O MANNY's

What frighten me of social networks, specifically LinkedIn, is that the social factor is dwindling at a rapid pace. The overwhelming experience of LinkedIn and it’s endless content and noise which everyday reminds me a lot more and more like Facebook and twitter. Just bunch of people posting all kinds of videos, pictures, articles, people posting 24/7 not based on quality or fit but rapid posts after posts. The true motive of spreading content or creating sponsored “content” is likely mixed. The same can be said about how I feel about LinkedIn groups. Some still think it’s the hottest thing if you just overlook the rotten egg smell. Some think it’s a cheap way to advertise. Some think it has become an irritant. Either way I just know the internet and social networks have failed social. 



I’m always very grateful for the growing community I get to oversee everyday on LinkedIn. To take nothing, a little creativity and a little resourcefulness and turn it into thirty thousand plus members is awesome. However over the years LinkedIn has announced changes, after changes in its effort to crush spammers, reduce self promotions, and pursue a higher quality experience. The changes have also threaten the balance. The fact is quality experience on LinkedIn today is as rare as finding twenty dollars on the streets.

When it comes to Founders Under 40™ Group, we try not to make it all about us, or our content because you can’t call something a community if the leaders are the only ones talking. We post one or two invaluable insights a week and focus being aware of members contributions, members questions or attempts that are aligned or that’s helping us become stronger. I’m still shocked that some people don’t get how groups works. That groups are a lot like community newspapers...it’s the job of moderators / owners to serve the brand, community members by deciding whats good for the stakeholders and what’s not good for it. Just because you see thirty thousand members in a founders community does not make your content useful or your sneaky promotions disguised as content a fit for our brand. Key suggestion: upgrade and work with the manager(s)

There are groups that have ten times more members than Founders Under 40™ Group and being in those other groups is like having everyone in the world wanting your attention. It’s pretty much dead. In my opinions LinkedIn just can’t handle groups because there are all kinds of social and economic motives. And they try to please everyone end up pleasing no one. Today, Founders Under 40™  is asking it’s group members to join our more private social forum where everyone will be screened and vetted because LinkedIn can’t help us represent our brand very well.

In the past community management was simple on LinkedIn. As communities grow you either step up your game or go extincted. LinkedIn has forced many group mangers to simply abandon ship because it’s too much. Now LinkedIn for some reason thinks it’s a good idea to decide what content is allowed to be posted in groups and the moderators of that group decide after it’s gone live to keep it or delete it. It’s like the government automatically publishing it’s own bias content on an independent fair media network and leaving it to the editor to pull it after it has already gone live.


Content and submission is so much I personally stop long ago to not bother with it. There’s no incentive for me to care. One big problem I currently have is the LinkedIn machine sometimes let spam or irrelevant stuff through then the impact on the group brand is done. It’s been sent to every member mail box. Damage done...now it can be perceived that our group is tolerating spam when we didn’t approve the material.

I hear a lot of people are feeling pretty betrayed by a social network like LinkedIn because they have invested so much time, effort and value into it. Today, growing number of group members discussion submissions are never approved because group managers are disengaged or overwhelmed. People who want to join might have to wait a long time to get approval into groups because either the Manager is busy or he or she no longer cares.

Suggestion: The reality is there’s lots of room for abuse that’s why there needs to be healthy balance. What LinkedIn / Microsoft needs to do is create better tools to help keep people accountable but in my opinion it’s too late. It’s pretty much MYSPACE for LINKEDIN.
Users want a group or social network where people have human rights. The good group managers do it out of pleasure and possibly for strategic reasons like I said it’s to late.


We’ve started promoting our more private Founders Under 40 Group which requires annual or quarterly subscription and every member will be known. They will be known in every way someone would know a potential wife or husband. We will give members freedom as long as they work within the behavior guidelines. The reality in this digital age is that no one does major transactions with people or entities they don’t know or trust or have not be vetted.







Our social world is changing and Founders Under 40™ Group (www.foundersunder40.com) / (http://fu40group.bjmannyst.com) is moving away and creating more sustainable quality experience for our upgrade members. There’s just no more social in social networks like LinkedIn.