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Endorse Me Or I’ll Kill Myself

Endorse Me Or I’ll Kill Myself

This crass marketing strategy on Linkedin to encourage “endorsements” is stupid enough, and people requesting, in effect, strangers to support their capabilities in coaching, consulting, psychotherapy, and neurosurgery is simply ludicrous. But even dumber are those who take offense when you refuse.

I’ve told people that I endorse no one (though I once gave all of Linkedin denizens a blanket endorsement on Twitter so they’d leave me alone, and that didn’t work). How can I endorse someone who, for all I know, may be a pedophile or serial killer? Now I’m sure some “internet marketing guru” will write in to tell me how someone made $80 zillion through endorsements, and then offer their services to me for $500 or a free meal, but I’d rather be watching my collection of old Flash Gordon episodes.

How pathetic is it to try to collect endorsements from people who don’t know you, expect them to help in your marketing, and actually take umbrage when you are refused out of some vague connection with ethical conduct? I’ll bet the people at Linked in are falling down laughing at this scam, and some are collecting bets form colleagues who claimed it would never work. (“You will never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public”– H. L. Mencken)

I’m not going to endorse you, no matter how much you cry, threaten, and rend your garments. Get a happy client to endorse you. What? You have no happy clients?

Go figure.

© Alan Weiss 2013

Written by

Alan Weiss is a consultant, speaker, and author of over 60 books. His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients from over 500 leading organizations around the world.

Comments: 21

  • Peter McLean

    July 3, 2013

    I endorse the old black and white Flash Gordon serials. Good for a laugh and probably more wittingly written than anything else on TV (although, I must admit it’s been a while…)

    I’m astonished when I receive LinkedIn endorsements from people who have never met me or seen me, or… and I don’t think they’re reading through all my materials to see if I am worthy of the endorsement.

    • Alan Weiss

      July 3, 2013

      My wife gave me the complete Flash Gordon serials, first time I ever watched them in sequence (Ming the Merciless is my idol). I consider requests for endorsements on Linkedin acts of desperation.

      • Peter McLean

        July 3, 2013

        A princely gift from your wife, Maria!

  • Noah

    July 3, 2013

    The same guy has endorsed me for over 30 days in a row. Every morning – same time, same place – he endorses me. It’s getting a little bit weird.

    • Alan Weiss

      July 3, 2013

      An endorsement stalker.

  • Craig Martin

    July 3, 2013

    £80 zillion is nothing.

    I know a single mother who earns that per hour working from home counting bird poo on her window.

    Subscribe to me and I’ll show you how to get endles adverts to my product that I copied from someone else.
    And if you buy my product for £39 I’ll even give you some (2 or 3) worthless pdf forms I copied from another someone else that I value at £100,000,000.

    But that’s not all. Try and leave the page and I’ll drop the price to £29 and STILL give you your £100,000,000 of worthlessness as a bonus.

    I don’t need any endorsements or testimonials because they’re so darn pointless, so subscribe now and spend three weeks wishing you didn’t.

    What are you waiting for? That bird poo won’t hang around forever.

  • Alan Weiss

    July 3, 2013

    Great parody! (You are kidding, right?)

  • Jack

    July 3, 2013

    This is a photo showing kids being given your message 🙂 – FaceBook likes rather than LinkedIn endorsements. http://tiny.cc/kcenzw.

    In case the link doesn’t appear, it shows:
    Our Mommy says if we get 1 million “likes” we won’t get crap! If we want something we have to work for it. Not beg for it on Facebook.

    • Alan Weiss

      July 5, 2013

      Nothing like teaching your kids the importance of being superficial.

  • John W

    July 3, 2013

    I’ll endorse Alan on history and leadership.

    Last night I heard three history professors on NPR talk for an hour about the impact of the Battles of Gettysburg. As yesterday was the sesquicentennial of a key turning point, Little Big Top, I listened with interest. It rambled a bit and lacked the personal side.

    Then this morning I happened to return to one of the classics of the “Writing on the Wall” video series. That would be Episode 4, on leadership:

    http://summitconsulting.com/video/writing-on-the-wall-episode-4.php

    There it is, Little Big Top and leadership. Probably less than four minutes. Amazing.

    And how many lower-level managers today would show such initiative, let alone the courage under fire. Literally under fire, out of ammo, resorting to bayonets? Some people today are timid under PowerPoint!

    Required viewing…

  • Wayne McKinnon

    July 4, 2013

    It almost appears as if Linked in is auto generating the endorsement requests without the account holder’s knowledge. The system seems to do that with requests to link in the first place.

    • Peter McLean

      July 4, 2013

      No, these people are doing it themselves. I’ve never received a message from LinkedIn asking me to endorse someone, only the little notices that pop up at the top of my own profile. In that instance, LinkedIn generates categories/skills that a user may not have listed for themselves, which is why you sometimes get new ones ‘suggested’ by connections. Nor have I ever received an automated request to link in (nor has one been sent on my behalf) – that would violate LinkedIn’s standards and own recommendations for linking with others. No need to excuse people’s own abuses or desperation.

  • Alan Weiss

    July 5, 2013

    Every day I’m “endorsed” by people who know me and don’t know me. I’m sure many want reciprocity, some want to just let me know they’re doing a good deed. But my 52nd book comes out this year. Do they really think I need Linkedin endorsements? Most of all, does anyone believe that such endorsements from strangers and other consultants really mean anything a buyer?

  • Lisa Claudia Briggs

    July 5, 2013

    Your comments and perspectives stay with me for a long time..my one seminar with you a few years back helped ground so much of what I do. Still love my work, and still appreciate hearing somebody saying the Emperor has no clothes..

    • Alan Weiss

      July 19, 2013

      There are a lot of naked people on Linkedin!

      Do you know that some guy on Facebook who I told not to try to communicate with me there but to use email, actually asked how to find my email address?! I’m one of the most accessible, high profile people around, and he doesn’t know how to find me! Maybe he’ll endorse me for “stealth.”

  • Alex Singleton

    July 6, 2013

    What I find odd is that people whose names I don’t recognise try to connect on LinkedIn with the default message “I’d like to add you to my professional network.”

    I’d accept them if they changed the standard message to something like “I was in the audience when you spoke last Thursday”. At least then I would have a clue as to why they were interested in connecting.

  • Alan Weiss

    July 6, 2013

    There are people out there, Alex, collecting endorsements and nurturing their Klout scores, and salivating over “smile sheets” collected after free presentations. These are the people who lose their car keys and search for them blocks from where they actually dropped them, because the light is better over there.

  • Quentin Pain

    July 8, 2013

    Hey Alan, I see from your endorsements you do two types of therapy: ‘Counselling’ and ‘Counseling’. That’s impressive.

  • Alan Weiss

    July 19, 2013

    What’s impressive is that I do neither, but I’m still endorsed! I’m working on neurosurgery.

  • C Atkinson

    July 23, 2013

    Getting meaningless endorsements is driving me mad. I won’t ever endorse back if that is the motive. I just don’t understand why so many people lack basic integrity!

  • Alan Weiss

    August 2, 2013

    These platforms are just feeding on the huge ego needs and insecurities of people who can’t exist without external validation, because the don’t believe in themselves.

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