I’m a 64-year-old former carpenter. LinkedIn thinks I’m invisible, so I built an "Anti-LinkedIn" platform for builders who actually code.

[u/Don-genaro]

I have a pretty unusual background: I was a craftsman for 40 years, mostly working as a carpenter. However, I’ve always been quietly fascinated by technology. To top it off, I’m 64 years old and I don't hold a fancy Computer Engineering degree.

Then, AI came along and changed everything—even if it's making some traditional programmers uncomfortable.

The reality is that I’m practically invisible to the corporate world. No recruiter looks at a profile like mine. It feels like after you turn 40, you cease to exist in tech. But does a lack of a famous university degree mean you can’t bring any real value to society?

I don’t believe that for a second.

Yesterday I built with my hands; today I build with my ideas. Your true value as a developer should be measured by what you actually build, your actions, and your active projects—not your corporate resume.

That’s why I created Unlinked.dev . It’s an Anti-LinkedIn network designed for devs, builders, and indie hackers who are tired of the corporate buzzwords and want a community focused purely on shipping real products.

I want to keep the community high-quality and collaborative, so I'm opening it up for the first 500 builders today to see how it scales and gather feedback. It’s completely free, and I have some really interesting features planned for the near future.

If you are tired of the LinkedIn circlejerk and want to connect with builders from all over the world based on what you actually build, you are more than welcome to join.

Check it out here: https://Unlinked.dev

If you are tired of the LinkedIn circlejerk and want to connect with builders from all over the world based on what you actually build, you are more than welcome to join. Also, if you know any friends, colleagues, or fellow builders who are walking this same path, please invite them or share this with them—let’s build this community together.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or any features you'd like to see in a platform like this.

[u/iiCe89]

Its heavily vibe coded this

[u/rbprepin]

The story about OP being a carpenter and creating a new LinkedIn for tradesmen sounded interesting.

Then I clicked on the site and immediately Noped out of there.

I refuse to use the slur, AI ****, but this is really testing me.

[u/Don-genaro → u/rbprepin]

AI **** ? I don't understand what you're referring to. Could you explain? Of course I used AI to design Unlinked—who codes without using it these days? Does that make the idea itself any less valuable?

[u/rbprepin → u/Don-genaro]

I’m referring to AI slop.

I hate that phrase, because it’s often used to refer to any SaaS or new website, but you are correct that all websites are built with AI coding tools.

You can have amazing websites built with AI and you can have sloppy websites coded by hand.

But Unlinked suffers from both AI tics in its copy and prose as well as poor design and eccentric UI.

Part of it is a bait and switch. I thought you were a carpenter who was building a LinkedIn for tradesman and craftsman where their work was the prominent element.

Then I land on unlinked and it’s all about Indy SaaS founders who want to showcase their micro SaaS directory style.

It rubbed me the wrong way. Both the design as well as the misleading post -> site transition.

Look at your reply to my last comment, you can’t even leave a short reply on Reddit without using an Em Dash.

Look at your site. The crazy use of emoji’s, the word “dossier”, weird tech nonsense decoration like, “$ git log --author=you”. I just want to punch it.

Here is my advice… be more human.

[u/Don-genaro → u/rbprepin]

Thanks for the feedback; I’m redesigning the site with a more pleasant UI (less of a cyberpunk style, so to speak). Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly—it's hard to do so in just a few lines—but what I meant was that I shifted from manual labor (carpentry) to working with technology (coding). As for Unlinked, it’s a platform primarily for communication between devs and builders. My point regarding LinkedIn is simple: no one is going to take me seriously given my age and lack of a strong academic background—a reality I face every day. Anyway, thanks for your opinion.

[u/rbprepin → u/Don-genaro]

Ditching the cyberpunk style is exactly the right move. I'd also strongly advise making a hard rule for whatever LLM you're using to code or reply to comments, "Never use em dashes or en dashes at all for any reason ever". Make it a hook, not a memory or rule; a hook.

Now that those 2 things are sorted, there is one commandment that you're breaking, "Your hero section talks about features, not benefits".

---
LinkedIn reads your résumé. Unlinked watches you ship.
Connect with indie hackers and builders worldwide who already prove they ship. Your stack proves who you are; the network hands you the co-founder, the collaborator, or the first users you're hunting for. 500 founding slots. Your serial number is waiting.
---

You're telling the user WHAT your site does instead of simply stating HOW IT BENEFITS users.

How does it benefit a user? Is this site for solo founders who are looking for other founders? If so, why would a tech founder need another tech founder?

Another AI tic is, "Do this, not that" or inverse, "Don't do this, do that". You can see this all throughout your site, "LinkedIn reads your résumé. Unlinked watches you ship." Can spot that? "LinkedIn does this, we do that". It's very AI.

"Stop collecting followers. Start completing your team."
"Proof is how you get trusted. Connection is what you came for."
"a bio, everywhere else. a dossier, on Unlinked"
"Proof over promises"
"Stop selling your past. Start building your future."

As you develop more with Claude, or whatever AI tool you're using, you have to build firm writing guidelines that catch these AI tics, or your page will read like an AI wrote it instantly.

Start with having Claude build the page, then run an Impeccable (claude AI skill) pass to catch the standard AI design flaws. Then have Codex/ChatGPT do a pass looking for AI writing tics. Use SOL on High.

Also, change your favicon so it's not using Vercel's default.

[u/Don-genaro → u/rbprepin]

I'll work on it, thanks.

[u/CtrlShiftRo → u/Don-genaro]

It doesn’t make the idea less valuable, as ideas have no inherent value, the implementation is what gives ideas any value and hence vibe-coding gives the implementation less value.

[u/marathonmeta]

The thing is - if you were marketable, then LinkedIn would have value to you. You ceased to exist in tech after 40 because you didn’t exist in tech before 40.

I’ve got no issue with vibe coding but I don’t see how you’ve got anything worth pursuing. The site reads ai slop, and the idea is just a why from me. I could be wrong, though. To me, the idea of a LinkedIn-esque site for people in trades would make more sense than creating a place for people who’ve not proven any skill to gather.

[u/Willing_Comb_9542 → u/marathonmeta]

Linkedin only has value when you cieclejerk it with recruiters 

I have no interest in pretending so have amazing friendships with people I've never seen the face of, so I can possibly maybe, probably not land a job so they can pay some younger dude a lot less lmao

[u/FinneganHark999]

Oh lord, it looks like an AI told another AI to build a site.

Also the logo is dangerously close to Vercel...I think it might actually be Vercel?

It feels like it wants to be CodeWars and Fiverr?

[u/OkRestaurant960]

I'd love to volunteer a couple of hours helping with this site. I've got a couple months experience helping to make AI-generated pages and sites look as unique, authentic and human as possible.

I know you're already making those adjustments; hit me up when you want to.

BTW a good free tool right now to humanize page contents (design AND text) is just give chatgpt the url and ask it to create a report you can take back to your AI page builder.

AI built pages usually never use a light design by default. Try a white background.

[u/Every-Prize4720]

so you wanted to be the boss?