Chasing LinkedIn's algorithm, creating media for Muslim kids, and patriotism

Highlights from the week that was — in my LinkedIn feed

The statue of liberty surrounded by fog

Hiya,

Welcome to this weekend’s digest, where I round up the ideas and topics that I discussed on LinkedIn over the past week.

Let’s start by talking about LinkedIn its very self.

“What should I post on LinkedIn?”

There was an article from Entrepreneur magazine making the rounds this week about recent changes to the LinkedIn algorithm. Apparently, now the key to success is to write posts offering knowledge and advice tied to your core “areas of authority.”

Which sounds lovely: Elevate substance, downplay empty marketing nonsense.

But I don’t buy it.

Because I've seen plenty of people share knowledge and advice from their "area of authority” in recent months, only to be met with little engagement. And I've seen people post emoji-filled treatises that say very little, and get tons of engagement.

I don't buy into obsessing over every twist and turn the algorithm takes, on LinkedIn or on any social platform. It's exhausting, it’s futile, and it perpetuates the idea that social media is about itself, rather than being about US — what we want to say, what's authentic and important for us to share about our work and our worldview and lived experiences.

Please, don't be motivated by what will "get engagement." You'll be like a hamster on a treadmill, chasing nothing. Instead, get quiet, figure out what's important to you, and share it with us. You may only get a few "likes" but those likes will be from people for whom your content is deeply meaningful.

Creating room for “yes”

I was so inspired this week by a post from former client Sadaf Sajwani of Games and Learning, who accepted a challenge I’d posted on LinkedIn inviting her and a few others to dare to write about their accomplishments.

(As a quick bit of background, a study I helped lead a few years back showed that most women would rather downplay their accomplishments than talk about them; read more about these research findings here.) Sadaf accepted my challenge and wrote about the time that because of her, Sesame Street wrote its first social media post about the Muslim holiday of Eid:

a tweet from Sesame Street wishing kids Eid Mubarak!

Sadaf’s article is a beautiful, short story about the importance of acknowledging and representing diversity in kids’ media, one that I hope you’ll read and share.

What I found myself thinking about afterward is how important it is to continue to ask for what we want in this world — to keep the possibility of "yes" alive, when it's so much easier, and so very understandable, to expect a "no."

Thank you, Sadaf, for being such a champion for media and storytelling that inspires all kids to believe in the possibility of "yes."

Speaking of representation in media, a topic that I could talk about all day — I appreciated The Female Lead sharing this tweet on LinkedIn this week:

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Affirmative action

In writing this, I realized that there’s a link between what Sadaf’s story drove home for me and the historic Supreme Court ruling this week to overturn affirmative action. Because when you take the language at face value, “affirmative action” means taking action in an affirmative direction — in the direction of “yes.” The highest court in the land has chosen “no,” and it is devastating. I was on Zoom with a client when the decision came down, a woman of color who is currently halfway around the world from me and whose career is devoted to social justice. She had been posting about the imminent decision on social media in the preceding days, and her posts were not getting much engagement.

Apparently, not the right kind of knowledge to warrant algorithmic attention….

Meanwhile, journalist and 1619 Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones observed the following:

17 You RetweetedIda Bae Wells @nhannahjonesThe same court that abolished affirmative action yesterday because it pretends to believe affirmative action allows unconstitutional discrimination based on race is perfectly fine with discrimination based on sexuality.

I appreciated (and shared on LinkedIn) Ford Foundation president Darren Walker’s NYT op-ed on the topic, in which he said,

In this new era of deconstruction, we must summon renewed fortitude, resilience and vigilance, with reverence for those who came before us and resolve for those who follow. This will require patriotic defiance, with respect for the rule of law but with fidelity to the ideals that precede it.

As we head into a holiday that centers the patriotism, I invite us to use our platforms, as Walker has, to share what patriotism means to us. Have you read articulations of what the 4th means in the context of our recent history that you find especially powerful? Drop a link in the comments.

You are a mighty force. Don’t let an algorithm, homogenous media, or your own government tell you otherwise.

Amanda