Month: November 2020

1. If your PLN can be used to help professional development post-course?

Yes, this course has taught me that having a diversified PLN can only result in positive benefits. These benefits came from opening up with other members of your online community. Amber shares that keeping an open mind around new people is important because you never know who is going to teach you something. She explained that having a mentor was a great way to meet other professionals in the industry and grow fast in a profession.

2. Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities and on which platform does your emerging expertise get good exposure?

Social media allows for communication with other professionals. We are fortunate enough that our technology has expanded exponentially, and we can remain in contact with people we have met from work, school or organized sport. Incredibly enough we also have the option to reach out to these individuals whenever and virtually for any reason. However, you cannot rely solely on social platforms for business opportunities. You have to chase business opportunities yourself, whether that is marketing on social platforms, mailing flyers, radio ads, door-door sales pitches, etc.

3. Can you leverage your PLN in future endeavours?

Absolutely, your PLN is a tool at your disposal. Marketing on social media is completely free, so an individual could spend any percentage of their time interacting/posting on social media to expand their PLN. By doing so builds credibility and a relationship with the user in the online community.

4. With consideration to the reading and video interview, how do you ensure that you expand your PLN via social media platforms into spaces that may be outside of your comfort zone?

In the video interview Amber states she enjoys working with people that challenge her, she recommends we do the same. Some elements of my PLN have already expanded to outside of my comfort zone because of the pandemic. LinkedIn is a platform I’ve been neglecting until recently. I think it’s crucial to expand to all areas in or out of your comfort zone, that is essentially how we grow as individuals.

1. Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in public discourse – especially when addressing our differences?

A PLN can help develop the thoughts and ideas in public discourse by allowing for every voice in the room to be heard. Online users have the comfort of sharing their ideas, beliefs, thoughts where they feel safe online. This also allows for other members of the online community to engage and interact and share their testimonials/experiences with others. This can further allow for the development of new ideas, relationships and communities which inherently reduces exclusivity and exclusion. A PLN can hinder our development of thoughts and ideas by having users who discourage creativity. Social media even though a great platform to share ideas, can also be blamed for online bullying and harassment. Platforms of this nature are known for having certain individuals (trolls) who scour the internet and comment either insensitive or rude things on other’s posts merely for amusement.

2. How can a PLN be curated to minimize bias and expand knowledge of the lives of others?

A PLN can minimize bias by allowing for diversity and opposition. By allowing discourse from people with differing backgrounds, beliefs, ideas, races, genders and ages we can ensure knowledge is shared as true and raw as the testimonials that surround it. Allowing for a conversation with the opposition is a good way to reduce negligent information within one’s field. Inherently humans want to be correct, by listening to opposing voices and beliefs we can try to reduce our own bias. In addition, having a PLN that is diverse can allow users to interact and share new ideas with one another allowing for the development of critical thinking. Therefore, the community has smarter individuals who are more well-rounded and contribute more to society.

3. How does the identity of who you are, fit into your PLN?

My identity of who I am fits into my PLN very appropriately. My professional PLN ties in with my professional and educated side- What I mean by that is, my professional PLNs only share accomplishments, achievements, interactions, experiences I’ve had in regard to employment and education (anything a future employer would look for in a potential hire) . I also interact with people on my professional PLN who share the same interests and aspirations. Therefore, we are able to communicate, interact and teach others on our PLN’s.

In addition, my social day-day PLN addresses my identity very true to who I am. The reason why I can’t say it accurately depicts who I am is that social media really only portrays an image or a moment in time. Social media doesn’t see the struggle, and because of that reason, my PLN cannot truly express my identity. Because I am who I am on my happy days, as well as on my dark days.

1.What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

The benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy as Julie expanded on, is having a constant stream of people that can support your ideas as well as share their own insights. Julie shares that media literacy is a crucial skill to have for the 21^st century because we (children, adolescents and adults) process images faster than words. Media literacy allows us to critically think about all forms of media we take in on a daily basis. Since our brains are conditioned to absorb and process the information being projected to us, the messages, however, are not always true and/or accurate. News stations are a perfect example of a business highlighting certain stories and targeting a specific audience for ratings, view count or user engagement. This is a form of bias that we don’t consider, even though we would love to think that news channels have our best interest at hand. Julie cautions the public as we have thousands of news articles to consider, we must choose the honest ones instead of ones that agree with our personal beliefs. Julie also shares that “we tend to be more interested in what we believe than what is true” (Julie). This, however, is one of the sole reasons why businesses target an audience that they know they can reach and manipulate. Therefore, media literacy allows us to answer several of the big questions involving media; what subliminal messages are companies trying to send? What are the company’s intentions regarding the users? Why are they portraying it a certain way? Etc. Media literacy teaches the user to ask “why?” and “what if?” while engaging in active critical thinking regarding the subject. Then the individual will make an informed decision based on what benefits themselves personally.

2. Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict, why does this happen?

Media literacy encourages individuals to question, evaluate, and understand their multimedia culture. It teaches them to become active, engaged media consumers and users. Media literacy is important because it allows consumers to critically think about the messages they’re receiving from media. Mainstream media has been evolving immensely since the beginning of the internet. News stories prior to the internet were shared via newspapers, radio, flyers, and television, currently, media has expanded to videos, pictures, memes, gifs, videogames, advertisements, and social media. Through these means of communication, were constantly receiving information that may or may not be true. It may contain non-factual information, bias, opinions, rants etc. Propaganda is a prime example of false media representation. This can create much conflict; as in the past, it has created wars. A keynote to remember is that media can be circulated to people over the world in the span of seconds. These messages being sent have the power to influence and manipulate consumers’ purchasing. This creates conflict because you’re building a false trust with consumers on a product that may not have any benefit to them. Clearly, human rights conflicts can occur- how far is too far?  Currently, we are seeing conflict in the influencer industry on social media. Influencers have been caught promoting health, fitness, business, beverage, clothing etc. products that have false claims and/or pro. Finally, conflict in the field of media literacy and factual information will always be a battle lost. With millions of users being able to access all of the internets

References:

Miller J. (2020). EDCI 338 A01 – Smith, Julie. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/Z_T9RghwJlI

1. Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?

Social media allows an individual/ public figure to post virtually anything they want (depending on the platform). Which allows for many benefits and risks for the individual. One interesting thing that platforms have done, is to allow for an individual of trust to get verified so that other users know that you’re communicating with either that individual or their PR team. Let’s start with some benefits, firstly social media allows individuals to get new ideas for content, connect with new and existing audience members and enhance the platform or brand image (or name).  Even though we have quite a few benefits- they certainly do not outweigh the risks. Being a public figure on social media the risks are exponential; risk of harassment, risk of a restraining order, risk of public humiliation, risk of a privacy breach, risk of home invasion, etc.

1. How do notable individuals use social media?

Notable individuals that I follow use social media to promote their brands and/or companies they collaborate with. However, are not only restricted to posting about their professional lives-some share personal posts as well. The reason they do this- is to expand their network and influence. As a consumer, I am much more inclined to purchase a good with a personal story attached. However, sharing too much is obviously an issue as well- some notable individuals find it impossible to separate personal and professional lives on social media. This can cause an influx of issues for the individual, a prime example of this would be Donald Trump.

2. What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN? (career development in the public eye)

The benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN are exponential. Firstly, 2020 is the time for the digital world. It’s interesting because you can see when YouTube started in the early 2000s bloggers that started during its launch are now millionaires at the age of 22. The internet is an incredible thing that allows access to tons of information. For example, I have seen many online companies that started back in at the beginning of Covid. And since then their following has jumped from a couple hundred following on social media to fifty thousand because it blew up on Tik Tok. Career development is a positive aspect of social media- being a professional in a certain industry.

3. Building a community with online tools provided by the employer can be limiting, what are the perceived restrictions and benefits of having social media directly associated with employment? (verified accounts because of employment, accounts that are professional versus personal, hybrid accounts)

Being a public figure engaging with users on a public platform, everything you do on social media can have repercussions if necessary. We’re seeing lately that many public figures have lost their job and/or contracts with companies because of controversial topics spoken about online. When a public figure and a company’s values don’t align there is cause for termination. It is important that an individual posts professional ideas that also align with the companies values.

4. Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how does one build a PLN that can be consistently relied on?

One can build a PLN that can be consistently relied on by posting content that agrees with your own values, making sure that any involvement with corporations- that their values are the same of the individual, the individual posts consistently with accurate content, the individual only endorses products that are genuinely good and that they believe in, and finally sourcing information an individual is claiming.

5. How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize risk in sharing misinformation?

   Veteran storytellers can minimize risk in sharing misinformation by only sharing information they know is accurate. By staying in their area of expertise, storytellers can ensure information is valid and precise. Another way storytellers can minimize risk is by documenting all their findings/research. This record-keeping can promote the organization of ideas, opinions, experiences, etc. and can guarantee legitimacy as time goes on.

References

Hirst, M. Navigating social journalism.