Unfortunately there was a tragic accident last week and my entire family was killed. Want to know what this horrific experience taught me about personal branding?
Sorry. I’m joking. You knew that, right? OK maybe you didn’t. And that’s probably because this is the kind of post that you might have come across on your LinkedIn feeds recently.
LinkedIn has long been my most favourite social media platform. A place to make business connections, share best practice, recruit, grow your network, win work. But I’m sad to say that of late it’s all turned a bit weird….
This blog came about after my colleague Lisa shared THE most cringeworthy missive from the platform in our team Skype group this morning.
I won’t name any names, but it came from a performance and mindset coach from Essex who had shared his new-found love of singing with his connections. Along with far too much text about what his spiritual journey to song had taught him was a video of him in the studio belting out his own ditty accompanied by a lot of dodgy dad dancing and some suggestive facial expressions.
And this isn’t an isolated case of what I am dubbing “LinkedIn cringe”.
One of the most notorious viral posts came in 2022, when a marketing company CEO named Braden Wallake decided it was a good idea to share a selfie showing him crying after making two members of staff redundant. “This will be the most vulnerable thing I’ll ever share,” he wrote, before going on to make their layoffs all about him.
The first response to his post was a single word. “Muppet.”
Every time I log into LinkedIn these days, I feel like I’ve accidentally stumbled into a support group for people who weren’t hugged enough as children.
What used to be a professional space for networking, industry insights, and, dare I say it, actual career progression is now an emotional rollercoaster where people compete for engagement by sharing deeply personal, often inappropriate stories, somehow linking them back to sales coaching, crypto investments, or “becoming the best version of yourself.”
The fake humblebrag – “I can’t believe this happened to me” and then proceeds to tell you about how they just landed the biggest deal of their career, met Richard Branson, or saved an orphanage from burning down.
The tragic but inspiring tale – Usually starts with some horrific event (“I was fired, broke, and living in my car with only a tin of baked beans and a WiFi connection”) and ends with them selling a six-figure coaching programme.
The “life lesson” from a completely mundane event – “Yesterday, I dropped my toast, butter-side down. And in that moment, I realised… life is all about perspective. If you choose to see obstacles as opportunities, even the worst situations can be flipped. Just like that toast. #Mindset”
The random personal confession no one asked for – “I was bullied in school. That’s why I now run a digital marketing agency.”
The unnecessary video content – A five-minute clip of someone nodding along to their own speech while standing in front of a flip chart that says, ‘Dream Big’.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a good human-interest story, and authenticity in business is important. Sometimes a genuine backstory is insightful and interesting enough to warrant inclusion. I’m thinking overcoming career setbacks with real lessons, industry insights from personal experiences, a personal journey that led to innovation, resilience in the face of genuine hardship.
But surely, there’s a line?
And don’t forget there’s other social platforms for some of this gumpf.
Instagram is where you can push impossible beauty standards and pretend your life is all kittens and roses (when really you have a cat allergy and hayfever). Facebook is where your aunt shares conspiracy theories, your uncle argues with strangers about politics, and your old school friend tries to sell you essential oils.
X compresses every complex thought into 280 characters of chaos, and let’s be honest—we’re all just doomscrolling out of spite at this point. Thanks, Elon. And then there is TikTok, where teenagers and questionable ‘gurus’ try to teach you about stock trading in 15 seconds.
LinkedIn is supposed to be, you know… a professional network? A place for genuine insights, meaningful conversations, and actual business?
So, I beg you, next time you log on, let’s all take a moment to reflect before we post. Ask yourself: Is this adding value? Or am I just trauma-dumping for likes? Because if it’s the latter, maybe—just maybe—it belongs somewhere else instead.
But hey, if you’ve got a heart-wrenching tale about how your dog’s gluten intolerance changed your approach to leadership, by all means, go ahead. Just don’t be surprised if we’re all watching in horror, popcorn in hand, wondering what on earth LinkedIn has become.
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