A Better Professional Network

We have a lot of work to do in earnest in 2021 to recover our economy and rebuild our society into one that is fair and equitable to all.

Those two activities are inextricably linked. One cannot happen without the other.

LinkedIn is the perfect professional network for a perfect world where racism, sexism, and other types of bias do not exist.

But in this imperfect world that we live in where racism, sexism, and all other manners of discrimination are a real thing, LinkedIn is woefully deficient. It's just not up to the task.

We have to have real conversations about real issues in order to be able to create the changes that are necessary to move towards a better society.

We cannot do that on Linkedin.

LinkedIn is a platform where it's impossible for mature adults to have conversations on complex topics such as race and gender equality.

LinkedIn is not Facebook...but it damn near is.

In this video, I share my vision for a better professional network where civil adults can build the connections to do the work that we need to do to build a better society.

Here’s one of my comments that LinkedIn removed, calling it hate speech:

That comment was in response to a post showcasing the tens of millions of dollars that Mackenzie Scott has donated to HBCUs.

Here’s my other comment that got removed as hate speech:

That comment was in response to this post:

In each instance, this is what I received from LinkedIn:

In each instance, all it took was one white dude who didn’t like what I wrote to report my comment to LinkedIn and they removed it immediately.

Meanwhile, true hate speech is given a free pass on the platform, particularly in the comments on posts from women writing on diversity topics.

Black LinkedIn

Here’s a link to Ashanti Martin’s New York Times article on Black LinkedIn where she details the harassment from LinkedIn itself that Black professionals have been receiving as social commentary has increased on the platform in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

We Can Do Better

LinkedIn could do better.

But it’s clear, at this point, that LinkedIn leadership has no intention to.

As I said in the video, I have too much important work to do on social equality to waste my time and energy on a social media platform that would rather maintain the status quo.

I know I’m not alone in my frustration with the incivility that abounds on social media, which is why I’ve created a new social media community for the civil professional.

The Culture of Civility

That’s the name of the community…at least for right now.

I need to come up with a trademarkable name, but I can’t delay bringing the community online for that. There’s too much important work that this community can facilitate right now.

Following are some examples of some of the channels within the community you can opt into.

Reconstruction 2.0

This is where the diversity, equity, and inclusion thought leaders can lead the discussion on social equality without having to deal with the trolls that abound on all the major social media platforms.

This is the place where we can have the conversations and build the relationships necessary to allow us to get Reconstruction right this time because we’ve been here before as a country and we cannot get this wrong again.

We have the lessons from Reconstruction 1.0. All we have to do is learn from them.

New Majority Venture Capital

This is where the dialogue on expanding VC access to women and minorities will take place.

As you can see in the comments of this post I made on LinkedIn pointing out the disparity in funding opportunity, too many people think that women and minorities just have to work harder or come up with their own money and that’s the solution for funding their businesses.

In the New Majority VC channel, the right people can connect with each other to have the conversations necessary to build a robust VC network that provides the same access to capital to women and minorities that white male founders enjoy.

Creative Pursuits

This is a place where you can share your creative projects, no matter how not great at them you are.

Go on and show us the bowl you made in your pottery workshop that doesn’t hold water.

This is the stuff that keeps you sane, people!

If you don't have a creative outlet, I highly encourage you to get one. And it’s encouraged for you to share your creative pursuits within this community.

Remember, we’re trying to build meaningful relationships and close these gaps that have divided our country for so long.

We have to get to know each other to do that.

Mental Health

In this channel, mental health professionals can lead the dialogue on normalizing mental health care.

And it’s a safe place for people to ask questions because this entire community is a safe, civil place for everyone.

Working Moms

There’s no question that working moms are bearing the brunt of this pandemic.

This channel is a place for moms to support each other and where supporters of moms everywhere can get some insights into what all it takes for mom to keep the trains on the track during this crisis and maybe we can figure out some relief solutions together that make their way into corporate policy changes.

Lots More Channels

Women in STEM, Personal Finance & Wealth Building, Fashion, Travel (tell us some pre-covid travel stories and show us some awesome pictures!) and lots more channels to come.

Again, this is a professional networking community where you can curate your feed to deliver exactly what you’re interested in.

You are encouraged to be a thought leader on topics where you have expertise, and free to be a student on topics you would like to learn more about.

And you get to do this in an environment free of trolls who just want to steal your energy!

You Don’t Need LinkedIn, LinkedIn Needs You

What is LinkedIn (or any social media platform) without you?

If you feel like your talents are not valued on LinkedIn, or you’re just tired of seeing negativity go unchecked, then The Culture of Civility is for you.

This is the professional networking alternative to LinkedIn that you’ve been looking for.

Home is where you make it.

So bring your friends who, too, are tired of toxic social media and let’s have our conversations and expand our networks inside a community of other civil adults where we can actually build relationships and get some things done.

As I wrote at the beginning of this article, for those who want to create a better world than the one you came into, there is MUCH work to be done and that work has to be done right now, while the environment exists that will support massive leaps in social equality.

We cannot waste precious time and energy arguing daily with trolls who want to disrupt civil dialogue in their efforts to maintain the status quo.