In a very random conversation yesterday, we were talking about a product and I received this msg!
It’s almost an everyday story for us to get compared with LinkedIn. On Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, in-person, or on any other mode of communication, we get asked many similar questions -
I’m already on Linkedin, do I really need a Peerlist profile?
Is Peerlist better than Linkedin?
Are you competing against LinkedIn?
Are you trying to replace LinkedIn?
If you ask me to answer in a word, it would be Yes!
But, if you want to listen to the whole part, it cannot really be binary… We need to consider so many points for this!
Peerlist, The Professional Network for People in Tech! LinkedIn is a Professional Network for Everyone.
I am writing this down just so you can understand the basic difference between the two!
Because we started in the same space where LinkedIn has already made it, we get compared directly with LinkedIn, always!
And it’s not only by you 😄
Here is a truth and a story
We never shied away from the fact that Peerlist started because we faced a problem with LinkedIn. We identified the need for a Professional Network focused completely on Tech and Startups.
We decided to solve these problems we were facing with the existing professional networking! Let’s understand the depth of this problem better!
Proof of Work, Traditional Degrees, and Credibility
In recent years, we all have experienced the shift from traditional degrees to more outcome-oriented work! Unless you can get the work done, your relevant degrees have much less importance than they used to be.
Though this is a debatable topic, having a degree cannot always confirm a person’s expertise in a certain field. Hence you can’t guarantee the execution and results. But on the other hand, having your Proof of Work gives you some level of confidence that the person knows their craft and can deliver the solution!
The credibility of these skills is extremely important when we have so much noise around us and everyone has to move faster!
Content or Noise?
The creator economy is thriving and so does the content. But at times, we are so overloaded with the content that we start missing the thin lines between content and noise!
But, what separates content from noise? Context!
What you are saying and what you are consuming is relevant only when said and read in the correct context! When we name a platform, the context is set
Instagram == Photos
Youtube == Videos
Spotify == Music
Medium == Articles
Substack == Newsletters
ProductHunt == Products
And this will become even more important when you are in a Professional Context!
How will you feel if you went for an interview and the interviewer tells you an emotional Uber cab story without taking your interview? Time and energy not spent in the correct way?
With Peerlist we want to set the right context for you!
Peerlist == Valuable content with professional context
Celebrating individuals, their work, their efforts, and their stories!
In the Professional Networking context, what you have done, achieved, what you are currently doing, creating, and building should always have more importance! The follower counts could be a wrong signal about someone’s skills.
You should not be a victim of the algorithm and your energy should be focused on connecting with the right people.
Coming back to the topic, these were all the problems we considered when we started building Peerlist!
Can we solve all of them?
So, where are we, still competing against LinkedIn?
Again a Yes and a No!
Why Yes?
We are building a Professional Network and so we are competing against every Professional Networking platform out there, including Linkedin!
Why No?
We are more interested in solving a problem than thinking about competing with LinkedIn! We are solving some really critical problems and evolving the Professional Network which we all need today.
Nicely explained difference. I agree with thought process.
Spot on about context and "proof of work"—LinkedIn has gotten so noisy with generic engagement bait. Being able to actually showcase projects is huge; even turning a quick screen recording of a UI or workflow with a video to gif tool shows 10x more real skill than a bullet point on a résumé ever could! https://videotoframes.com/video-to-gif