Why I'm Not Playing the Game

Sorry but I'm not playing this game.

I won't optimise my "hooks." I won't manufacture urgency. I won't like my own posts to trick an algorithm. I won't post my own comments after an article or post, 2 or 3 times to make it look like people are engaging.

I write what I think. You read it or you don't. It's for you or it's not.

The Theatre Has Lost Its Soul

Has LinkedIn become a stage where everyone's performing the same tired script? Another "Scrum Master vs. Project Manager" comparison chart. Another recycled listicle about "5 Traits of Effective PMs." Another emoji-laden thought leadership post that wouldn't challenge a goldfish's attention span.

The breathless testimonials. The manufactured before-and-after stories. The "exclusive programmes" with bullet points designed to create false scarcity. The algorithmic gaming that turns every genuine thought into calculated content.

When did authentic communication become this hollow performance where we're constantly manipulating systems instead of simply saying what we think?

I've watched brilliant minds reduce themselves to engagement farmers, crafting posts not to share insights but to trigger responses. They've turned human connection into a metrics game where the quality of discourse gets sacrificed for the quantity of clicks.

The Empty Calorie Economy

Most of what passes for "content" these days is empty calories - it fills the feed but nourishes nothing. It's regurgitated, bland, safe. It's designed to offend no one and inspire no one. It exists solely to feed the algorithm's appetite for predictable patterns.

Real conversations don't need growth hacks. They need authentic voices willing to cut through the noise, to say something that matters, to risk being wrong or unpopular or ignored.

The growth gurus will tell you this is naive - that the content is what readers want and that their approach is the best way to share this with a welcome audience.

Sailing by Different Stars

Our Crew knows who we are. We see value in the journey, the challenge, the adventure; not in manufacturing artificial engagement or chasing vanity metrics. We understand that some of the most important conversations happen in uncharted waters, away from the prescribed shipping lanes everyone else follows.

This isn't about being contrarian for its own sake. It's about recognising that genuine discourse requires genuine risk. It means accepting that not everyone will resonate with what you have to say. It means being comfortable with smaller numbers if those numbers represent real connection rather than algorithmic manipulation.

The irony is that in trying to reach everyone, most content creators end up reaching no one. They sand down every edge that might make their message memorable, every opinion that might spark genuine debate, every insight that might actually change how someone thinks.

The Choice We All Face

Every time you post, you're making a choice. Will you write what you genuinely think, or will you write what you think the algorithm wants to hear? Will you engage in real conversation, or will you perform engagement theatre?

The platform will reward the performance. The metrics will favour the manufactured. The system is designed to amplify the predictable and suppress the surprising.

But metrics aren't meaning. Reach isn't resonance. And followers aren't fellowship.

I'd rather have a small number of connections who 'get it' than some huge farm of uninterested clickers who don't 'feel' it. Quality of engagement beats quantity every time. Real connection is about minds meeting, not numbers mounting.

The Uncharted Waters Ahead

If you're part of our Crew, you already know what I'm talking about. You've felt the tension between authenticity and optimisation. You've watched genuine voices get drowned out by the noise of calculated content. You've wondered if there's another way to navigate these digital waters.

There is. It requires accepting that your message won't be for everyone. It means prioritising depth over breadth, connection over collection, substance over metrics. It means being willing to sail into uncharted waters where the algorithms can't predict your course.

Some will call this naive. Others will say it's commercial suicide. The growth hackers will shake their heads and mutter about "missed opportunities" and "optimisation failures."

Let them. We're not sailing for their approval.

The Real Treasure

The real treasure isn't in the engagement rates or follower counts. It's in the quality of minds you attract, the depth of conversations you inspire, the genuine connections you build with people who think differently, who see beyond the smoke and mirrors of social media theatre.

If you're looking for genuine discourse instead of LinkedIn theatre, you know where to find me. The waters may be rougher out here, but at least they're real.

If you're Crew, then you know.

We choose authentic expression over algorithmic manipulation, genuine community over manufactured engagement, uncharted waters over prescribed routes. Some journeys are worth taking even if... especially if they lead away from the crowd.

"But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek..." then you already know the choice that lies before us.