Apparently there’s a new way to get dates online: and it’s called Linkedin. I think someone forgot to tell me, has Linkedin become the newest online dating site? Are people now looking for love on Linkedin?

Like just about every person who works, I’m on LinkedIn. I check LinkedIn to keep in touch with professional contacts. I congratulate people on new jobs. I see who’s out of work. The usual.

I’m on there regularly keeping up with who’s working where. And I usually check the “People you may know” section. The section at the top right of the log in screen usually populated by people I’ve worked with in some capacity.

There are the random requests I normally get. I’ve spent my career working in entertainment so I routinely get requests to connect from people within that industry. People who work at studios, TV shows, marketing folks, voiceover agents.

But something’s up. LinkedIn and my dating life are crossing over. That totally, completely freaks me out.

These other requests have been a bit, well, strange. Some of these requests don’t seem to make any sense. First off, all of these odd connection requests are from MEN. Men who are in no way connected to my industry. I don’t usually get requests from people in the oil drilling industry, or box manufacturing.

Then, most of these men aren’t from the U.S. Let’s see, there’s a man from Saudi Arabia whose profile lists he’s a sheik, several smiling men in short sleeve shirts from the Caribbean, a man from India with a grainy profile pic that looks like its from 1972, and a man from Pakistan.

Do I look like I’m perfect for some Nigerian money scam? Or is Linkedin just a great way to meet employed American women online ? Do these men see LinkedIn as just another dating site when they don’t want to shell out the cash to join Match? Instead of jobs, are men now looking for love on Linkedin?

Out of the blue requests were strange enough but then things started to get really creepy.

First, someone I’d had a date with on Match popped up in my “people you may know” feed. Not that surprising since we did work in the same small niche in the entertainment industry. I shrugged it off as a coincidence.

Then, last week, someone popped up in my contacts feed.  Hmm. He looked familiar. Wait. This is a person I’d met on Match. (You can now cue the Twilight Zone music, this is strange.) We are in completely different industries. His email address wasn’t in my contacts. No shared groups. No alumi connections. No shared friends. No contacts in common. No apparent crossover at all except one, Match.com.

Freaky!

Does Match.com share information with LinkedIn?  Are they owned by the same company? Where in data and algorithms would our paths have crossed? (Here’s a post I wrote about what its like to suddenly be dating again over 40.)

No idea, but all I know is that if LinkedIn has become the newest dating site, I wish they’d let me know that up front. At least (so far) on LinkedIn, I haven’t seen the standard online dating profile pic; the shirtless selfie in the bathroom mirror. And please, oh, please tell me that contacts on Linkedin won’t be sending me pictures of their junk.

Lord help me, should I start calling Linkedin “KINKEDIN” instead?

Single people, help me out, are you looking for love on Linkedin? Have you started seeing strange contact requests on Linkedin too?