LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site
Alison Maloni
Storyteller and Speaker | Owner of Alison May Communications | Anchor & Contributor on Newsmax TV | Bestselling Author
I've written about this before but I felt the need to reshare and elaborate a bit more as I have seen more and more men act as if LinkedIn is a dating site. This platform used to be my favorite professional site. I would network, read great articles and connect with amazing people. But over the last few years, it has changed for me and many other women I have spoken with. It appears that for some, the professional platform has turned into a dating site.
My inbox and even comments on my posts have gone from professional, intelligent conversations to slimly propositions and remarks from men. Men I’ve never met before or even had a conversation with have called me “Hun” and “Dear” countless times. I will receive messages talking about how they would like to do business with me and then follows up with an invitation for dinner and drinks. Gentlemen, first-time business meetings should not be conducted over dinner and drinks. I have received messages saying "hey sexy..."
Okay, first gross. Second, you are unprofessional. And third, your reputation is on the line.
I have to wonder how many of these men are married, engaged, or dating someone? Not only does it make you look slimy but it is not good for your professional reputation.
It could damage your business. According to a Forbes article, you could be courting a liability suit. In a lawsuit filed last June and reported by the Insurance Journal, mid-level financial services professional identified only as Jane Doe is suing a unit of SunTrust Banks after a recruiter who had been trying to interest her in a position then began to send her inappropriate sexual messages on LinkedIn, including a photo of his genitals.
And as a publicist, I can tell you that this is one of the worst things you can do for yourself and your brand. You must be careful with what they say, do and send on social media or texts. Messages, texts, photos, and videos do not disappear. Always think before you act.
One final piece of advice for the men looking for love in all the wrong places. If you want to find a woman to date I suggest you head over to Tinder, Bumble, or Match.Com. Leave LinkedIn for the professional networking site that it was created for. And if you do go to those sites, don't start off with cheesy lines or tell them that they are sexy. Class goes a long way.
Have you ever flirted with someone on LinkedIn or been the one on the receiving end? Please share!
Alison Maloni is a media expert, speaker, contributor, and Anchor on Newsmax and owner of Alison May Public Relations. Alison is also a keynote speaker on storytelling, reputation management, social media, and crisis communications. The mom of three is also a contributing writer for Thrive Global. You can find Alison on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Media Expert, Owner of Alison May Public Relations, Journalist, Keynote Speaker, Anchor & Contributor on Newsmax TV.
Published • 1y
Is LinkedIn the new dating site? If you are using it that way, you reputation could be at risk.
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5moGreat share Alison. Look forward to learning more from you.
Fortune 500 Coach/Trainer/Keynote speaker. KPMG Former Head Global Business Development. Motivational & inspirational/ tactical & practical. US & UK Media Commentator. British American Business Assoc BoD. Business Golf.
1yAlison, yet again, you are spot on. Regarding your sharing about potential law suits, that would be a good headline for a future post.
Realtor with Residential Properties -- licensed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with great referral connections in Florida and around the country.
3yRidiculous. It's sad anyone would have to put up with that here.
Vice President, Care at Home at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California & Hawaii
3yLinkedin has, in many ways, become a dating site, a Facebook site, a Twitter site, a workout site and now a spam site. It was special as the only place in social media, one could truly network, develop/mentor and support like minded professionals. I am still a huge fan of the site, but I hope it gets back to its core: professional networking and continuous education!
Powering Your Presence With LinkedIn® | Corporate Thought Leadership Coach to and Industry Ambassador of Technology, Innovation & Sustainable Composites Solutions
3yHi Alison Maloni most flirters in the inbox are AI coded chatbots. They contact 1,000 women and one will fall victim and pay, whatever these scammers need. The majority are simply scammers. Reports say the flirt scammers made 300 million US Dollars on Linkedin last year with increasing success. The opposite happens to me all the time, typically these are nurses from a hospital. They send me their nice nude pictures and then ask urgently for 10,000 US Dollars, as their mum needs an urgent operation. I firmly believe neither the nurse, nor the operation is real. In fact these are probably some male nerds, who enjoy this sort of scam.