A few months ago, I opened my LinkedIn account to stalk a former colleague. What I saw surprised me:
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A video interview with “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Lisa Rinna giving career advice
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A day-to-day video of one man's morning commute, sponsored by a podcast company
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A writer ranting about AI
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A data platform founder excited about AI
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A selfie of a stranger announcing that his father had died
I put the harassment aside when a different thought arose: Was LinkedIn getting more interesting?
The platform started in 2003 with the mission to “connect the world's professionals.” Since then, users have relied on it to network, stay up to date with job openings, and share their resumes. As on other social networks, users could post thoughts, links and photographs, although the focus was decidedly on racing.
That hasn't changed, at least according to the people who help run the site. LinkedIn is not trying to be a “normal social network,” said Daniel Roth, its editor in chief. “The idea is: Help people connect to economic opportunities.”
LinkedIn will not reveal the number of users who are active monthly, unlike some social media platforms. But a 2026 survey by Statista, a market data and research company, reported that 18 percent of about 60,000 people used the site regularly, well below the number of regular Instagram users but on par with Reddit.
Still, browsing LinkedIn today can turn up the kind of videos, sponsored content, and memes reminiscent of other media platforms. Has all this broadened its appeal or undermined its core mission?
Either way, the platform is indisputably huge; Since 2020 it has doubled its membership to more than 1.3 billion users and increased its revenue to more than $19 billion annually, the site said. Video content is growing on the site and the fastest growing demographic is 18-29 year olds.
“Few places are structured around the 'official life story' like LinkedIn is,” said Bernie Hogan, an associate professor at the Oxford Internet Institute, adding that the site is a “welcome environment” for people who are highly focused on their careers. (Some users say the site's lack of anonymity sets it apart from other parts of the Internet. Currently, more than 100 million users are verified.)
Now, celebrities, athletes and other content creators are leaning into their LinkedIn presence, and the usual business executives and “thought leaders” most associated with it are getting more personal. A top Blackstone executive even posts while jogging.
During a recent book campaign, Ms. Rinna announced that she was creating a LinkedIn account because “hustle is a lifestyle.” In recent years, athletes like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry have begun to visibly boost their business efforts, joining entertainment entrepreneurs like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton. (LinkedIn has said it works with high-profile users to help shape its content and pays some users to promote LinkedIn on the site and other platforms.)
Influencers who have built followers on LinkedIn, as on other social media sites, are negotiating lucrative deals to market products such as artificial intelligence tools and airplanes. Others, tired of tech jargon and performative professionalism, hope to bring a more intimate quality to the site. The resulting hodgepodge suggests another question: If the core mission is to advance your career, can you be authentic on LinkedIn?
a new wave
Two years ago, Brooke Sweedar, a 30-year-old woman living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, wanted to leave her contracting job to become a software engineer. He had no connections in the industry, so he started a dormant LinkedIn account to network and share his coding knowledge.
“I had the perception that LinkedIn was very stuffy, you know, very corporate,” Sweedar said. “And I found myself injecting a lot of my true personality.”
Sweedar calls herself a “tech baddie,” sharing selfies, memes, and cat videos in between coding jokes. “I present myself as the multifaceted human being that I am,” he said, adding that he hoped it would give others permission to do the same.
That approach has earned him job interviews, nearly 30,000 followers and even, he said, offers from technology companies like Notion to publish about their products.
“We all have to make a living and pay our bills,” he said. “And it's very, very difficult to attract people when you sound like a corporate drone.”
Many LinkedIn influencers have created niches in corporate topics such as the domain of artificial intelligence, business-to-business marketing, and office politics. Others share health tips, writing tips, and satirical videos that might look more at home on TikTok. Those like Ms. Sweedar who accumulate followers can turn being a LinkedIn influencer into a full-time career. The number of such creators has increased, according to the site.
LinkedIn has aggressively pursued influencers and creators, said Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University. But, he added, “what does it mean for the rest of us who live, work and spend our time in these places where everything we see has this spirit of self-promotion?”
