Month: October 2023

Prompts:

Reflecting on how you would curate your social media with a critical public audience.

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, and government official)?

Include in your blog, how to best address negative replies and reviews which reflect your personal values

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To curate my social media for a critical audience, I would ensure that the information I create and post is as factually accurate as possible. It is commonly noted for those in the public eye to be very cautious of the information and kinds of posts they are sharing. When an individual is in the public eye I think that it is important that they consider the level of impact they have, especially for celebrities and even more for online influencers. For those that have gained a large social media following it can be an ego boost but there is still responsibility that comes from this. Misinformation and disinformation is easily spread online . This was especially note worthy during the pandemic when many people where looking for answers and social media platforms weren’t moderating content has intensely. The result of this was harm to many. Thus, if I had to craft a social media that had a critical public audience there are some activities I would do and things I would keep in mind.

For information sharing, I would rely on reputable sources for gathering information and link sources. I also aim to engage with reputable sources online and encourage those within my PLN to do the same. I will do these activities to make sure that there is less that the audience can critic me for. Like many other researchers or academics it is common that they will engage in others with similar fields. They do this to keep up to date with current and evolving academia. They also commonly will provide resources or citations when talking about certain topics. I think that this is similar to the way I would like to interact with my PLN. Additionally, I think that engaging in this way on social media will allow me to interact with others that operate in the same fashion. Thus, leading to a more connected and reputable impression of both myself and my peers.

I aim to provide factual information and share my knowledge with those in my PLN. I would also consider a private account. Although having a more private PLN would limit the amount of individuals I could reach, it would help me to only reach those within my community. This would allow me to limit the amount of individuals that can view or interact with me through social media. It is important to understand that when you are putting yourself on social media that some things forever remain on social media so it is important that you stand behind everything that you post.

There are both benefits and risks of engaging with a public audience in a media space while being a trusted member of the public. The benefits of doing so to engage with others and expand your view point, influence opinions, share your own thoughts. Through social media we can engage with others and listen to their differing opinions. Of course there are some exceptions such as hate speech but overall the internet is a great space to communicate with others about topics. When new information is shared, an individual may change their viewpoint and expand upon their existing one. This allows for a more diverse PLN and benefits everyone within it. As a member of a PLN you can also share your opinions and converse with others. This allows you to gain more insight into topics and enrich your understanding.

While the risks of engaging with a public audience in a media space is privacy concerns, the constant threat of public scrutiny, and threats. For those online, privacy is a big concern. Due to the many instances of data mining, your information can be used and sold and could be used for nefarious reasons. Once an individual has your information, they may choose to leak it which puts your safety at risk. As a public figure, many individuals may inflate the public figures image and if the public figure makes a mistake then they could become the target of harassment. Often times there are tirades against celebrities and the perceived wrongs that they have either said or committed. Finally, if that isn’t enough threats against one’s safety is also a major concern. Many individuals online will threaten public figures with no remorse because they think the internet is anonymous. Threats can be said against one’s life or even loved ones. This is a serious concern for those who on a public figure.

In order to manage negative replies and reviews I would need to determine the cause and if the negativity is warranted. If the negativity is unfounded then I would remove the comments or mute/ block individuals. Social media should be moderated and controlled in order to not spread disinformation and reduce misinformation. Hate speech is another example of the type of speech that shouldn’t be tolerated. While to manage the warranted negative replies and reviews, I would aim to respond to the individuals through a post directly. This allows me to create dialogue and not allow the negativity to create a larger effect on my PLN. For warranted negativity, I would aim to correct if necessary to ensure that the reputation I created wouldn’t be tarnished. As a public figure there are many things that they must consider when posting and engaging with others online.

Prompt:

• What are the benefits of a diverse and inclusive PLN in social media sharing that understands where you are coming from with messaging that impacts the community?

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Diverse PLNs are a great tool for everyone to take part in. There are many aspects of diverse PLNs that stem from the internet that allow for increased sharing of knowledge. Knowledge sharing is not limited to geographical location. In the increasingly digital and global community, social media is a vital tool to engage with. This fosters inclusivity which will only provide more enriching knowledge sharing methods, such as conversations and infographics. Additionally, the varying contexts where PLNs are created is another reason to employ them into one’s life. For example, in the educational context online PLNs can be used to share research, host webinars, and engage with others in different locations.

