November 7, 2014: Writing in the pages of ClickZ this week, Didit’s Kevin Lee writes that “it’s time for social networks to require users to authenticate their identities, and LinkedIn should take the lead.”
This step is necessary, Kevin argues, because LinkedIn has acknowledged that it has no algorithmic way to accurately distinguish between real people and imposters. In its most recent 10Q report filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, LinkedIn admitted that “we do not have a reliable system for identifying and counting duplicate or fraudulent accounts, or deceased, incapacitated or other non-members and so we rely on estimates and assumptions, which may not be accurate. In addition, our methodology for measuring our membership numbers, and specifically for making estimates regarding non-members who should not be included as registered members, has changed over time and may continue to change from time to time. While we are using what we believe to be reasonable and appropriate methods of measuring the number of registered members, there are no methodologies available that would provide us with an exact number of non-actual member types of accounts.”
In an “Open Letter to LinkedIn” explaining the problem, Kevin enumerates the reasons why fake profiles are so damaging to the trust and credibility of the LinkedIn service. They include:
1. Time wasted when users must do their own investigations of LinkedIn members in order to determine whether they’re “real people” or imposters.
2. Invalid clicks delivered to LinkedIn advertisers that damage the ability of marketers to accurately target real members.
3. Wasted InMails (which cost real money) expended on attempting to contact phony people.
4. An increase in InMail spam for all LinkedIn members.
5. Brand damage when imposters, who do not actually work for the brand in question, are displayed on the brand’s company page.
Kevin suggests that LinkedIn emulate Twitter and Paypal, both of which require members to authenticate themselves. He writes: “providing a photo ID plus proof of address to verify one’s identity would not be an onerous tasks for most people. Most LinkedIn members would welcome the opportunity authenticate their profiles.”
Concluding his open letter, Kevin writes “you can solve this problem in a way that your users will understand. Force authentication and LinkedIn will become far more businesslike, productive, and secure. And although Wall Street won’t like it because it will temporarily crimp the growth of your user base, the value of your actual network will soar in coming years.”
Read complete article on ClickZ.com:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2379996/fake-profiles-are-killing-linkedin-s-value
- 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Using QR Codes for Marketing - September 20, 2023
- Kevin Lee on How AI Changes the SEO Landscape - August 31, 2023
- The Power of Compound Marketing: Kevin Lee Presents @ 1MediaWorld 2023 Global Conference - March 7, 2023