Month: October 2021

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)?

Public figures or people in a position of trust have the opportunity to reach more audiences in the media space and have the opportunity to establish contacts with more people to open up their own visibility, which is very beneficial to them. But at the same time, being seen by more people means accepting more people’s scrutiny and comments. Once they do things that are contrary to the image they have created to their audiences or say some inappropriate remarks, they experienced a huge backlash and even affect their own work. As audiences might feel that they are unreliable and unprofessional, thereby affecting their reputation. 

How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer social media policy?

I think the most important thing in dealing with negative comments is to distinguish the types of criticism. If it is a constructive comment or criticism, it must be thought through. If we made the mistake, then change it; if not, we should remind ourselves not to do this. If it’s brainless abuse, then you don’t need to care about it. Because those people’s opinions are hard to change. If it causes adverse effects, I believe many social media can report and block these negative comments. We must understand that there will be people in this world who don’t like us, so don’t be too harsh on yourself.

How do notable individuals use social media?

Notable individuals should use social media cautiously. Because their reputation is based on their behaviour and opinion. As Judy Vance said, they themselves are their brand. Their opinion and behaviour will affect their brand. Deviations are likely to affect their careers. Of course, they can also actively interact with the audience. So that they can establish a deeper connection with the audience, convey their ideas more effectively, and receive more encouragement and support.

What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?

The advantage of entering the public eye and owning a PLN is that you will have the opportunity to let more people know you and know what you do. When you have enough audiences, your speech will become influential. Many people will be encouraged because of you, and you will get more support and career development.

Building community with online tools provided by the employer can be limiting, what are the perceived restrictions and benefits?

Through the online tools provided by employers, we can make our communication with customers more professional, and at the same time increase the credibility of the conversation. At the same time, through the employer’s PLN, the content you want to convey can also be spread faster. However, because it is through the employer’s online tool. Our every move is restricted and must be implemented strictly in accordance with the requirements of the employer, so we must pay more attention to the professionalism of the content and the way of speaking.

Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how to build a PLN to rely on?

In today’s society, more often people will unconsciously spread unconfirmed news, causing rumours. So it is very important to integrate reliable information and have critical thinking when seeing the news. Listening to reliable, reputable sources is a less error-prone option, and it is also very important to verify the information yourself.

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

Before sharing information, we must ensure the authenticity of the information, not exaggerating or guiding. Then we have to make our own modifications to the content to ensure that the wording is accurate and the expression is complete, so as to reduce the deviation of the audience’s understanding of the information.

If I were to create a PLN prior to engaging a social media campaign on a topic, the first thing I want to determine is who the audience is for this topic and promote it on the social media that the audience often uses. The aim is to increase the chance that the audience will see the promotion and use their PLN to further expand the scope of the promotion.

For example, I want my topic to be related to computer technology. This topic is relatively professional, and the audience is locked in people who are engaged in computer work and people who are interested in computer knowledge. These people basically follow professional forums (Stack Overflow), company websites, emails, and professional social media (such as LinkedIn). First, I will make some posters, post them at the company location, email them to colleagues, and upload them on the company’s website at the same time to increase the audience’s impression of the event. After a while, I will further introduce the content of the event by posting on professional forums, LinkedIn, and so on. Because these social media can be reposted and shared, the audience will share the activity with people who have the same interest in their PLN. When editing posts, I will also use # to mark keywords. Therefore when people search for keywords, our activities will be easier to find.

How diverse is your existing PLN?

My PLN is divided into different uses according to different social media. For example, I will use Chinese social media, WeChat, to communicate with my Chinese relatives, friends, and colleagues. At the same time, I will share posts on it. People on my WeChat account will also divide into different groups to ensure that the audience I am posting is the group I want, thus separating my personal life and work. I will use Instagram to communicate with my friends living in Canada and share my daily life on it. At the request of the intern company, I will communicate with my intern colleagues through the MS team to broaden my network. I will also use LinkedIn to keep in touch with my colleagues in various periods so that we can help each other in professional areas.

In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room?

In my PLN, I tend to be a listener. I don’t like to say my views out loud. I listen to the views of others and then combine my own ideas to internalize the content. On a private platform, I often share some outdoor life and baking content, hoping to attract more friends to learn new interests with me. But in professional PLN, I rarely express my own voice. I don’t think I am familiar with professional social skills yet, so I don’t want to rush to make some immature remarks.

Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide range of interests)?

This is divided into fields for me. When I am very familiar with a field and have relatively professional views, I am happy to share information. But when I am not very sure of the information to be shared, I am unwilling to share some unverified remarks. I don’t want to be the kind of person who spread rumours, so I am more cautious about the information I share.

How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?

I think a diverse PLN is very beneficial. It can broaden our horizons and enrich our ideas. Let us have an open mind to the world so that we don’t rush to refute it just because we have a different view. Just as there are tens of thousands of kinds of beauty in this world, there are also tens of thousands of ideas in this world. Everyone will have a different view of the world because of the growing environment and personal experience. But when we know enough, we can understand our PLN with our view of inclusion.

In your professional setting of choice, do you think inclusion is actively embraced?

My professional field is computer science. During my studies in school, I found that people (including those in the computer science department) often have some prejudice against people in this major. They think that people who study this major are very stubborn and don’t like to communicate with others. Of course, people with such personalities do exist, and there is nothing wrong with them. Also, I believe there are people with such personalities in all fields. At the same time, they feel that women’s accomplishments in the field are lower than men’s because girls are less good at thinking logically. So, I think in this regard, my professional field is not very inclusive. But these prejudices have not been seen in my internship. My manager is very open-minded. He will not make comments without really understanding a person. Therefore, this gives me confidence that my professional field will embrace inclusion more and more.

What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

I will actively expand my PLN by searching for the content I am interested in. For example, by searching for knowledge about baking and following bloggers I am interested in, I have changed from a person who didn’t even use an oven to a person who can make all kinds of cakes, desserts, and bread. I am very satisfied with the outcome. By sharing the desserts, I made with the people around me, they understand that they also can make delicious food that they thought could only be bought in the store.

How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?

After watching the video and reading the article, I have a deeper understanding of inclusion and diversity. I learned that in fact, everyone is different from everyone, and we are all the same after all. When we want others to understand our differences, others want the same.so there comes inclusion and diversity. By keeping those in mind, it will enrich our thoughts and become a humble person.

Reference

“EDCI 338 – 20 Minutes Moore.” Youtube, uploaded by MILLER, May 30 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSV0rUl1bA

Moore, Shelley. One Without the Other : Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=4832579