My EDCI Blog

Month: October 2021

Blog post #7

October 29, 2021 / / 6 Comments

What are the benefits of a diverse and inclusive PLN in social media sharing that understands where you are coming from with messaging that impacts the community?

Having a diverse PLN that understands you, can notably aid in expanding/conveying your message about something impacting a community. There’s an abundance of benefits as support can go a long way. For example, having a reliable PLN that believes in your credibility can trigger more interest in your message. This not only can build a following but this slight increase in traffic can allow for people to begin conveying your message to their PLNs. This can cause a domino effect and allow for your message to expand and reach such a varied amount of people that you may not have had the ability to reach. We have noticed from the past couple of weeks just how impactful a diverse and inclusive PLN is, and this is another great example of the positive effects it can have.

Consider the audiences and how we adapt our messaging accordingly.

Knowing our audience will determine a lot about how we configure our messages. This can include things like the tone, relating to emotions/logic/credibility, the platform (Jansen, et al., 2011), what’s important, etc. For example, if I was wanting to speak about climate issues to the students of Uvic I would most likely do it online (as us university students can usually be found online!) and I would make the message be factual but also emotional to really grasp the issue! However, if I was going to convey this message to another demographic, I might use a credible endorsement to better shape my credibility in order to get them to listen and believe me! Knowing your audience is so important in order to not only get success from your messages but to build a lasting impression and thus grow your PLN.

Research our guest and see how they leveraged their network into a campaign.

As I began to look into our guest Markiel Simpson, I came across an article that was super eye-opening. I found an article that spoke about how a man named Svend Robinson posted some tweets which were littered with offensive and distasteful side-comments towards Simpson to support Jim Hanson, who was also a candidate for NDP nomination in federal riding for Burnaby North-Seymour (Smith, 2021). The reason this specific article resonated with me and caught my interest was those who supported Simpson came to his side immediately and began to dismantle Robinson’s tweets. They analyzed that Robinson was making claims that were simply outdated and spoke up against this, just as Simpson does! I think this showcased the importance and the impact of a strong PLN and this revealed how even without action, a PLN can work together to leverage someone! I know this isn’t how Simpson on his own leveraged his network into a campaign, but it does show how his network leveraged his campaign simply because they believe in and support Simpson! (Harrison Johnson makes such strong points, please give this a read. I believe more of us need to understand and really reflect on the messages Robinson is saying. Words and ideas like that, can only continue to hold us back, and by actually calling these individuals out and noting the negative impacts of these words can we begin to dismantle them)

Jansen, S. C., Pooley, J., & Taub-Pervizpour, L., 1967. (2011). Media and social justice (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Miller, J. (2021, June 1). EDCI – 338 Markiel Simpson. YouTube. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsoDHGaXNNs.

Smith, C. (2021, March 25). Supporters of Markiel Simpson and Jim Hanson Duke it out over Twitter. The Georgia Straight. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://www.straight.com/news/supporters-of-markiel-simpson-and-jim-hanson-duke-it-out-over-twitter.

PLN in The Public Eye

October 23, 2021 / / 2 Comments

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)?

Engaging with a public audience in a media space has a lot of benefits but also risks. Interacting with a public audience in a media space allows for such a diverse interaction that can reshape and guide individuals’ opinions. For example, a public audience is extremely vast, with people from all sorts of backgrounds, experiences, communities, and cultures coming together to share their opinion. Another interesting part of this is that media can allow people to be more honest. This is because some individuals choose to create accounts that are an alias and this can allow them to express themselves freely without fear of someone knowing it’s them. This leads to such raw and real opinions and stories, that can expand others’ views and opinions from their interaction in the media space. Risks of course are prevalent though too. Engaging with a public audience can be difficult as I said previously it can be anyone and expressing personal information can be dangerous to your security. 

Risks for a public figure/person in a position of trust, can be astronomical. In terms of a media space, individuals hold a lot of expectations from public figures and trusted people. A public figure is pretty much defined from their supports and their online presence can either drive their success or completely obliterate it. “Cancel Culture” is a good example of the detrimental effects of errors online. Canceling is when individuals deem a person no longer supported by something they have done (online or not). Usually, this is justified for example Harvey Weinstein was canceled a few years ago from his mistreatment and abuse that was shared online from survivors. On the ladder though, there are people who are canceled for simple errors that don’t justify a person being deemed unsupportable. Another “trend” or theme which is arising right now is the canceling of individuals from their prior social media posts. A lot of young figures right now are losing fame and credibility from old tweets and posts that held offensive and racist comments. All this canceling from media presences whether it being current or actions from years prior, a figure is defined by this action in the public eye. 

How do notable individuals use social media?

