Ahhh LinkedIn. Where would the professional world be without it? I have landed two different jobs from it. Generated tons of business contacts and direct meetings with the “right” people through it. Promoted events and services and new product launches. J’adore LinkedIn!
I have always had a policy of only connecting to people I know, work with, have done or want to do business or networking with…or on the rare occasion I have connected to people who wanted to reach out to someone in my network. But generally speaking I have emailed with, met or spoken to every single person I am connected to on LinkedIn. For that matter, that is absolutely the case with Facebook, which I never use for business and only use for my personal life – and enjoy using for funny or naughty real-time status updates so it is certainly not a place for random people. But when I moved to Bangalore in April I relaxed my policy and connected to a few executives that reached out to me on LinkedIn because I thought it would lead to fun networking and possibly making friends. haha Hmmmm… as you will see, I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer it appears. Listen to this!
The first red flag that came up was with the invite which read, verbatim:
hiya angela… how’s u doing???
looking good…
add me…
I am being 100% honest when I say that until that day I had never accepted an invite from a stranger but I thought what the hell, I need to make some friends. And this guy appeared to be quite involved with lots of groups. But there was no further contact after that, though, and no invite to network but we stayed in touch with the odd comment on a status update here and there. That was…until yesterday! haha Well, yesterday after lunch my team mate Romi and I both posted two roles we need to fill on the team on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. One is a freelance gig and the other is an entry level position on my marketing team. I posted the basic job description:
HIRING: Digital Communications Assistant for my marketing team in Bangalore. Manage our online reputation, act as primary English copywriter, community manager, coordinate PR activities, support general department needs
And I then added a comment under the status update:
“I am looking for a really sharp recent graduate!!”
Well, my recent connection – the guy who reached out to me – posted the craziest comment on the update. Well, for me it was crazy because I always support people’s posts about recruitment because it is such a positive thing in my opinion. I always “like” or “share” when appropriate to ensure maximum reach for people, because I think that what comes around, goes around and I like it when my connections do that for me. Well, apparently my new connection has a very different view of recruitment posts and the strategy behind them. He wrote:
“Really sharp? Hmmmmmmmm… usually most graduates I’ve come across are either too wacky or too dumb… finding a smart, really sharp, recent grad in Bangalore is pretty tough…”
OMG! What an ass! Haha I really was in shock. Who would see a job posting and immediately go to a place inside their head that leads to such a negative comment? What kind of life does this guy have or what kind of experiences have tainted him to such a degree that he went immediately to THAT place? Haha Dang, I have been on LinkedIn since July 22, 2005 and yesterday is the first time that I have ever seen another member try to take something positive like a job post and use it to propagate their own negativity. So I replied in kind with:
“I guess I have a much higher opinion of the amazing talent pool here than you :-)”
And from there he went on again about how I was wrong, haha (not worth posting, trust me). I left the posts as-is. Then the coolest positive messages started to appear. It was great to see people who I didn’t know come to defend the idea that our young talent in India is indeed stellar and that our recent grads are indeed prepared to contribute. Several people, actually, which I am very thankful about. I –apparently mistakenly – made an additional flippant comment about how if my new connection did that again I was going to remove him. Well, that was all my guy needed to send him over the edge and he posted a personal attack on ME. Not on the topic at hand, but all about me and my character, which I deleted because it was irrelevant to the topic at hand and, to be honest, it was ugly. He called me a jerk, insecure and basically said that I could die and he’d be happy, haha. Bad day at work, dude??? But in retrospect I rather regret deleting it because it really is so freaking funny and so unique…I mean, what is going on to make the guy generate this kind of “user generated content” with people he doesn’t even know? So here it is:
“First and foremost, Angela, no need to show attitude. In fact, people who are insensitive and quintessentially insecure, cannot stand up to comments. Secondly, every one has the right to comment as he/she feels like. Thirdly, you’re not Steve Jobs or something, so I really don’t care if you disappear from the surface of this earth. So, yeah, would be great in fact to delete you. Have come across loads of jerks in my lifetime, so quite doesn’t matter. Ciao! ”
Brilliant, right? Haha Oh, and when I went to delete him it turns out that he had deleted me just moments before. If you know me or read my blog you’ll know that I go on and on about the amazing efficiency of India and Indians so I guess this just adds to my claim that efficiency is KING here.
