Month: June 2023

I believe that creating a PLN can involve meeting individuals in person through networking events and social events. In the podcast episode assigned for this week, Sophie Lui highlighted the importance of sending physical tapes and reaching out via phone to initiate coffee meetings and networking opportunities. Though it is difficult to “cold-call” as she stated, it is important to establish your presence with others and create new opportunities for yourself. By utilizing her method and mindset, one could establish personal and meaningful connections with others that can then be used to support yourself on social media. It is also important to make connections with those based on your interests and specific focuses as this could help grow a social media campaign and gain support from others online. Another way that you could create a PLN is by discussing and sharing important issues or topics with your friends, families, classmates, or co-workers to highlight your interests and share resources. By finding and connecting with individuals with similar goals and mindsets, we cannot only create an effective social media campaign but attract other like-minded individuals online and share resources and support one another.

This week the professional setting I have chosen to reflect on is a university learning environment. Within universities, digital communities are formed through professional and educational networks such as Brightspace, Microsoft Teams and Mattermost, however, these can also extend to social media platforms. These platforms allow for a majority of individuals to share their opinions, feelings and information with other students and professors. One element that can have a mixed perspective is the idea of sharing one’s thoughts on class material and resources with others and the consequences it can have. A negative consequence that can arise is that individuals may disagree with each other and use social media as a platform to harm them through forms of exploitation, racism and bullying. In addition, as highlighted in the “Tell Everyone: why we share and why it matters” reading,  it can also lack institutional structure, further promoting misinformation and negativity online. However, this can lead to shifts in how we view certain conversations about diversity and inclusion online and how we can confront them. This can open the door to opportunities for further research into new ideas, perspectives and experiences that promote diverse voices to be heard and shared in the online community. While educational settings can prove challenging to share one’s perspectives on situations and given classroom tasks, it can also provide the opportunity to confront issues and create a bridge for ideas and perceptions that may be different from one another. Using social media to share ideas, experiences and perspectives can facilitate this process and reach out to other communities outside of a university environment. 

From what I have observed and conversations I have had with other students, many students use platforms such as Linkedin and Facebook to develop their professional network. This is done through sharing experiences, opportunities, and skills they acquire or aim to in an engaging and relatable manner. However, when considering how a student could expand their professional learning network, they should first take into account what has already been shared and what they aim to develop or experience. Considering what has already been shared can determine how they are perceived and the level of privacy they have. On the one hand, it could promote their professional learning network by being as open as possible and allowing others to have a more complex and in-depth understanding of the student. However, it could present drawbacks as intimate and potentially misleading details may be shared that could be harmful to one’s career or identity online. This makes me consider how I have created a digital identity in my professional life. Though I have created a Linkedin and networked to find jobs or volunteer opportunities on Facebook, I have taken part in activities and events that have articles written about me that promote a positive identity. I have created this through meaningful and beneficial relationships that have allowed me to grow and network with new individuals. While this is a positive element in my online network, an employer who potentially viewed my social media may have a different idea. My public accounts on social media, which require no following or requesting of access, highlight my personal life, travels, and experiences that I have had with family and friends. In my perspective, I think it mostly shows how I like to travel and go on excursions but depending on the employer or organization it can be misperceived, which is why I need to be considerate of what I post and where.

This week’s readings and videos ignited a sense of reflection and consideration as to what my digital identity looks like and how this is curated. A digital identity is essentially one’s personal beliefs, emotions, cognitions, experiences and interactions that are presented on digital platforms, both professional and personal. It can also be attributed to how one chooses to interact with others and use different tools and platforms available to develop or learn new skills. One’s personal approach to their digital identity in the context of social media appears to be more associated with joy, connection and excitement shared with others online. It also is a way to communicate different forms of information that may not necessarily be linked to one’s career or professional goals, such as birthdays, celebrations or vacations. In contrast, professional approaches to one’s digital identity can involve using educational sites, learning applications and tools and networking platforms such as Linkedin, to connect and create professional opportunities. This could mean that their social media use involves more sharing of content that interests them in an educational or career sense, highlighting projects or activities they are involved in and how they can support themselves and others with new skills acquired. Both these identities have their respective place in society and can be responsible for various opportunities, events and skills that can benefit both their professional and personal lives. One example of this was highlighted at the World Economic Forum Press Conference in which the Indian representative stated that those who were able to gain a form of identification could have increased access to financial institutions and networking and social media platforms, highlighting the benefits and changes in the Indian economic sector aimed to benefit smaller or underserved communities. However, concerns discussed in the Indian supreme court emphasized that privacy, agency and control over one’s data and its use should be of the utmost importance and prioritized for citizens. These two perspectives highlight the importance of aiming to provide individuals access to healthcare, financial support and communities, while also maintaining their privacy, consent and portrayal of their identity.