An Inkling of Linkedin

Setting up a Linkedin account was the easy part. I typed in my name and a password, then I went on to fill out a professional profile. Editing the profile is simple and the buttons are easy to find and use. OK, I get all that, but there's so much more to this platform that eludes me. For instance it says at the top of the home page that you can "grow" your professional network by using your email information.
   I hate the word grow in an economic context. Don't people understand that it doesn't collocate; only living things grow. (Stuff like bacteria and bananas and people and pimples) But I digress. The email set-up didn't work for me. It seems none of my email contacts are with Linkedin, which is strange because when I look for contacts manually using the search bar, there they are, a handful of my friends. Weird!
   The platform also seems to assume that because I have a science degree in horticulture I may be interested in a lecturing job in astronomy. I don't think so. Or that because I'm a qualified teacher a professorship in Music education is advertised for me to consider. Hey, I'm tone deaf, I have no rythym, I'm a science and ESL major, for heaven's sake!
   It also has this weird quirk of assuming that because I'm an author and teacher that I don't know anyone who is a Sales and Marketing Executive and I can't connect with a certain individual because I am outside of her network. This is even though I say hello to her most days and our kids are best friends. I have to get her email address from her daughter in order to send her a request. Whereas someone I know as a friend who happens to work in Higher education was easy to connect with. I just sent them a request and ticked the friend button. I'm obviously missing some vital instruction somewhere, because I keep going from page to page looking at other people's connections and tripping up when it comes to making my own. I guess I am just a dud to connect with.
   The other issue that really bugged me was the group function. I enthusiastically joined a couple of groups and very soon regretted it. Why? Because I was bombarded with emails everyday from two of these groups, who seemed to delight in clogging my inbox with trivial discussions. Isn't that the function of Facebook, not a profesional site like Linkedin? However I made friends with the help button and succeeded in following the steps to 'leaving a group'.
   Despite the teething problems I quite enjoy coming back to this platform every few days. I don't know what purpose it will serve in the long run, but I am willing to play around with it and experiment.