Notable individuals use social media very consciously. These individuals are generally in the public eye and have a following base. Being that their actions are followed and commonly spoken about (from media coverage), the things they do on their platforms have to have a purpose. Social media is a way to showcase the things they like and what they’re up to personally and professionally. They use it for the same reasons we do (except they can make lots of money from brand deals and marketing their products/brand), however, they are judged on a completely different scale than us. For example, a notable individual with a million followers posting a photo with a product that promotes weight loss could receive backlash for trying to market that product to a young demographic or backlash from trying to sell a product that doesn’t work. I on the other hand could post this and my friends and family who follow me could possibly think it’s weird I’m posting a product that doesn’t work, but I wouldn’t receive hate or lose credibility. All in all notable individuals use social media with the consequences in mind and have to make a conscious effort with all engagement and posts. 

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

Being a public figure opens many doors and vastly affects your PLN. For example, I have 778 followers on Instagram (not even that many though as spam accounts and random inactive accounts litter my following), these are the individuals who engage with me socially as my posts and actions reach their feed. In contrast to someone with over a million followers on these platforms, they have access to almost anyone they want. If they want to engage with someone in Scotland or someone who works in Tech, these people are easy to find and get a response. I on the other hand must make a bit more effort, as I am a stranger, while people in the public eye are seen as peers/friends from the start. This initial credibility allows for them to expand their PLNs quicker and easier than myself in comparison. Also, imagine if I posted to my story asking a question, I could assume maybe I would get 10 responses depending on the topic as only those very close to me would probably answer, however a person in the public eye could receive thousands of replies as people feel comfortable engaging with these figures in comparison to someone they know of (acquaintance) in their personal lives.

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

Building community with online tools can be restrictive however, also beneficial. Restrictions can be present in communication and expression. Online tone can be lost and what’s trying to be expressed can be read differently than attended. I have sent a handful of messages and have had people think I was angry or sad when I was the opposite, but you don’t have to ques you usually get in person (facial expression, tone, movement), online. Another restriction is the fact you can’t genuinely know what’s true online. Those you interact with and things you are told at times can be very different than what you think because online and behind a screen, people think they can do anything. In contrast, though, there are benefits to building community online. Online tools allow us to reach like-minded individuals easily and allow us to participate in the conversation. Online tools are open to anyone and that means we don’t have to experience exclusion and instead inclusion, helping us expand our thoughts and opinions.  

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

Building a reliable PLN takes a lot of extra effort nowadays. We live in a world where “Fake News” is super prevalent. The number of times I have come across pages and posts about crazy alleged stories is astronomical. This has made researching and fact-checking a must when finding information on something. If we simply take any information we see as fact, our PLN will be littered with unreliable ideas/thoughts which will negatively affect our learning process. All in all, this showcases the importance of fact-checking and only accounting for reliable sources when building our PLN, or else we limit our growth.

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

Making sure to consciously speak to others can help minimize the opportunity of misinformation. By this I’m referencing what was spoken about above, making sure the stories you spread are factual and are built from reliable sources. This conscious action is the only way to stop this misinformation from being spread but it also allows for your credibility to not be ruined. Veteran storytellers have a talent for conveying things but if their credibility is ruined, no one will want to listen anymore, therefore conscious actions are vital. 

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Vance, Jody & Miller, J. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 03 – 21 JODY VANCE.” 03 Mar. 2021. doi: https://.youtube.com/watchv=dgZOJgJKdyl&feature=youtu.be

Hirst, M. (2018). Social Journalism and the Gig Economy. Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen Journalism. Ch. 6.(pp. 142-143). New York, NY: Routledge.

Blog post #5

October 16, 2021 / / 5 Comments

Topic : Marketing

Using social media to develop PLN:

Using social media to develop my PLN in terms of a topic around marketing my opportunities are quite vast. Marketing blends the world of business with the psychological and art world. Understanding how to properly project your given advertisement with the knowledge of proper design as well as understanding how it will affect potential clients is vital with marketing. Being that this topic considers a few backgrounds and topics it opens the demographic to who is interested in this topic. My audience for marketing could easily be found from forums with Artists, graphic designers, businesspeople, and even psychologists. Not only is forums and groups a great way of reaching out to people in the particular sector, Currently Instagram and Tiktok are extremely viable sources for like-minded individuals in this topic. Instagram is a place for individuals to post and express their work so finding design and business forward people from hashtags and different pages is very accessible. Another cool trend on Tiktok currently is people taking companies’ logos and rebranding them to look more modern or luxurious! This trend has opened a new door for like-minded marketing individuals to come together and find influencers to build onto their outlooks on marketing and design. So, with all these opportunities to expand a PLN, I would begin by joining forums and engaging with the diverse variety of people linked to marketing to expand my overall beliefs and opinions on the topic. Then from there, I would begin to follow marketing-driven individuals on Instagram to grasp incite from professionals in the field. I would also do the same thing with Tiktok and engage in the comments which can at times have such good insight into a video!

