I’ve never had a Facebook account or any other social media. I know they keep shadow profiles, but I’ve never given permission. I never had any interest and frankly still don’t.
The problem I’m having is that I don’t exist online when people try to look me up. When someone tries to check me out, there’s nothing there and apparently that’s considered abnormal these days. I think it’s starting to affect my life negatively for various reasons I’d rather not get into.
I’d just like some advice about where to start if you wanted to dip your toes in and check it out. LinkedIn, maybe?
You’re on social media right now, but personally, I don’t care if there’s nothing when people look me up: Seems like a bonus, I barely get spam calls anymore.
Don’t.
Thats the only advice you need.
If you do create a social media profile, just remember two things: you control what you share, and anything you share is out there forever.
If I don’t have anything nice to say I don’t say anything at all.
Honestly, I’d stick with the Fediverse. At least on here you have some rights and no one (probably) will sell your information to advertisers. LinkedIn is an okay platform if you’re looking to grow your career through social media.
Linkedin is the only social media I would reccomend to put yourself out (as in, put your successful projects in) as it’s used more as a networking tool to land yourself in better jobs.
Fuck other social media. Anonymity is best.
LinkedIn is getting shittier all the time too. I check it out twice a year or so and every time I look at my feed it reminds me a bit more of Facebook. It’s the only social media I haven’t deactivated and is likely to stay that way for a while longer at least but it definitely feels like it’s getting further and further from that professional vibe it once carried, and not in a good way.
They recently switched some feed algorithms and it became completely useless. At least in my case if I use their “adjusted” feed, or whatever it is called, I sometimes see the same posts up on top for several days! I anyway prefer the chronological feed which you can luckily still set as standard, but there I get so many results, I do tend to miss those “high impact” posts of some of my connections.
So, neither is great and I have no idea how they think its usable in any way. Not using their app by the way, so maybe thats the issue, but I refuse to put that on my phone.
It’s like the place where your bosses put lame boomer-styled memes and motivational stuff.
LinkedIn has become a Tinder like hookup platform. Lol
I second LinkedIn.
You dont really have to be all that active there either. Just login every now and then to add / accept new connections and to update your profile.
LinkedIn for me is basically public CV that recruiters can view. Depending on your profession you can also link your github, stackoverflow, portfolio, blog or something similar there to direct people to channels you prefer instead of social media.
Don’t join LinkedIn unless you need to look for a corporate job. Be a trailblazer and join Mastodon or something if you need an online presence… Frankly I don’t have a single social media account that I appreciate having. It’s occasionally useful to find people on Facebook, but there’s nothing really it gives me that getting someone’s phone number doesn’t.
I don’t think anyone can give you good advice without knowing the reasons you’d rather not get in to.
I can think of various scenarios where some sort of minimal internet presence under your real name would be useful for social or employment reasons, but exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish makes a big difference in terms of what tools (including corporate platforms, federated microblogging like Mastodon, a blog, or a static website) will get you the results you want.
What’s popular where you live or in your professional field matters too. For some people, not using Facebook or Linkedin specifically is unusual, but we don’t have enough information to know if that’s true for you.
Unless you are expected to engage with others on social media, you can circumvent them by creating a blog under your name. Tailor your essays to the crowd you want to appeal to - family, friends, potential employers - and publish a few articles every year.
That’s essentially what I’ve been doing. I used to be on Facebook (left a while ago), and I’m still on LinkedIn (due to its toxic positivity, I’m not engaging there, just keeping my CV up to date). But if you googled my name, the first few pages of results would be my blog articles, my Flickr profile and a few other things not related to social media. This also gives me far more control over what I want people to know about me, and how that information is presented.
what kind of roles are you applying for and at what level (entry, factotum, assistant, specialist, manager, director…?)
that will help what kind of presence you can have
LinkedIn, and Instagram. You don’t need anything else.
The problem I’m having is that I don’t exist online when people try to look me up.
Is this referring to job applications or interpersonal relationships or both?
I think that if you don’t want to have social media, you shouldn’t make it. If someone is giving you shit about it, then tell them to fuck off. You do you, Booboo.
If you insist on it, LinkedIn is barely social media since there’s limited interaction. It’s more of an unstated competition on who has the best resume/CV. Facebook is a bunch of people sharing updates and opinions no one cares for. Instagram is people sharing pictures no one would have asked to see.
lol. I’m on some bullshit today. Anyway, if you’re going to make a profile, set a limit to how much time you are going to spend on it. That stuff is designed to keep you hooked, so it might suck you in. Keep yourself to your own boundaries.
Which branch?
Get LinkedIn. I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t have any other social media either and I’ve gotten weird looks. Especially when it came from dating in the past with people trying to make sure you’re you, but having LinkedIn helped significantly. Also shows the maturity of having a social media account that can possibly help you in the long-run.
