Wayward post
(This is Part 1 of a three-part fictional story about Linky the Wayward Post, where you, the people of LinkedIn, decide where the story goes next by voting)
Once upon a time, somewhere deep in the LinkedIn feed, there lived a little post named Linky.
Linky had lost his way. Actually, it was worse than that. He wasn't entirely sure who he was anymore. Was he a founder story? Thought leadership? A hot take? Seven lessons learned from watching a toddler eat a sandwich?
He couldn't remember.
He had no hook. No story. No point of view. Not even a CTA telling people to comment "GROWTH" for the secret framework.
So Linky went looking for help.
His first stop was Bill Yost, keeper of the terrifying diagnostic machine known only as yourpost.sucks.
Bill loaded Linky into the machine. It whirred. It beeped. Several lights flashed. Then everything stopped.
A tiny slip of paper came out. ERROR: NO POST DETECTED
Bill looked at Linky. Then at the machine. Then back at Linky.
"I can tell you why your post sucks," Bill said.
"But first, you need a post."
Linky walked away, crumpled in spirit but, for legal purposes, still perfectly flat.
That was when he heard a voice behind him.
"Of course you don't have anything to say."
Linky turned around. Standing in the shadows was Imposter Syndrome.
"You're not an expert."
Linky kept walking.
"Someone smarter has already said it."
Linky walked faster.
"And if you do post it, there's always..."
Imposter Syndrome pointed toward a dark castle on a distant hill. Lightning flashed behind it. Above the gates were the words: LINKEDIN LUNATICS
Linky gulped. He had heard the stories. One bad post. One screenshot. And suddenly 437 strangers were asking why getting rejected for a job had somehow become a carousel.
Linky ran.
Eventually, he found himself in a strange green forest. A woman stepped out from behind a tree.
It was Nikki Ramirez.
Linky explained everything. The empty post. Bill's machine. Imposter Syndrome.
"I just need to find something worth saying," Linky said.
Nikki handed him no map. No magic compass. No sacred scroll of content pillars.
She simply asked: "What did you notice today?"
Linky told her one small thing he hadn't been able to stop thinking about.
Nikki smiled. "That's a post."
Linky had expected a treasure hunt. It turned out the treasure had been following him around all day. Maybe posts weren't hidden in some magical vault. Maybe they were everywhere. He just wasn't seeing them.
But just as Linky started to feel hopeful, Imposter Syndrome's voice drifted through the trees...
Linky froze.
He had finally found something to post about. Now he had to decide what to do with it. What should Linky do next?
- 👍 LIKE: Post the little thing as-is
- ❤️ LOVE: Make it more personal than professional
- 👏 CELEBRATE: Turn it into a small win worth sharing
- 💡 INSIGHTFUL: Make it sound way more profound
- 🤝 SUPPORT: Ask another LinkedIn pro to review his post
- 😂 FUNNY: Hide it before anyone screenshots it