I need to address this – and I am sad that any of this needs to be said.
I am on LinkedIn because of business. Personal drama and Politics do not belong here. Generally, if someone on my feed posts/likes a political post – regardless of position – I drop them from my list. I do not need to see any of that on my daily scroll here.
If I know that someone has valid content that truly matters to my work. If that person is or is connected to a content expert – I will make a comment rather than removing the person. Only once. Just the first time I see it. But I will comment. Something of the nature of, “Can we stick with engineering and stop trying to be cool.” A comment like that is because I have value in most of what is said – I would actually respond to a person who I think can do better. Otherwise I would just remove them from my known indivuals. I do not have a need to block anyone unless they are being aggressive. So I will continue to see some response they post to people in my feed, and I am open to DM from them. I just selectivly remove them so that I do not have my LinkedIn feed muddied by polictics or drama.
Perfectly ok for anyone to then block me and remove me from a feed. Adults can choose who to keep in their feed, in their life, and so on.
That said, it has come to my attention that comments are being made where I am not able to respond. Again, that is the prerogative of those selecting to make those comments. However, I must admit that this is not a choice I would make. I would challenge that this is not a choice that a well-balanced adult would make. So that is my response. I would have rather opened the discussion up with any adult that I offended.
All this said, I know I ruffle feathers. I very easily can be conceived to be the “Old Man Yelling at Cloud.” I know that from time to time I challenge some on technology that I feel is not yet ready for deployment. I have heard that there is a Slack Channel out there that is something like #Piller-doesn’t-like-what-we-are-doing. That is cool, I would like to be a part of that conversation (maybe that group will read this and invite me to talk…). It is how I grow, and I have found it is how others grow with me. I have seen a great deal of things, I have over 20 years of field experience, built a consultancy, taught at Purdue University for 7 years. People call and ask me my opinion on a variety of subjects. I call and ask others – its how Community works. Discussion. Learn. Grow/adapt. Engineer. Respect each other.
So as a call of action. If I have offended you with a resoponse. Or if I commented on a technology and you would like to follow up. I am here. I will find time to have conversation with anyone. It is how we move forward, with dignified conversation.