
What’s next? Twitter. To be sure, Elon had nothing to do with it. I had been a member since 2009. Spending more than a few minutes on this platform made my head spin, so this was an easy decision. Plus, it seems that hardly anything good can come about from such a highly combustible platform. De-activate (and don’t look back). Sure, I could have just removed the Twitter app from my phone, but that did not go to the root of the issue. I am quite sure my Twitter followers, especially the ones who are bots, will not mind.
Next? LinkedIn. This was a closer call. At first, I removed the LinkedIn app from my phone, to reduce usage. Out of sight, out of mind. Almost. Hibernation was an option, but realistically what would change in the next month, etc.? I had been a member since 2004 and had connected with thousands of folks, some friends, others acquaintances, a few without any pre-existing relationships, in the spirit of professional networking. Unsurprisingly, many of the connections are now stale. Some seemed like a good idea initially but with hindsight were probably anything but. Purging was an option, but would have consumed too much time (and, possibly, would have required a few explanations). Yes, I am beyond thrilled about your new job, promotion, collaboration, webinar, etc. If you’re a good friend, then yes, I am truly happy for you; if not, congratulations and let’s move on. If I am posting, perhaps I am not working, although I am generally careful not to post during official work hours. If there is an upside to this platform, I am not seeing it.
In recent years, LinkedIn became a bit of a hotbed for invitations from unknown and varied service providers, including resume writers, conference organizers, etc. Recruiter communications usually focused on junior roles. I “optimized” my profile many times over the years, to what end I am still not sure. In short, the return on investment was close to zero (and negative when you take into consideration the time lost on the platform). Time to move on.
Is closing your LinkedIn account a good idea professionally? Maybe not. Or, as I surmise, it will probably make no difference. If someone needs a URL, I can give that person the address to this site. It is far more entertaining and informative, IMHO, than my former LinkedIn profile. More broadly, if you’re a friend, you know where to find me, whether or not I’m on a platform. Given the reach of the Internet, if you really wanted to get a hold of me (or anyone), for a small price (or perhaps even for free), you could probably figure it out. Again, all of this is not to say that these platforms have no value to some; it’s just that to me, at least right now, I do not see it. When and if I reboot my LinkedIn account, and it’s quite possible that it will never happen, it will be a shadow of my former account. Lesson learned.
What’s next? Meta (Facebook/Instagram)? Probably not, at least for now. I still need a venue to post my vanity photos and dog pics. This site? Probably not, as well. I like to write, and this affords me an opportunity to do that, on my time and on my terms. Still, my digital footprint makes me vaguely uneasy, and more digital cleaning, whether during Spring, Summer, Fall, etc., might be in order.
Comments welcomed.
The Peninsula Hiking Club 