I get a lot of odd emails pitching me services I don’t want. Private jets and yachts aren’t really my thing.
But one offering to ‘build my audience without spending hours writing content’ intrigued me so I followed the rabbit hole to see what was down there. It turns out there’s a whole industry of people who will pretend to be a better version of you on social media, especially on Linkedin.
I have to admit it hadn’t really crossed my mind but it was only when I spotted someone I’ve been following as a (semi-anonymised) case study in materials that I realised I’d been taken in. It didn’t feel good.
If you’re a founder, be careful. Not all those VCs posting on LinkedIn are who you think they are.
Does it matter? I can see the temptation – it takes a lot of time and headspace to think of things to write. But I think it does break trust and ultimately the reason I’m still on some of those platforms is to maintain and create new relationships. And trust is important for those.
