Bacal's Briefs: Posting Articles On LinkedIn, Other Platforms Like Planting Flowers In A Stranger's Garden

When was the last time you spent several hundred dollars on flowers, and then planted them in a complete stranger's garden? No, not recently? Most likely never.

It doesn't make sense to do so, except as a kindness, because the flowers would be under the control of the stranger, who has no obligation, legal or otherwise, to tend them, keep them, and not trample them underfoot.

Yet, with the opening up of LinkedIn's long form posting, more and more people are posting articles there, presumably for the exposure, and for other business reasons. It's the same as planting flowers in a stranger's yard.

You'll have to decide whether using LinkedIn or other properties that you do not pay for is something worthwhile, but one thing we know now about various free social media platforms, including free webhosting.

• These companies run for their own self-interest (nothing wrong with that), and often tweak and alter what they do, and how they display things to suit their own purposes.
• They also remove features, often closing some down completely, and if a feature is something you rely on for exposure, you are out of luck.
• The RULES also change often. The perfect example is the SWAM, (site wide automatic moderating) that operates on LinkedIn and can completely choke off your ability to interact in discussion groups.

As a business strategy you need to look very closely at how much you depend on free services from companies that have no legal obligation to you.