So what did I learn? Unless there is a real reason to connect on networking sites, don’t do it. Indian efficiency really is the best in the world. Don’t be so quick to delete – I “reacted” to that message when I should have taken a moment to think about it. And last, that I enjoy being hand-fed blog content that is a bit outside my normal “adventure in India” topics. Thanks, guy!
XOXO from Bangalore
© Angela Carson and Angela’s Adventures in Bangalore blog and photos, 2011
Hey Angela,
Just looks like you became a soft target of someone’s bad day in office or may be bad night at home!!!! I guess he was takling about himself when he said ” Have come across loads of jerks in my lifetime,”. Well he sees himself everyday in the mirror. I know for sure such jerks dont matter to you.
SAM
OMG that guy really has a different way of viewing things, eh! His kids should look forward to being considered idiots then I guess until later in their 20s, hehe 🙂
Hey Angela,
Sorry to hear about this experience of yours – but really impressed with the loads of positivity with which you have taken it. I stumbled upon your blog via some comments on my home page (perhaps we have mutual connections). I am an Indian woman working in the USA and really have had a pleasant experience here – the kind of respect and warmth that I have got from people. I sincerely wish that this is reciprocated to any foreigners who choose to brave the pollution and population of India and work there. So my apologies to you on behalf of this nutcase – as a fellow Indian, and hope you have only pleasant experiences from now on. And once again – thanks for the tons of faith you have shown in us as a race !
Apart from a talent pool, India has a lot to offer in terms of spirituality, and you might want to explore that – especially while you are in Bangalore – it would be nice to check out the Art of Living Ashram on kanakpura road. Go any weekend – and you will find a beautiful and peaceful haven. If the founder of Art of Living, Sri SRi Ravi Shankar, happens to be there – you may also hear a few nice discourses. Art of Living is a truly global organisation – the 2nd largest volunteer bases organisation in the world, after Red Cross. If you have time, you may even do a weekend meditation course that starts on Thursday eve and ends on Sunday eve. It happens every weekend. You can call 28432273 for more details
Take care, and all the best with your recruiting and the rest of your stint in India!
Debjani
Dear Debjani, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and caring comment. Truly, I appreciate it immensely. You know EXACTLY what I am dealing with then living in my native country. You see things every day that are polar opposites to anything you’ve known before…and I am having the BEST time capturing those differences and writing about them. Today’s blog was a bit different than normal but still really is a unique situation that I have never experienced before so was fun to write 🙂 Funny that you mentioned Art of Living, the chairman of our parent company is a huge fan of Art of Living and I have visited their website and plan to go one weekend soon. Let’s connect on LinkedIn and I’ll let you know when I go. I had no idea they were volunteer-based. Big hug, enjoy your time in the US. And thanks again for reaching out.
Hey great to hear back from you !!
I know how different it is there from your native country – and believe me you – although I have stayed in India all my life and just started living and working in USA last year – the difference is so stark – almost jarring when I visit India now.
There is so much we need to learn from the west – being a good citizen, integrity and professionalism, being civil, patient, and respectful of the others time and space. But sadly instead we seem to be going the way that the west is trying to get out of – junk food habits and obesity, divorce rates, a credit culture…
Today’s Indian youth is such a confused lot – caught between Fashion TV and MTV on one hand, not knowing what to do with the sudden rise in standard of living – and having to deal with corruption in daily life. You must be following what is going on in India now. What can really save the day is spirituality – that which brings inner peace – and a sense of harmony with the environment and people around.. And that is where Art of Living is trying to make a difference. We have some wonderful youth programs which have created youth leaders, who go out and take charge and make a difference.
Good to know that you have heard about Art of Living already and I hope you like the Ashram and get to know more about it when you visit. I myself am a teacher of Art of Living and have been teaching courses in India and the US 🙂
Great to connect with you ! hugs 🙂
Debjani
hey Anjela,
I am sure you don’t know me but i was the one who commented on that Grumpy Guy’s post on your update. I didnt like his comment when i read it and was upset the moments i saw it…i wanted to blast him up dat moments but then felt pity of him….i maintained my self compose,coz i did not want to update anything further on your post and disturb anyone further…anyways dats d story well told by you..above ..i loved your blog and your various normal days at bangalore, yet turning out adventurous.,,surprising,,funny and wicked…. I would be regularly trackign your blog…and would love to see more blogs everyweek..if not every day..have a great day ahead..and work hard..party harder…bless ya..
