Elevator Content - Or, The Strange Rise of Vertical Networking

A Common Phenomenon

If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, and I mean any, you’ve likely seen it:
A group photo.
Cramped space.
Neutral lighting.
Steel walls.
Caption: “Great energy with the team today!”
Location: Elevator.

That’s it. That’s the whole post.

And for reasons I can’t quite explain and have no real right to complain about, it drives me absolutely insane.

Why Elevators?

Why is this a thing? Who decided the elevator was a branding opportunity? It’s not the worst place for a photo, I suppose. Everyone’s conveniently gathered. There’s good symmetry. Some nice brushed aluminum. Maybe it signals movement. Or hustle. Or a metaphor for "rising together."

But all I see is: people who could’ve waited 20 seconds to get out before posting.

The elevator post has become its own genre. Its own visual language. You know it when you see it. Slightly forced smiles. Someone's face partially blocked by a shoulder. Maybe a bit of lanyard chaos. That weird fluorescent top-lighting that makes everyone look like they haven’t slept since Q2.

And always, always that tone:
"Spontaneous team magic."
"Love this crew!"
"We’re going places."

(Yes. Up. To floor 9.)

Is This Rational? No.

Is it annoying? Not to most people, apparently. It’s harmless. It’s cheerful. It’s just a bunch of coworkers capturing a moment. And yet, every time I see one, a small part of me wants to scream into a zip-tied cable tray.

Maybe it’s the faux-authenticity of it. Maybe it’s the way the format feels both polished and awkward. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never taken an elevator selfie, and now I feel left out. I don’t know. I’m still working through it.

What This Has To Do With Anything

Nothing. And everything. Because this is what happens when you build things for a living.
You notice patterns.
You see signals.
You tune into systems no one asked you to tune into.
You obsess over supports.
You argue with exposure settings.
And sometimes, you get irrationally mad at a JPEG of five happy coworkers in a stainless steel box. That’s the tradeoff of noticing too much. You start wanting meaning where there probably isn’t any.

So What Now?

Nothing, probably. I’ll keep scrolling. Maybe one day I’ll post a photo of myself alone in an elevator — no context, no caption. Just to see if anyone else feels it too. In the meantime: if I see your team’s smiling faces between floors again, I won’t comment. But I will squint at the light quality and wonder what floor you got off on.

Random Thought No. 2

Filed under: Emotional Reactions to Common Objects

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