Lewis Campbell calls for LinkedIn rival
- New Zealand software consultant Lewis Campbell used an X thread to argue that LinkedIn has become too slow, too gamed, and too clogged with low-value posts to serve professionals well. - Campbell’s complaint landed in an existing debate over AI-written posting on LinkedIn, where one 2024 analysis found 54% of recent long-form English posts showed signs of AI assistance. - LinkedIn says it has more than 1 billion members and uses defenses against low-quality duplicate posts, but criticism of feed quality has grown as AI tools spread. (fastcompany.com)
Lewis Campbell, a New Zealand software consultant, used an X thread to argue that LinkedIn needs a serious rival because the platform no longer feels built for useful professional connection. (lewiscampbell.tech) (x.com) The post framed LinkedIn as slow, crowded with formulaic content, and weak at helping people build the kind of work relationships that matter outside recruiting and self-promotion. (x.com) That complaint landed on familiar ground. Fast Company reported in December 2024 that a study by Originality AI found 54% of long-form English-language LinkedIn posts in October 2024 showed signs of AI assistance. (fastcompany.com) The same analysis said AI use on those posts jumped 189% from January to February 2023, right after ChatGPT spread into mainstream office work. LinkedIn told the publication it does not internally track how often AI is used in posts. (fastcompany.com) LinkedIn also helped normalize that shift. In March 2023, the company rolled out AI-powered writing help for Premium users’ profiles and for recruiters writing job descriptions, using OpenAI models inside the product. (techcrunch.com) LinkedIn’s public line is that it tries to suppress obvious junk, not ban AI outright. Adam Walkiewicz, LinkedIn’s head of feed relevance, said the company has defenses to identify low-quality and near-duplicate content so it is not broadly promoted. (fastcompany.com) The scale of the platform is part of the tension. LinkedIn says it has more than 1 billion members across more than 200 countries and territories, which makes any feed-quality problem hard to contain once posting templates and AI tools spread. (expandedramblings.com) Campbell’s thread did not announce a new startup or product. It worked more as a demand signal: a public case that professionals may want a network centered on credibility, conversation, and discovery instead of polished personal-brand content. (x.com) For now, LinkedIn still dominates online professional identity, hiring, and business networking. Campbell’s complaint was that dominance has not solved the simpler problem of making people want to spend time there. (expandedramblings.com) (x.com)
