In the Midst of Coolness

LinkedIn might be getting hammered for being hacked by, um, a hacker, but it is an excellent place to stay tuned in to the professional track of, um, professionals.

I discovered that there are a flood of jokes circulating about LinkedIn, like:

• Warning: LinkedIn was hacked. Be on the lookout for spam emails that are slightly different than the spam emails LinkedIn usually sends.
• Hey, LinkedIn hackers, can you remove my email address entirely from their database while you’re in there?
• If someone hacks my LinkedIn acct, maybe they’ll complete that annoying profile stuff the site’s always complaining I haven’t done.

So this morning, I gave some thought to the practicality of having a LinkedIn profile. Is it merely an outlet for my ego? Or am I really using the site for something more.

Thankfully, I realized that it is something more.

Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. And yesterday, a very well-known Medal of Honor recipient visited my profile. I looked last night and noticed that the man who wrote the book “We Were Soldiers” had also visited my page. Then today, I received a message from an author who wrote “The Filthy Thirteen.”

To me, it was humbling. It was an honor to have been on their mind as they looked through, on their time and at their leisure, information about me. When I think of those people, they are often larger than life. Disconnected from me, because, after all, I am no hero. I am not in the books. But they are and they aren’t bragging on themselves with constant self-promotion.

So LinkedIn has given me a way to personalize history. History is being unloaded over at LinkedIn.

Yesterday, I received a note from Phil Vischer (the voice of Bob the Tomato) about his upcoming podcast. And since my family loves all things Veggie, I passed along the info to some very excited children. Very cool.

It’s a great professional portal. It’s nice to stay connected without all the gossip, unlike other social media platforms. I’ve discovered some very interesting people.

The site is nothing if not plagued by well-meaning, professional, enthusiastic and pleasant people.

I wish I had started using it sooner.