Social media can provide both opportunities and challenges when building your PLN. Social media provides the opportunity for others to connect that were previously limited due to physical boundaries. With a focus on building support for the LGBTQIA+ population, utilizing social media allows me to find experts in this area around the globe and to build a larger network focused on identifying issues and finding solutions (Clark and Aufderheide 59). It gives us multiple ways to interact with one another, whether through discussion posts, status updates or tweets, live video, and even anonymously, which can be great for making people feel more comfortable sharing situations or experiences they have faced in the past, knowing that people will not necessarily be able to tie it back to them.
On the flip side, social media does present challenges for communication as well. It is important to remember that once something is out on the internet, it is always out there, no matter how much you try to erase it. I think back to the numerous celebrities, such as Shane Dawson or Jeffree Starr who have been faced with old posts they made that were deemed to be racist or homophobic and have come back to haunt them in our cancel culture. You have to be very mindful and careful about what you post because it can always come back to bite you later, and unfortunately, many times apologizing and claiming to have changed does not really fix the damage once it has been done. Further, there is always the risk of someone “trolling” you and trying to rile things up, or cause issues just to be doing it, which can be hard to deal with and can lead to some bad fallout if not handled appropriately. Also, it is important to think about your employer’s guidelines for social media and remember that people often link an employee to their employer, asking the employer if the employee’s views match their own and this has led to job loss for some people.
My PLN strives to be as inclusive as possible. We want to hear from all sides of the issue, even those who may disagree with us. Regarding LGBTQIA+, we also welcome people who do not believe these individuals deserve the same benefits or rights as heterosexuals to share their thoughts, which while disheartening, is a train of thought that exists. We want to have these members in our group because it helps us to understand what rationale and arguments they have, and we can work on dispelling any misinformation or myths that may exist to help further our cause. If you only hear from like-minded individuals, it is hard to grow and learn, and to be able to help educate and change the minds of others. Through this, we amplify the voices of those who often are not heard or are believed to be less than because of their sexual orientation, and we are able to provide stronger rebuttals to the opposing viewpoint because we know what it is.
As evidenced by Markiel Simpson, it is important to find your voice and your niche on social media, which allows you to build a following and get your message, ideas, opinions, etc. out to the greater community, both locally and worldwide. It is important when you are sharing an important message or campaign that you consider the audience and community in which you are working so that messaging can be better tailored to that group and can be fully understood. Letting others into your life also helps them to build trust and belief in you as someone who can make a difference and change, showing them what you stand for and what you are against, which allows them to know if they align with your thoughts or not. It helps build support networks, such as Simpson did, so that when the negative stuff happens, you have a group that can help you navigate those issues and provide the support you need to overcome whatever you are facing.
References:
Clark, Jessica, and Patricia Aufderheide. Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics. Washington, DC: Center for Social Media at American University, 2009.
Simpson, Markiel. “Miller’s EDCI-338 Interview with Markiel Simpson.” YouTube, uploaded by Miller, 2 June 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsoDHGaXNNs Accessed 29 Oct. 2021.
chloeian0329
Hello Ruobing, thanks for your sharing! Yes, I very much agree with what you said that if we only hear the voices of like-minded people, it will be difficult to grow and learn. Because we don’t know what those oppositional voices are and where they come from. If we don’t listen to all kinds of voices, it will be difficult to educate and change the minds of others. Thank you!
norman00
Hi Ruo Bing bai,
Thanks for sharing your blog post 6. I appreciate your mentioning that social media has become a popular way for people to relax, and it offers many opportunities and challenges. For example, if you want a job, you may follow some academic accounts, which will teach you how to find a job. In addition, we also face a challenge when we use social media, we need to be careful of what we post, as some people may respond negatively, but the best way to resolve this issue would be to change the way we say something.