LinkedIn but feeling left out

As many of you may have recently noticed, LinkedIn has a relatively new feature which allows you to add your own skills in the form of short keywords and your 1st level contacts can endorse you for those skills.

When LinkedIn Endorsements were first rolled out, I genuinely added skills that I believed I exercise on a daily basis, but to my surprise, I started receiving public endorsements from contacts I have neither worked nor interacted.

At first it was flattering; I'd log into LinkedIn everyday and check my notifications to see my contacts endorsing me on skills I exercise. It did not take long for that flattery to turn into frustration as it became almost like a game of 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine'. I started receiving messages from those same contacts with a short 'hello, I have endorsed you, please endorse me too.'

In my world, if I were to endorse or recommend someone for a skill or quality they possess, it would only happen if I genuinely believed and experienced that that person actually has those qualities. Let's not forget an important point here; when you recommend someone, your credibility is immediately on the line.