“Like every brand, we pay creators as part of our marketing efforts, and that content appears on LinkedIn and other platforms,” a spokeswoman said.
Optimizing 'shame'
Amid all these changes, trying to stand out on LinkedIn can backfire.
There's the colloquial language of the site itself: the rapid line breaks, corporate jargon, and narration have coalesced into a genre some have dubbed “bro-etry” or “LinkedIn-ese.” On top of that, critics have mocked the inappropriate exploitation of personal events for professional gain, fodder for Reddit forums like LinkedIn Lunatics. And users have gone viral for unintended reasons, including a CEO who was widely criticized for being deaf for posting a teary-eyed selfie after staff layoffs.
“It's this dystopian, rah-rah-rah, back-slapping cycle that encourages this really inauthentic behavior,” said John Hickey, a creative director who runs “Best of LinkedIn,” an account that mocks the posts. The site, he acknowledged, was “incomparable” for networking. “What I can't stand is the 40 percent extra noise on top,” he said, “and I think a lot of people can't stand that.”
“The problem is sincerity,” Dr. Hogan said, adding that people's intentions were compromised as potential employers or clients looked on. “That wilts people, because if you can't be sincere, then you can't fully understand other people's intentions.”
Juliana Chan, founder of a branding company in Singapore, translated LinkedIn-ese on her account and said its content had helped her find clients and collaborators. “People who like what you say won't embarrass you,” he added.
Elsewhere, unconventional professionals are optimizing that shame. Ken Cheng, a London-based comedian with 220,000 followers on LinkedIn, has found a niche in parodying overly devout corporate types. His bio states, with a smiling face, that he wants to “connect with you emotionally.”
He was struck by the tension people feel between their distaste for workplace politics and their sense that participation was essential to survival. “It's pretty strange to see everyone become a corporate shell in order to operate in this world,” he said.
As he gained popularity, some companies paid Cheng to mock them on LinkedIn for advertising purposes, or hired him to perform at conferences. He charges up to $4,000 for a position.
“Brands are understanding it”
Power users of the site, even self-deprecating ones like Mr. Cheng, are still relatively rare. Many people prefer to lurk, stepping in only to share job updates or congratulate colleagues on their promotions.
The most discussed topics on the site, according to internal data, may still sound more familiar in conference rooms than on social media: the place of AI in the workplace, leadership development, the journey of a startup founder, and crypto trends.
“I think LinkedIn is just getting started because it hasn't been prioritized as a social platform until very recently,” said Shama Hyder, founder of a Miami-based marketing agency that shares her business insights with about 672,000 followers.
Ms. Hyder describes herself as a longtime “thought leader” on the site and believes users are more likely to engage with profiles of people they find credible than profiles of brands. He creates paid content for sponsors on the platform (with rates starting at $20,000 per post) and said he had worked with brands like Adobe.
“Brands are getting it,” he said. “They're realizing this.”
LinkedIn is adding even more ways for influencers to make money and has expanded its own “paid partnerships with creators,” the site said. That wave, which uses the hashtag #LinkedInpartners, included Fernando Mendoza, a football player who celebrated being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft with a post on LinkedIn.
Dr. Hogan, however, is skeptical that this growing engagement will keep audiences on LinkedIn in the long term. “It will work in the short term until people get tired,” he said.
Power users like Hyder also don't want LinkedIn to lose its professional usefulness. “I think they will lose people if they continue to have the same content that can be found on other platforms,” he said.
After so many calls with influencers, I couldn't stop thinking about my LinkedIn presence. I followed the advice of some coaches and:
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I added a banner image to my profile.
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I shared a vulnerable story about my past.
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Republished by a senior editor
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Let me use exclamation points and an emoji!!
Only a few people liked my posts, including a friend and a former teacher. But I could see that more users were interacting with my profile every week; the site suggested I continue commenting and posting to have an even greater reach.
I contacted Mr. Cheng, the comedian, who was recently paid to host a marketing conference. “I have become what I seek to destroy,” Mr. Cheng said jokingly. Since our last conversation, he had raised his rates, he said, and hoped to raise them again.
Matt Yan contributed reports.
