sandimac

sure - totally agree re: passwords/unsubscribe/etc. I'm not saying LinkedIn has the best product or user experience or retention/engagement - but they have done a great job growing the userbase.

as for flakey - maybe you're smarter than most of the Growth Hacker Conference attendees :) when Elliot surveyed the audience about which channel they'd focus their time/effort on, the vast majority chose the channel with the lowest conversion rate (i'm assuming they thought it had the most potential upside?) - which is exactly the opposite approach that Elliot took (focus on what's working, let engaged users do the work, reduce engaged user friction), and what actually allowed them to grow.