Work hard, party harder! I love it, haha. Thanks for the comment and the nice things you said. I have loads of fun writing about life here…It’s been 7 weeks now that I live in Bangalore and every day there is something new! And that recruitment post is turning into a really funny thing in the end. And connected me to a couple of interesting people today so ROCK ON! Really glad it happened in the end.
apologies to misspell your name above…ANGELA.. 🙂
Hey Angela, great article.. i appreciate you making the effort to do your job in bangalore and braving the heavy traffic we see everyday..I would really really appreciate if we can disconnect unwanted connections from our profile and deal with better topics. I see two connections of mine getting in touch with you, which is good…Chintan being my buddy and Debjani a very senior professional !! India is amazing and so are indians, wish you a great stay here and yea there are plenty weekend smoothers in this city, much better then we breaking our brains on a CTO 🙂
Hi Kishalay, thanks for taking the time to comment. It was a fun blog post to write. And I swear I was shocked by the CTO’s quick, insensitive comments but it’s turned out to have brought me a few really nice new connections so I am quite happy it all happened 🙂 By the way, I’m from L.A. so the traffic doesn’t bother me 🙂
I’m really sorry that an idiot spoiled your weekend. Please see below the comment I put on his blog post against you. I don’t know whether he approve my comment or not?
“Problem between both of you are just ego. I respect both of you as senior professionals. But Angela used polite words about you in her blog, while you used very abuse & impolite words about her in your blog. Forget her as American, but you could respect her as a lady or as a mother. Also even though you are an Indian, you described the qualities of an Indian to a foreigner as “Wacky, too dumb, low quality, not worth a dime, cheap talent, pathetic”. With God’s bless you got an opportunity to study in UK, but don’t underestimate rest of poor Indians dear brother. So you think all Indians, who are fresh-graduates are “Wacky, too dumb, low quality, not worth a dimecheap talent, pathetic”? I don’t think you could agree? Because you studied in UK, but not all those who are close to you. Think before you talk, and never try to be smart in front of ladies. All those bad words you used against her are better suit to you, really.”
Completely off topic….but I have to say that I am monumentally impressed you own the URL indian.com 🙂 How is that possible? You must have bought it back in ’95?? Amazing, hope you have big plans for it soon. If not, I have a few ideas 🙂
As far as this guy is concerned, it’s a tough subject for me. As a PR and marketing professional I know that the best response to comments like his original one is “no response” but I didn’t follow my own rules so I sort of have to accept the consequences unfortunately. I have a CEO who would honestly get so upset with me because I refused to respond to “hate” comments about our company online but honestly no response is generally the best response. It’s pretty shocking for me to read people call me a whore, cunt, etc… On top of that, he lies about me, which anyone who knows me would see but if you don’t know me it could very well affect the way someone views me. His commentaries on my life in India, my feelings about India and Indians, etc couldn’t be more wrong if he tried. He’s actually taken my real feelings and flipped them upside down in order to influence his readers, which is a real pity. You know, in the beginning I didn’t include his name, I kept his identity anonymous. But after he posted the first really awful personal attack on my character (again, I find it really strange that he feels he knows me based on a comment on a status update but okay) that I posted the screen shots of the status updates. And if you look at my blog post you’ll see a really rude update he posted about me on LinkedIn in the afternoon that day but you can’t find it on his profile anymore because he deleted it ….so many people started telling him he was wrong and that I was wrongly being attacked so he deleted it 🙂 I really appreciated that support from so many people I didn’t know. Warmed my heart for lack of a better phrase.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts…. and please go do something with indian.com 🙂 that URL is incredible!!! –ang
Sorry Angela. That url Indian.com is not belong to me. I used that just fir anonymity. That idiot is not eligible to be an Indian. So to remind him that he is an Indian too while making bad comments about Indians, I used INDIAN as my name. Have a good day ahead Angela.
haha okay okay, that was clever. Went right over my head as you see 🙂 have a great day 🙂
So hilarious! This gave me a great laugh! Silly internet trolls, love how he goes on and on – what entertainment!