Blogpost 5

1. Explore how you would create a PLN prior to building a podcast on a topic of your choice. Please include an exploration of how would you emulate success stories in this space (podcasts that you’ve listened to or seen become noteworthy), and how would you use your PLN with the intent to expand your audience?

I would create my PLN prior to building my podcast on health/wellness, by allowing myself to reach my target audience on most (if not all) social media platforms prior. Once an online presence is established, I can follow and interact with other people who are also interested in this space. When you have access to more platforms you can inherently find a bigger more established audience. Another important aspect of a podcast is having guests that are also well established or well known in the field. Having guest speakers that the audience can relate too is also crucial for a relationship to form between the podcast and the audience- this builds trust in the relationship. One factor I thought of when building my podcast was what would I like to see, hear, watch, listen too? Who would be the guests I would like to see? And finally, what would I expect as a podcast listener? Mo Amir explains it is helpful to go on other social platforms and podcasts to introduce yourself to the different spaces and to others whom wouldn’t typically view your content- you might just spark their interest. Another policy I have adapted when starting a podcast is, I would allow myself to listen to other podcasts in my field and to interact with other podcast that don’t have as large of voices. Allowing myself to receive all information that surrounds the subject helps verify my knowledge as the host. Using life experiences as testimonies specifically in the health and wellness space can help platforms receive that validation as well.

2. Additionally, explore some of the privacy/security concerns to consider when developing an audience on any social media platform? What are the concerns for individuals who become influential in a social space?

One can have many concerns with privacy/security when developing an audience on social media. One should be extremely mindful of what is posted on forums, chats, platforms etc. Often as someone seen in the spotlight (having a podcast) you will have many speculators, and anything said that is differing can lead to discussions- but sometimes harassment, death threats, private information leakage, stalking etc. Privacy is so important as an individual- even though we have platforms to share our personal lives yet sharing too much can be extremely dangerous. Some professionals hire social media consultants to edit out familiar images/locations in their photos so their locations can’t be traced easily. This goes to show how impactful letting thousands or millions of users into your personal life can be. It is recommended that having differing personal and public social media platforms could be beneficial to avoid privacy harassment.