“Mighty stuff Martin. Can you give me a call on ***”
Thus read a direct message I received on LinkedIn last week. From a 1st degree contact. It looked important, maybe even a bit urgent. I called as soon as I could.
“Hello, is that Jim (not real name)?” I asked.
“Yes” he replied.
“This is Martin Horan. Is this a good time to talk?” I said.
“What’s it in connection with?”, Jim asked.
Somewhat surprised I said; “Jim, you sent me a direct message on Linked In asking me to call you”.
“Oh, I have a guy who handles my Social Media – he must have sent that”, says Jim.
He started then to explain about his business or his network, but to be honest I wasn’t interested. I suggested that he should look at my profile and if there was something of particular interest or some specific area where I might be of help he could contact me himself.
Is it just me?
Am I over sensitive or old fashioned?
Is it appropriate for people on LI to use the system in this way?
These are all rhetorical questions. My opinion is the approach is manipulative. My advice to those seeking to connect, network, build new or improve established relationships is don’t do it.
What do you think?