I joined LinkedIn a few years ago because these social networking sites were billed as the next big thing. I knew a few contacts on it but I already knew these people and already had their details in Outlook.
Recently I noticed a few former colleagues popping up on it and it’s nice to keep up with their news but this isn’t really a business benefit.
So far, so harmless. Not useful but not a problem either. Then someone approached me who appeared to be a well-connected software engineer from a major IT firm. Once I’d accepted him as a contact, it became apparent that he was a multi-level marketing promoter.
I have a real bee in my bonnet about multi-level marketing. I has hurt people I know and I wouldn’t want to be associated with someone who promoted it. Nor would I want my trusted contacts to think I endorsed it.
This is where the problem starts. You can’t break a connection once it has been made. There is no button for ‘delete contact.’ It has to be done through technical support. However, my two emails have gone unanswered and the unwanted contact is still in my list.
As I understand it, as suggested by Wikipedia and Russell Beattie’s experiences, the only way you can shut down your LinkedIn account is by writing to their technical support in the same way. So, I can’t break the connection and I can’t quit.
I think this is a major problem. It’s not enough that the technology works. LinkedIn trades on trust. Its social networks are built entirely on recommendation and endorsement. I entrust my contacts and reputation to LinkedIn and expect that they will take care of them. But if something goes wrong and the company provides no effective means of putting it right, where’s the trust?
Update 23rd June 2006: The unwanted contact has now been disconnected and I have a named contact in their support department for future reference. I think this problem would have been avoided by a confirmation email when I sent in my message to say that it had been received, much like an Amazon order confirmation email. I probably over-reacted but feel strongly about the issues of privacy and trust involved.
Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, social networking, multi-level marketing, contacts
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I imagine most social networking sites will be overrun by Multi Level Marketers, looking to expand their prospect lists. MLM (AKA Network Marketing) and social networks are a perfect combination and provide an unlimited resource to be exploited. I do agree with you however, there should be a feature to break the connection in such cases.
Paul Reilly
I agree. There’s an obvious parallel between MLM and social networking sites. Although I am against it myself for personal reasons, my post wasn’t specifically about MLM, more about how LinkedIn’s software and customer service is failing. They hold our data and our reputation and ask us to trust them but don’t actually live up to that trust.
When you contact contact customer service, the option to disconnect is the first option on the list:
http://www.linkedin.com/feedback?displayContactCustomerServiceFeedback=
This is also the form via which you close your account and remove your personal information completely. You get to this form directly from the main customer service area, which is linked from virtually every page on LinkedIn via the navigation footer.
-Konstantin
LinkedIn Co-Founder
http://www.linkedin.com/in/konstantin
I was very pleased to get a reply from Konstantin. He responded to my blog post (I got a longer message by email) very quickly.
The curious thing is that I did use the online form he mentioned to request that a contact be removed from my list. In fact I’ve done it three times – the first time at least a week ago and most recently this morning before I got his message.
At the very least, when someone submits a technical support ticket they should get some kind of email response. If I had had an email that said ‘you’re not a subscriber so it’ll take three days to deal with this request – but we’re on it’ I wouldn’t have written this post.
However, I’ll give it another few days to see if the contact is eventually removed. I’d rather not quit LinkedIn unless I have to.
Perhaps this is new. There’s a link on the connections page:
http://www.linkedin.com/connections
far right, bottom:
Remove Connections
allows you to instantly remove connections.
-b
I’m currently finding out that LinkedIn’s customer service is appalling. They’ve overcharged me for an extra subscription I didn’t ask for, and haven’t acknowledged receiving any e-mails from me despite me sending them SIX – three using the online contact form and three to cs@linkedin.com. Judging by what a Google search turns up, LinkedIn ignoring e-mails is nothing unusual either, even though they guarantee premium members (which I was and still am) next-day customer service turnaround.
I’ve taken my complaint to the authorities in the UK who are going to try and do something about it (if I’m covered under UK law) and if not they’ll put me in touch with the authorities in the US… I fully intend to take it as far as necessary to get my money back. It’s not even like it’s very much, $50 or so, but it’s the principle!!
I don’t suppose you’re able to give me the address of that individual contact?