Creeped Out By LinkedIn: TSA Friendship Edition

A couple days ago I received and accepted a LinkedIn invitation from a guy I knew back in college, which reminded me I hadn't been to my LinkedIn page in quite awhile. So I visited my profile and made some half-assed updates a la "include my current job which I've had for five months now," then scrolled down its list of "People I might know." Some of them were obviously from my email; others were listed because we had one or more connections in common, or the same employer at one point or other.

Further down the list were names that appeared completely random -- no connections with me, not even in the same field or from the same area, I've no idea why LinkedIn might have suggested them -- but then I saw one name I most assuredly recognized: Thedala Magee, the loathsome TSA agent who became infamous when she tried suing Amy Alkon after Alkon complained about being molested at the hands of Ms. Magee, thus inspiring me to write a couple of scathing blog posts about Magee at the time ... and somehow LinkedIn has enough awareness of this to suggest I might want to "connect" with Ms. Magee.

(Incidentally, I've heard legends of people offered wonderful and legitimate jobs via LinkedIn. I have been unable to confirm them. From my own personal experience, LinkedIn helps you find a job in the same sense that having an email account helps you find a date -- sure, you'll get scads of unsolicited offers, but none anyone in their right mind would ever actually consider.)