LinkedIn shares something with Facebook, in that it is a giant clusterfuck of additional bullshit on top of a few key features, and a critical mass of participants, that fulfill the promise of social networking.
100% owe my career to LinkedIn, despite having never posted or commented or liked or joined a damn thing.
The access to people and information is, alas, worth the cringe.
Interestingly, I started following a few tech people on LI who create interesting content (no cringe) and use it similarly as Twitter, but without the 280 char limit. As a result, my LI feed is now probably more interesting than FB feed. (To be clear: It doesn't say much good about LI itself; rather the bar going really low due to FB becoming a deserted place and ads machine / self-promotion factory.)
100% owe my career to LinkedIn, despite having never posted or commented or liked or joined a damn thing.
The access to people and information is, alas, worth the cringe.