Billionaire Elon Musk has made waves since he acquired Twitter in October 2022. He has auctioned off company furniture and decor, fired employees and laid off others, changed policies on hate speech and misinformation, and has promised to turn Twitter into an “everything app.”
Now, he’s aiming at LinkedIn, the leading professional networking platform. In a tweet on Saturday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called the Microsoft-owned site “cringe.” He didn’t even hold back in his assessment of the competitor, noting that it has become more of a place to post inflated job titles than a professional resource.
In a follow-up tweet, Musk said he prefers email for professional networking, calling it the best way to avoid spam and “people trying to promote themselves.” He also noted that the X-owned social network — now called X (formerly Twitter) — will soon introduce a new feature allowing companies to establish professional networking, including posting jobs.
According to a blog post on the X website, “X Hirings will allow verified organizations to showcase their most critical roles and organically reach millions of relevant candidates.” The feature will be available on a beta basis.
X has been rolling out new features at a breakneck pace since Musk took the helm. It has added a paywall, rolled out a redesign, and tested new functions like video calls. The changes may run afoul of app store terms and conditions as well as social media regulations around protecting users from online harms.
One of X’s more controversial changes is removing its block function. The removal has been met with a chorus of criticism. Blocking is a form of moderation that helps people avoid harassment, but it’s also often used to weed out spam in replies or stop abusive behavior. For example, if you report an account, one of the first pieces of advice you receive is to block or mute it – but muted accounts can still stalk your posts and make unwanted replies that other users see. It’s not clear whether X will restore its blocking feature, though.