Social media can help people reach out and connect in different community- based communications. Through the advancement and popularity of social media it has allowed individuals to have a voice and reach out and make connections with not only their surrounding circle but people further away. Social media has made it so there are more opportunities for conversations and collaborations by the people to form different PLN. There are many benefits to being able to collaborate on a huge scale but along with anything there are always challenges that you could face when using social media as a tool for community-based communication. A challenge that some people might face is the lost feeling of closeness and personal connections.When you are talking in person or over the phone you are able to hear speech inflection and tone; meaning you are able to really understand exactly what way a person is meaning something. You also have the ability to use non verbal cues that allow for the person to feel like they are being heard. It is a lot easier to try and form an authentic connection with someone when they are standing right in front of you. When we consider communication through an online platform there could be a challenge of not grasping the message being portrayed in the correct manner. Online communication can also be hard as some people find that talking through zoom or FaceTime is uncomfortable because you are very aware of what you are doing and there could be lags or stalls in the conversation. Another major thing to consider is whatever you say online can not be taken away, so you have to be careful and make sure that any information you are giving or opinions or thoughts you have are in a place where your privacy is being protected. Social media can be amazing because it gives us the ability to connect with others that we might never have been able to before. It allows you to research, collaborate, and post things that interest you and that you can share with a large group of people who also enjoy the same things. But there are also many things to keep in mind when you are using it. People need to make sure that the groups you are associated with have your best interest at heart.
Personal Learning Networks can be used in many different forms, such as for professional and personal use. I think depending on what you are using the platform for depends on the kind of image you want to be portrayed. When you are using your social media to communicate to the public or others I think it is very important to make sure that you are very authentic in the things that you are posting. You want to make sure that you are not false advertising or creating a version of yourself or your business that is not real. When saying that it is also important to consider not only how you represent yourself but how you interact with others. You want to make sure that you are respectful and never post any hate out there. Sometimes if you are too honest or go over the top with your opinions on certain things you can receive a lot of backlash or hate. Once something is out there it can never be fully taken away; so before posting something a good idea would be to think about if what you are about to say or do is going to affect or harm a person or group of people.
Hi Leigh!
I really liked your point at the end about maintaining authenticity and how you wanted to be sure that you aren’t presenting an image of yourself or your business that is not true. I think sometimes when posting online, there can be a feeling of being free or removed from facing consequences; where people feel as though they can get away with a lot more simply because it is online so it is easier to lie or embellish. People feel that they can disconnect from reality and create a better, more successful version of themselves. The problem with this way of thinking is that eventually the truth will come out in one way or another, especially once people will want to see these things represented in person. And when they do eventually come out, the reputation of this person or their business will forever be tarnished and they will be branded as untrustworthy for the reminder of their careers. That is why it is so important to resist the temptation to build yourself up online, and to instead remain honest about who you are and what you have achieved so far. This is a point I didn’t touch on in my own post, so I’m glad that you brought it up and I was able to read it!
Good post! I like how you said that it is important to be as authentic as possible while conversing online. I am a big believer in this as I think that it builds a firm trust with your followers and allows you to naturally grow your following. I also agree that you don’t want to be building a fake version of yourself online. I believe that this will negatively impact your personal wellbeing and how you are viewed in the real world.
– Braeden