25 votes

The Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn’s “thought leadership” content mill

12 comments

  1. [8]
    Protected
    Link
    Everything I ever read about Linkedin makes me question my sanity. What a vast monument to nothing at all.

    Everything I ever read about Linkedin makes me question my sanity. What a vast monument to nothing at all.

    24 votes
    1. [7]
      Omnicrola
      Link Parent
      Like most social media, it used to be genuinely useful. A digital business contact Roledex that automatically updates when people move jobs, get promoted, etc was a really useful thing. Then they...

      Like most social media, it used to be genuinely useful. A digital business contact Roledex that automatically updates when people move jobs, get promoted, etc was a really useful thing. Then they built all the social media engagement nonsense into it, and it became a circlejerk of thought leaders and aspiring business consultants. The useful bits are still technically there, but now they're buried under a mountain of bullshit.

      19 votes
      1. [5]
        BeardyHat
        Link Parent
        I feel like it's still required, however. I've been out of the office world for about 8-years now and am finally ready to jump back in here now (terrible timing, I know), so I've been updating my...

        I feel like it's still required, however.

        I've been out of the office world for about 8-years now and am finally ready to jump back in here now (terrible timing, I know), so I've been updating my Linked In, just so it looks relevant because I know people in the business world still value it for some reason.

        11 votes
        1. [4]
          Protected
          Link Parent
          Back when I deleted my account, my thinking was: Do I want to work for people who value this shit?

          Back when I deleted my account, my thinking was: Do I want to work for people who value this shit?

          8 votes
          1. [2]
            BeardyHat
            Link Parent
            Honestly, at this point I just need a job and I want it to be a white collar job again. If I need to kiss a little ass so I can nab a paycheck and stop worrying about money, so be it, because...

            Honestly, at this point I just need a job and I want it to be a white collar job again. If I need to kiss a little ass so I can nab a paycheck and stop worrying about money, so be it, because it'll at least get my foot in the door again.

            12 votes
            1. Protected
              Link Parent
              I understand. Best of luck!

              I understand. Best of luck!

              3 votes
          2. preposterous
            Link Parent
            The problem is that they all do now. And if you’re not participating you might as well not exist. I don’t understand what people get out of LI, I see so many people posting on it but I wonder who...

            The problem is that they all do now. And if you’re not participating you might as well not exist.

            I don’t understand what people get out of LI, I see so many people posting on it but I wonder who reads if anyone.

            And yet if you don’t have LI it’s a huge red flag to the machine/people doing the filtering when you apply.

            6 votes
      2. gpl
        Link Parent
        It can still be useful. The LinkedIn influencer slop not so much, but it can be useful to find out about job openings or as a point of contact for recruiters. My wife found her current position...

        It can still be useful. The LinkedIn influencer slop not so much, but it can be useful to find out about job openings or as a point of contact for recruiters. My wife found her current position because someone in her network advertised the opening and it came up on her feed.

        1 vote
  2. [3]
    TheRTV
    Link
    I'm not an expert, but my family is from the Philippines. The economy there is still worse than the US, so the dollar goes a long way. I remember a couple decades ago, one of my cousins worked in...

    I'm not an expert, but my family is from the Philippines. The economy there is still worse than the US, so the dollar goes a long way. I remember a couple decades ago, one of my cousins worked in the Philippines in a call center for ebay.

    So it's not at all surprising to see that they contract work out there. Sounds like they're paying around local minimum wage.

    2 votes
    1. xk3
      Link Parent
      Min wage is about $1.60 USD/hour or even less in provincia. Some Minute Burger employees are probably flipping burgers right now for about $3 per day in the Visayas... so there are definitely...

      Min wage is about $1.60 USD/hour or even less in provincia. Some Minute Burger employees are probably flipping burgers right now for about $3 per day in the Visayas... so there are definitely people earning less than minimum wage...

      The Philippines is the largest call center ecosystem in the world with something like 1.5 million call center agents. $7/hour is easily 2-3x the median call center wage.

      2 votes
    2. JCPhoenix
      Link Parent
      I'm not an expert either, and my family too is from the Philippines (well, my parents are; I'm from the US), but my understanding is there's a burgeoning middle class, especially in places like...

      I'm not an expert either, and my family too is from the Philippines (well, my parents are; I'm from the US), but my understanding is there's a burgeoning middle class, especially in places like Metro Manila, because of BPO companies and virtual assistants and the like. Young educated people can jobs at these places and they pay decently.

      Having visited the Philippines a couple times, it is weird to pass by the BPO offices late at night, like midnight around Makati and Taugig. It's an office park; it should be dead that late at night. But no! Tons of people just hanging out outside the buildings on their breaks, smoking, chitchatting, whatever. But they're probably servicing American clients that are 12+hrs behind, where it's daytime.

      2 votes
  3. IndieGamesCafe
    Link
    I think there's no contest that its cringe. The question I got for folks is, is it the platform's fault or is it people's fault? Which one takes the bigger pie?

    I think there's no contest that its cringe. The question I got for folks is, is it the platform's fault or is it people's fault? Which one takes the bigger pie?