OPINION: Look to LinkedIn to get your new pickup lines.

I start my morning [work] routine by logging into my computer and hitting up LinkedIn, not because I'm looking to network but mainly because I'm a control freak and I want to know who's looking at me. I got a new connection request this morning, with the following message:

The message reads, "I was Googling "marketing geniuses of 2024," and your name came up. I thought it would be great to connect so I can brag to my friends that you're in "my network." I'd love to see what our combined powers could produce, maybe GoDaddy Registry could rival these billion dollar tech unicorns. :)"

I have mixed feelings about this message. For starters, he definitely got my attention - so I have to give the guy credit for stroking my ego. I had the feeling that the underlying want of me to 'Accept' his connection and request was so that he could make a sale, but since I'm writing an entire blog article about this guy I could at least throw him a bone.

My point of the blog article, though, is that this LinkedIn message feels oddly like a pickup line from a dating profile site (I would know, I'd received plenty of bad ones in my day). The 'keys' of a corny pickup line include:

1. Immediate 'pitch' to get you to listen/read

   1. "I was Googling "Marketing Geniuses of 2024," and your name came up."

2. Weird, indirect form of flattery

   1. "I thought it'd be great to connect so I could brang to my friends."

3. A Call to Action

   1. <If you connect with me>, maybe our combined powers can create something great.

I decided to connect with the guy and go to his page. Sure enough, he's a salesman. Jokes on him because our budget has been slashed a million times and is airtight, but I appreciate the blog prompt.

Anyways, my point of this article is that people are falling out of touch as to what LinkedIn is supposed to be: a way to network with people online to support your careers. According to LinkedIn, "LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network on the internet. You can use LinkedIn to find the right job or internship, connect and strengthen professional relationships, and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career."

In a traditional networking setting, you're shaking hands, learning about other's careers, and - for the aspiring some-dayer - praying someone remembers your name so you can get a reference into a company when it's time to switch employers. I genuinely believe that LinkedIn was this sort of setting (but online) for it's early days, but has morphed into a new beast entirely, which is composed of:

• Influencers telling people how to perform based on current trends

• People posting about their career switches, with their connections clicking the auto-generated 'congrats' reactions

• Salespeople like the above sending me weird connection requests to support their ulterior motives.

From a professional standpoint, I have a lot of issues with points one and three (point two I'll ignore, because that's pretty sterotypical of a social media platform).

My critique for point 1:

• Sure, many people may be thinking that way - but since this is a 'professional' platform, the only people who can actually write or respond are individuals who are in a place of power, or in a place where you've stopped caring . . . because everyone is connected by their employers and colleagues.

• I've found that LinkedIn influencers are a lot of talk, but none can actually promote change - because that would mean disrupting the employment industry entirely.

• LinkedIn has become entirely saturated with this type of content, there's hardly any real 'helpful' career-content on the platform; it's only 'listen to your recruiter' -type content.

My critique for point 3:

• As an individual who's performed paid LinkedIn marketing and worked with sales teams to find leads on LinkedIn, the ROI is too high from a bandwidth and cost perspective (i.e., it's a waste of your time).

• Most feedback from individuals receiving these leads get annoyed by this form of 'cold-calling,' because the individual sending said message often hasn't performed enough research and is sending them irrelevant content.

• LinkedIn is not a platform for making sales calls.

The point of this article isn't to bash one person's creative sales pitch, but rather to discuss the point of LinkedIn in the first place. I hate being the person to say 'back in my day,' but I've found that LinkedIn is losing what made it unique in the first place, and is just becoming a run-of-the-mill social site for white collar workers.

Will LinkedIn ever go back to it's original purpose? It's hard to say, especially with how quickly social trends change. But one thing is for certain: research is key, and an ill-placed sales pitch is hiking up your operating costs.

For fun, I'm ending this article with the real top marketing geniuses of 2024, according to Google. And if you ever find yourself needing a pickup line for your personal life, head over the LinkedIn -- those salespeople have some good ones.

1. Ann Handley: a Wall Street Journal bestselling author focused on helping businesses worldwide escape marketing mediocrity to ignite tangible results.

2. Neil Patel: a well-known digital marketing influencer who has made a significant impact on the industry, most famously for his SEO and content marketing expertise. He is the co-founder of Crazy Egg and Hello Bar.

3. Gary Vaynerchuk: an American businessman, author, speaker, and internet personality. He is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software company Resy and Empathy Wines.

4. Kim Garst: arguably the most retweeted digital marketer in history. She’s a digital futurist and AI consultant who believes that you can embrace AI while remaining authentic. 

5. Pam Moore: After spending more than 15 years working at Fortune 10 brands and startups, she embarked on her own entrepreneurial journey and founded Marketing Nutz, a digital marketing training and consulting boutique agency. 

6. Larry Kim: PPC Hero, Search Engine Land, and the US Search Awards have all named him as Search Marketer of the Year. His entrepreneurial skills have also been recognized by the United States Senate and House of Representatives for growing the job market in Boston. 

7. Jay Baer: A seasoned digital marketing consultant, revered for his strategic insights and actionable advice.

8. Deepak Shukla: The founder of Pearl Lemon, a multi-award-winning digital marketing agency based in London, Shukla has carved a niche for himself as a pioneer in SEO, content marketing, and personal branding.

9. Rand Fishkin: Founder of SparkToro, Rand's work focuses on market research and leveraging audience intelligence for brand growth.

10. Shama Hyder: Founder and CEO of Zen Media, Shama is known as the "Zen Master of Marketing" by Entrepreneur Magazine and the "Millennial Master of the Universe" by FastCompany. Her approach uses technology and digital media to build customer loyalty and brand reputation.