This post was originally published on LinkedIn.
Have you ever put up a status you thought was clever, cool, funny, interesting, etc., and no one bothered to engage? Not even a single like, share or comment? It feels like you put up your hand for a high-five to the whole world and they left you hanging. It’s a lousy feeling.
It is a little scary how often we allow social media to impact our ego. There is something about the number of friends and followers, likes, comments and shares, and general engagement from people we know, to complete strangers, that oddly validates who we are and what we are about.
I remember when Klout scores first came out and how odd it was to think the content I was sharing about my life and work was being scored on a popularity/influence scale of 1-100. Did a high score mean I was interesting? Did it mean I was popular? Was this number even worth caring about?
And then I did the thing that any other competitive human being would do. I started comparing myself to others. How did I stack up against other people that I am friends with — or, even more important, my competitors?
Now there is a NEW way to gauge your popularity, and I am not sure yet how I feel about it. LinkedIn is allowing you to measure yourself against your LinkedIn connections. This new feature is called “How You Rank” and can be found on a tab on the “Who’s viewed your profile” page.
Clearly, LinkedIn is following in Klout’s footsteps like it has done in the past with the addition of endorsements, and I am curious to see if this new feature on its site will spark competition among connections. I think it is a great idea and will cause people to pay more attention to the “Who’s viewed your profile” tab, which could potentially drive people to upgrade to their premium package.
I am also curious to see if people will start to tout their rankings. But what I am most curious about is will people care?
So I ask you: Do you care?
Lindsay Listanski is the social media manager for Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
