Recently, I was videographing at a tech event. I got chatting to somebody who suggested I start posting on X to meet more people in the tech space and broaden my network. I had been told this before, but to me, X is somewhere that people go to complain, moan or find videos that have been taken down everywhere else on the internet. I was biased, perhaps prejudiced, but that evening on the train home, I downloaded X.

The next day, I posted an event video from the previous week with a briefer version of the caption I gave on LinkedIn. I think it received 4 likes, but I’d say that’s pretty good for post 1!

Then, that same evening, I was filming at another event at Salesforce Tower (I’m based in London, by the way). Such a stunning venue with the most incredible panoramic views of London. I took a photo to have for myself, but on the train home, I decided to post it on X and use the hashtag Londonmaxxing, as it’s a community I’ve been engaging with recently. They liked and commented, and over the next few hours, the post gained 30 likes!

Now to you, that probably isn’t a lot – but I would never even THINK of posting a photo of the view with ‘If #Londonmaxxing was a photo’ on LinkedIn, and look where it got me! New comments, new followers, new conversations. Maybe I was on to something.

LinkedIn is becoming increasingly frowned upon. Known now for being overloaded with AI slop and long-winded stories that people rarely read, many would say it is dying. If that’s true, who will take its place… and will it be X?

What’s Going On With LinkedIn?

I’m sorry to bring it up in yet another blog post, but AI has contributed heavily to the current state of LinkedIn

AI has provided people with a lot of efficiency and scale when it comes to social media. With agentic AI, people can schedule, plan, generate and automate the entire posting process from concept to writing to posting. Reports suggest that now over 50% of long-form posts on LinkedIn are AI-generated. Whilst using AI is great (or perhaps not) for their workflow, it has led to LinkedIn becoming very saturated with content that sounds very similar.

If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn before, you’ve likely seen this format used dozens of times:

1. A one-line or word hook
2. Short sentences and paragraphs, most of which use very emotive language or metaphors
3. Scrolls worth of storytelling with a liberal use of white space
4. And a clear call to action

I see this format EVERYWHERE. And why wouldn’t I? Don’t fix what ain’t broke, and it has worked for many people time and time again. But with this format being so heavily used by humans, the use of AI is simply accelerating it.

Some argue that people post just so they can say they have posted and show they’re active. But in prioritising quantity, you’re sacrificing quality – it’s cliché, but true. With this attitude, you run the risk of your posts acting as placeholders, and all start to blur into one.

That said, even I sometimes find myself subconsciously using the formula because it is so simple and easy to implement and adapt.

HOWEVER, LinkedIn is not all bad and is actually still a really incredible platform for B2B marketing and sales.

If people are active on LinkedIn, then it’s clear that they want to engage with content related to their work. This makes pitching and cold outreach more favourable, as the platform’s entire concept is networking.

Of course, you are now competing with many others as LinkedIn becomes more saturated, but with a direct, effective strategy, you are likely to reap rewards.

Whilst long-form content on LinkedIn is potentially going downhill, there’s no denying that there is still value in how easy it is to grow your network and meet new collaborators through the platform. In my opinion, it all simply comes down to strategy and how direct you are with it.

If you use AI to generalise your posts and outreach for the masses, you are probably not as efficient as you would be if you targeted a smaller group of people in a more personable, genuine manner.

How About X?

Unlike LinkedIn, X is not labelled as a business platform, meaning it is still commonly used for anything from memes to news. So how does this make X business-friendly?

Well, it doesn’t, really. At the time of writing, X is only going to be appropriate for a smaller group of people, and is more useful for building personal brands than for building a corporate brand.

That said Sprout Social claim that approximately 58% of users engage with brand content every week, and 79% of users follow brands on the platform. This distinctly shows that there is demand and engagement with larger, corporate brands, and there is opportunity for them to benefit from the platform.

X has also been overloaded with ‘AI slop’, and not just text – AI images and videos are everywhere on X, which can make it harder to seek out genuine content. However, I would argue that it takes more time to decipher an AI LinkedIn written post from human writing than it does to identify the difference between an AI-generated image and a real image. Just a thought.

The Question of a Personal Brand

LinkedIn is made to be more corporate-oriented. It houses many of the big-dog CEOs and Founders, and so it is easier to feel like a small fish in a big pond. X, however, is more informal, allowing you to promote yourself more as a personality than a brand. This is an important consideration depending on your professional goals.

My business is literally called withjamie, so the Jamie part is a pretty big deal for me. I want to show my personality and what it is like to work with me through my social media output, so that I’m not just relying on word of mouth or good testimonials.

Personally, though, I feel like I can do this on both platforms. However, I do feel I can post more short-form content (with shorter captions and a single image, like the example from earlier) on X than on LinkedIn.

X is great for bridging that gap on a more personal, informal level. That is not appropriate for everyone, nor for every use case. I still primarily use LinkedIn, and I don’t personally see myself making a full transition to X anytime soon, if ever.

What do you think? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, so email me at jamie@withjamie.co.uk

Oh, and my LinkedIn is Jamie Pickering, and my X is withjamieuk. See you over there 😉