There are a multitude of benefits of having a PLN that is applicable to wide audience while targeting a certain topic or issue. For example, some benefits of this are:

1. Increasing Awareness: Often times having a diverse network allows not only the individual sharing but also the people receiving the information to be exposed to new viewpoints or backgrounds. This is an important part of being online as we all need to expand our ideas in this increasingly global community. We can gain empathy and approach situations with more knowledge rather than with ignorance.
2. Community Impact: Being inclusive with messaging, your PLN is a powerful tool used to positively impact the broader community. By bringing issues to light, whatever the issue may be, you can raise awareness about issues that arise that affect members of your community or just general social injustices.
3. Personal Growth: By interacting with individuals from varying backgrounds, we can all demonstrate personal growth. Everyone brings a unique perspective and understanding other people’s perspective can allow us to be more open-minded and expand our current opinions.
4. Enhanced Learning: Through diverse PLNs it is possible for you to gain more perspectives and more insight that you may not have gotten elsewhere. PLNs combine multiple individuals and is a space to learn and share. This further shows the impacts of social media as it can bring so many individuals together.
5. Targeted Messaging: Through social media platforms it is becoming increasingly easier to target your audience and deliver information to them Social media is a valuable tool that demonstrates the reach the internet has, it allows you to reach a wider audience with the same message. This can teach us how to communicate better and collaborate with other individuals.

How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved?

My thinking towards PLNs has evolved as I have learned more about it and as I have grown. Both the reading from Shelley Moore and Leyton Schnellert and the interview with Shelley Moore have great insights around this topic. Traditionally, inclusion stems from assimilation. There was a conscious effort to amalgamate diverse individuals from diverse backgrounds into a system. Unlike now where inclusion involves inviting diversity into a variety of spaces.

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Social Media, Inclusion, and Diversity in a Professional Setting

In a professional setting inclusion can be very difficult unless there is conscious effort. Social media can be helpful in showcasing to others how the business or organization is committed to inclusion. It can also be used to create opportunities to learn more about inclusion and diversity. An example of a professional setting where these tactics can be used is in healthcare.

Within healthcare organizations inclusion is very important and there are training modules centred around inclusivity for different communities. In recent times, awareness towards indigenous communities is increasing. There have been initiatives and campaigns to spread information about ensuring equal care to indigenous individuals. I believe that through social media we can create spaces to share about how we aim to increase diversity and inclusion for all. This is important because it allows other organizations to see this effort and make changes in their own organizational culture. Additionally, there can also be efforts to support workshops to learn more about these topics. Most of the time the lack of knowledge is the barrier to change so by increasing awareness we can try to create more positive change. We can also connect with diverse voices in our communities. Social media allows us to reach audiences that we are otherwise unable to through traditional means. Thus, these are the ways social media can help create and include more diversity in professional settings.

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Prompts:

• What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?
• What could the student consider in expanding their professional learning network?
• How does data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?
• In your network, how can you create a digital identity/ reputation?
• Consider how an employer would respond if you applied for a job with them and they assessed your social media presence via your digital identity.

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Developing Professional Networks for Students

Many students turn to LinkedIn develop their professional network. Personally, most if not all my friends who are looking to apply for co-ops or jobs have a LinkedIn. It helps students create a network of professionals already in the field.

Expanding Professional Learning Networks

For many students it can be intimidating to try to create, never mind expand upon a professional learning network, which is why it is important to learn to get over such fears. These fears are only barriers to expansion and success.

For practical steps, a student may begin to:

1. Talk to professors about their experience in the field and ask to connect to individuals that the professor knows
2. Aim to just look for more individuals in the field that they can connect with through professional social media like LinkedIn
3. Connect with co-op coordinators, they are often in tough with alumni in the same field or other professionals

The Effects of Data Privacy and Security on PLNs

I think that data privacy and security both limits and promotes digital identity. Data privacy is a growing concern for most individuals as their online presence is able to be dissected by others on the internet. So I think that data privacy and security can limit PLNs because many people are afraid of personal information being leaked or spread online. Many people don’t put their photos on their account which can make connecting to others difficult as they don’t know if this is the right account.

Although, I think that privacy and security can also promote PLNs because once you have established a reputation online this helps create community. Once it is established that someone is trustworthy (for example through security measures), more people are likely to join that community if it aligns with their beliefs. Ultimately, privacy and security online is an important topic to discuss as more and more individuals become a part of the online community.

Creating a Digital Identity/ Reputation

Within a digital community/ network, creating a digital identity or reputation is easy. All you have to do is start contributing. For example, within my personal network all the posts I interact with through liking the posts or commenting or sending the post to friends is all interactions that I am creating within this network. Additionally, creating my own posts is also a form of interaction because my friends are able to like the post and engage with it. Our digital identities are crafted through our interactions on the platform.

Employer Response to my Social Media

If my employer saw my social media, I think they would response neutrally or positively depending on which social media of mine they found. For my personal social media, I think my potential employer would respond neutrally. I don’t have anything inappropriate on my account or anything related to any jobs. For my professional network, I have chosen to put my accomplishments and other details about my past employment. I think this would help a potential employer get a better sense of me so I think they would response neutrally.

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Reflection on Group Activity

In the group activity, we all shared our visitor and resident map. This was insightful because I was able to see how my other peers interact with the internet. I was able to compare their visitor and resident maps to mine. From this, I was able to gather that most of us had a stark contrast between professional and personal interactions online. The different dimensions of the map are all important for us to reflect on as it demonstrates how we behave on the internet and how that may affect our digital identity.

Here is a picture of my visitor and resident map.