👀 What would Harris say about Linkedin?

#53 | The art of the humblebrag

Do you Linkedin? That fabulously glorified Rolodex for HR and sales folk. That high school-style slam book for the rest of us working stiffs.

If you’re one of those people who’s never crossed paths with a Linkedin account, thank your stars and cling to whichever job allows you this luxury. Really.

Linkedin is where people suit mask up. They bring their shiniest work personalities to the party. An online CV, public persona and best self all rolled into one. Where they come to inspire or die trying.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on Linkedin lately. Can you tell? I want to run from the cringeyness of it all, but then my day job frequently laughs at my wants.

I wonder what Harris Wittles would have thought of Linkedin.

The brilliantly talented writer of Parks and Recreation had a popular Twitter feed right up until he died, where he called out cringey, self-aggrandising on Twitter. He called it Humblebrag. “A specific type of bragging that masks the brag in a faux-humble guise. The false humility allows the offender to boast their ‘achievements’ without any sense of shame or guilt.” Harris coined a word for a phenomenon so unique to the 21st century that it ended up in the dictionary.

Harris’ Twitter feed was hacked, unfortunately, so if you want to explore the joys and wonders of false modesty in the 21st century, you’ll have to read his book. He wields his x-acto sharp wit as he dissects every offending tweet with child-like, unfiltered glee. If you haven’t got time for that, Harris at the Crunchies is also an entertaining watch. His misadventures with presenting made me feel so much better about my own.

K