Eric's Blog

Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can sometimes create conflict because there are different opinions.

Many people disagree about the use of technology, and they would likely have their own preferences for media.

This is because media has become so diverse and it serves a number of functions. The large number of users would eventually result in disagreements.

Factual information sometimes may also be taken the wrong way, because sometimes people don’t like to be told factual information.

There may be a feeling that being told factual information is a sign of ignorance, or that the user has not kept up with common knowledge.

This would require some mediation to ensure that disagreements are productive and focused on addressing the shortcomings of the interaction. This will ensure that there is a large opportunity from the dialogue that has occured.

The benefit of having PLN that values media literacy would likely help contribute to a more diverse platform that takes into account of individual differences.

This PLN would have the essential components that help make it appealing to a larger number of people.

When using social media with a particular audience, it’s important to consider to their needs and perspective. This will help you cater the content that you are posting to these social media channels.

However, there are some risks with engaging with a public audience in a media space.

This is because interacting in a public space invites scrutiny and feedback from others. Given the open nature of social media, anyone is allowed to participate in commenting and sharing.

This means that whatever is posted to a public space can be referenced by others, so it will be important to consider what is being posted.

For a public figure or a person in a position of trust, they have to be very mindful of what they are posting. This is because their words will be taken at arm’s length and can inform the beliefs of others.

For example, a teacher’s opinion will likely be referenced by their students. If these opinions are negative, then it’s likely that these students will adopt these negative outlooks as well.

To address negative replies and critiques, an user can simply choose not to reply to these replies. Social media platform have numerous options to censor these opinions, which can negatively impact the user’s image.

A diverse and inclusive PLN in social media can help individuals participate in social media when they might normally not have.

This is because social media allows for community building and allows like-minded individuals to come together to share their interests.

The messaging that is shared amongst these communities would likely resonated with the members of the community. This is they would likely want to see similar changes or messages being discussed.

A diverse and inclusive PLN would ensure that a number of different things are being discussed. This would advance knowledge on a variety of topics in order to promote equality and discussion.

These PLN would help people feel included regardless of the kinds of issues they have. As communities form, people can feel a sense of belonging.

If you have something that you wish to discuss with others, it’s important that you are able to do so without being criticized.

For me, a PLN is meant to be a repertoire of information and knowledge.

The PLN can be used to house all the information that may be relevant to the social media campaign.

For example, for a social media campaign on sustainability, it’s important that the PLN has all the contents of the campaign. There can be pages on how sustainability can be achieved, the different kinds of sustainability and why sustainability would be important.

These examples could then be further developed into social media posts that can help reach out to users. Individuals would then participate in promoting the campaign by liking the post and sharing their comments on the post.

Therefore, by organizing all the available information that users may find interesting, the social media campaign will have greater success.

Inclusion and PLN

Inclusion in a professional setting can often involve including all coworkers regardless of their backgrounds in workplace responsibilities.

This is important because the office environment may have principles surrounding inclusion and diversity that can be celebrated by the employees.

In the office, social media can help facilitate communication channels that can help with employees in both work and social activities. Social media becomes an extension of how communication is conducted.

There can be important policies and news being shared on inclusion and diversity within the workplace. This will help ensure that the image of the company is also established on social media.

Social media within the workplace can also be used to interact with clients and customers, further promoting the policies and guidelines of the company. Social media helps provide a platform in which messages regarding inclusivity and diversity can be more easily shared with different stakeholders.

For this week, we learned about visitor and resident maps. We delve into further considerations of how much we are interacting with these different social media platforms. Upon my reflection, I realized that I have a good spread of different platforms that I use.

Most of the systems I use for work on a regular basis do not keep track of my data in any capacity. This means I am free to use them without fear that there would be a digital trail for what I am doing, including some mistakes or personal information from others.

Instead, I find that social media platforms are tracking my data usage. For example, YouTube and Spotify both make recommendations based on what I am watching and listening to in order to make a guess on what content I might enjoy. As a result, I find these systems more intrusive. However, I still continue to use them despite this.

I think it’s important that we think about what our convenience is costing us, rather than simply surrender our data whenever we use these systems. With enough usage, we may have given enough data to these large companies over a span of a number of years.

After talking about our personal learning networks last week, it’s important for us to examine how our digital identity takes shape as a result of our engagement with these personal learning networks.

Just like our own personal identities, our digital identity can be thought of as our personas online. Spracklen (2015) and Saira et al. (2019) highlight how such an identity can be constructed and maintained. Social media has been a great tool for doing this, as it can be clear an individual may operate in the workplace or other settings based on their social media profiles.

Eric Stoller (2016) defined digital identity as an identity that is composed of everything that a person does online. Whatever you post, share, and your overall presence online. The kind of things that you look at while you’re online, how you engage with these online platforms and interact with other all encompasses your digital identity.

Stoller likened it to the digital footprint that exists on the internet for you personal. Any work or publishing information that you share on the internet becomes part of this identity that follows you around. This can become almost like your personal brand, advertising potential employers or other stakeholders into understanding the kind of person that you are.

My digital identity is primarily house on social media platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn. My professional identity and work history is on LinkedIn and everyone is able to see this. My more personal life is on Instagram, which is private and only shared with close friends and families. This keeps my professional image separate from my personal image. What kind of digital identity do you have and what are the platforms that you use?

From this week’s materials, we learned about personal learning networks. We can think of personal learning networks as the connection between the different online services and sources that we may use as part of our daily lives.

How are we learning from these personal networks? Well the information that we come across becomes learning. There are news, information and updates provided on these networks, which are accessible by technology. Having a good grasp digital literacy will help ensure that we are using these networks and platforms correctly.

This is important as there are often surveillance and privacy concerns when it comes to using public networks. Data integrity has been a big topic for many and we have be mindful of the information that we are sharing online. Much like concealing your private information being important, it’s necessary to be discreet in the kinds of information that are being shared on these platforms. Given that all of this information is easily and readily accessible, individuals should only post information that they are comfortable with sharing.

Some people may even choose to use these platforms for networking, because interacting with other individuals may help facilitate their growth and learning. Given that a majority of employment of opportunities often come from word of mouth, these platforms become valuable. Individuals can assist companies with hiring trusted candidates and individuals can share their thoughts and ideas about their respective industries.

All of this networking can be beneficial for an individual’s career growth, as they find people that have valuable information that can help guide their career trajectories. The social part of these networks help connect people and reduce barriers to communication for them to possibly work together or collaborate together.

Hi there, welcome to my blog for EDCI 338. I hope you will learn as much as I did in the course, I look forward to meeting everyone!