The Oz of LinkedIn View Counts & Notifications!

So you have secured the Wicked Witch of the West’s broom and now are ensured of the Wizard of Oz’s help. The answers to the questions you have are inside the pumpkin shaped head of the Wizard.

Remember the scene from the 1939 masterpiece ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when Dorothy and her clan confront the Wizard? Here is a 2 minute clip for reference. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3664118297

I was thinking about this scene recently and how it applies to the conundrum that is LinkedIn notifications. Instead of needing a Heart, Courage or a Brain, I decided to put myself in some ruby slippers and confront the almighty wizard myself.

Here is what a conversation with the Wizard of LinkedIn might sound like. 

Wizard Weiner, Chris Farber here, I have some questions for you regarding notifications on the application.

I don't want to talk about them. 

Why?

I'm getting lots of heat, seems the users are starting to figure out we control the notifications with algorithms and personal oversight. We control the traffic.

Are you concerned I might actually get more views than Richard Branson or Sallie Krawcheck and the rest of the Influencers? It's really not what I am trying to do. I just believe my connections and followers should be notified when I post something. Then it's up to them if they want to read it.

We know what's best for you and your writings.

Really?

Reminds me of book burning and the fear of communism back in the days after WW2. You are controlling how I message and who can and cannot see my writings. That's a form of censorship, Wizard Weiner. History has proven that to be detrimental to society.

We want to keep a lid on the some of the groups which you joined!

Proudly, I did, but President Eisenhower explained that you could read what you wanted as long as it wasn't detrimental to society. At the time he felt communism was detrimental to society and so it wasn't censorship. That must have taken a lot of Courage.

What's your point?

LinkedIn is doing the same thing by not notifying my connections of my posts.

I have a couple of additional questions. How is it that sometimes my "likes" actually increase and my number of "views" stays static?

Are you hiding "likes" and doling them out when you feel like it?

Again, controlling the message.

I am not aware of that.

I also noticed that the post view counter isn't working properly. Seems when I view my own post it counts my views as part of the total. I noticed this on this post Self - less Selfies! http://bit.ly/1f0sTrN. I thought perhaps because I was writing about something so narcissistic that you turned off the unique identifier just for me. I tested it on another post and it happens there too.

Are you trying to make up for throttling back the notifications by letting us view our own posts and thinking we are actually being read by more people?

This is news to me. Let me look into it.

How about this one? My wife, 2 sons and I are all connected on LinkedIn. How is it that until recently (when I complained) my wife wasn't receiving notifications of my posts?

Also, why does my wife receive one of my sons’ updates but I do not?

It takes a lot of Heart to put yourself out there Wizard Weiner. I would think family, first of all, should be notified of our activities on LinkedIn, unless you think you know my family better than we do ourselves.

Do you have a Premium account?

Yes, one last question Wizard Weiner of LinkedIn. Who are the people who are reading my posts? They are mostly 2nd and 3rd degree connections from the Ukraine. Several are teachers and interpreters.

Is LinkedIn using our posts to help teach English to people in the Ukraine and other foreign lands?

No.

The premise of Linkedin is how we are all connected. Depressing notifications is counter to the core tenet of what LinkedIn is Wizard Weiner.

Have you heard of Kevin Bacon?

OK, here is the plan. Soon we will start to charge a-la carte for notifications. Kind of like a reverse "pay per view" as I like to refer to it.

We have our collective Brain focused on shareholders now, not your silly thoughts and musings, Mr Farber.

I'm melting, I'm melting........melting........melt.....me.......m.

My best, Chris