About three years ago, Dr. Aniruddha Malpani’s account was permanently blocked by LinkedIn.
I am not questioning LinkedIn’s judgment or decision – I respect their right to enforce their rules. But in the last two years, on other social platforms (Facebook, Twitter), many people who were blocked, were allowed back in.
I am not saying I agree with those decisions but those are facts.
I think LinkedIn should reconsider Dr. Malpani’s blocking. Here is why.
At his core, Dr. Malpani is a truly well-meaning person. He brought many perspectives about investing and startups which we don’t hear from others. He spoke his mind.
To be clear, I did not agree with him 100%. Also, I know that Dr. Malpani sometimes got into combative arguments and earned some detractors.
But overall, he represented a voice of integrity and sanity. And I think we need that voice.
Dr. Malpani’s account was terminated because he targeted some EdTech companies and violated LinkedIn’s policies. He could be advised to desist from certain actions and I think he is sensible enough to not repeat those actions.
I feel it would be good to have him back, even if many end up disagreeing with him.
Ultimately, it is for the LinkedIn team to decide and I trust they will use their best judgment.
I think Dr. Malpani deserves another chance. This is just my personal opinion.
***
Full disclosure: I have no idea if Dr. Malpani would like to return to LinkedIn. Even though I know him well, I haven’t spoken to him in more than a year and have not discussed this topic.
– Rajan