Using PLN to leverage needs of a social media campaign

If I was going to curate a social media campaign around marketing, my expanded PLN from before would allow me to do quite a lot. A social media campaign creates traffic, improves engagement, gains feedback, and hopefully increases sales. By using my diverse Facebook forums, I would be able to create a huge number of connections. Using those connections, I could easily gain traffic and engagement by reaching out to these people but also the forums themselves. Another great way would be through the use of Tiktok. Many individuals are now using Tiktok to gain popularity and interest and by using my account which I made connections with prior through comments and profiles I could reach similar individuals through my fun Tiktok, which also could gain interest from anyone on the app! Tiktok is such a new and amazing way of marketing as if you gain popularity from one video, your whole company/product can quickly rise to fame! Not only could I gain engagement and traffic with my PLN but these connections I curated can be integrated into my campaign, through endorsements and actual participation in the campaign.

My PLN and Inclusion

October 7, 2021 / / 3 Comments

Inclusion in Business

Inclusion is a word we hear a lot growing up. However, what does it really entail? Well, from my reading of One Without the Other I came to understand it as a concept of equal access and participation (Moore, 2017). This concept in Business (my current program) can be complicated, as it can be an environment of exclusivity especially with social class (which I can say from experience). However, with time and the help of online communication, this industry has progressed in terms of diversity and inclusivity. Nowadays we have access to free business seminars through applications like Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube which allows individuals access without the worry of costs, location, qualification, etc. This allows any interested individual access to things, which before these applications, wouldn’t have had access to. This can also break a barrier in terms of language or inability of hearing, as at times, closed captioning is available. We also can see this progress in inclusivity from many other applications such as accessible communication with email and easily made connections through Instagram and LinkedIn. Not only has the business world expanded with Inclusion and Diversity, but it is now a contributing factor in the rating of businesses! As we evolve and begin to become a more accepting and understanding society, businesses as well, have begun to understand this importance.

* How diverse is your existing PLN?

In my PLN I like to think it is diverse however, when really looking at it, those who make up my PLN all fit into a similar category. I’m not saying there isn’t much diversity, I’m just noting that those I interact with and learn from the most, share similarities in terms of social class, location, sexuality. This isn’t regarding my extended PLN as online and in the classroom, I try to connect as much as I can (hard at times when socializing can be tiring haha), but I think this week taking time to really reflect has led me to want to be honest with myself. Without this initial realization, I will never be able to grow my PLN and with time and exploring on and off-campus I will be able to genuinely diversify and expand my PLN.


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

I have quite a few voices I learn from especially being on campus and having a business-minded Mother (who is someone who somehow has a bigger personality and voice than me), but I at times can be the person who takes voice. Being that I am this loud and at times overbearing person, when thrown into conversation, when I have a point I can add, I do. This makes for more of a combination of the two in my opinion because I am always open to learning from any person that comes my way, but I just happen to be someone who must also give input when with others.


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

I think I have a wide range of interests; however, these things do seem to intersect in suspecting but also unsuspecting ways! So, although there is a wide range, they end up connecting and forming this link between ideas. I don’t ever want to hold myself back in terms of learning therefore, I try to expand my knowledge as much as possible and find joy in connecting these different things.


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

Inclusion for some is better described as integration as we saw in The Evolution of Inclusion: The past and future of education by Shelley Moore. Therefore, by diversifying our PLN and not just integrating diversity and instead including it through participation and collaboration, you can not only expand your ideas of inclusion but genuinely create a diverse PLN. Think about if you’re PLN was made up of only like-minded individuals who came from the same background /experiences. You would end up gaining perspective from a not really varied group, leading to a basic and almost one-sided thought. However, by including anyone, anywhere, into these thought processes and gaining their perspectives you can begin to build such an expanded idea of inclusion or simply anything!


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

I think nowadays Inclusion is at the forefront of most businesses, I mean inclusivity is a huge part of how customers choose a brand/business. If you hear that a company embraces segregation, more times than not (I hope), you’re most likely not going to give them your business and instead go to their competitors who have a brand you can consciously agree with. Inclusivity and Diversity are now guidelines for businesses, try looking up a business and then putting in [Company name] Inclusivity and Diversity report and see what comes up! You’d be surprised how poor some companies are but also surprised by how well others are doing. I think remembering this is important for me personally because as I begin this journey in this business world, I hope to never lose focus on what really matters. I find myself at times being wrapped up in the importance of “success” or “profiting” however, it’s the way we get there that genuinely matters/counts.


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

I guess the learning outcome for my PLN is really to be well-rounded in any aspect possible. I try not to allow anything to ever stop my learning and surround myself with any individual who comes my way which thus doesn’t restrict my PLN (in terms of diversity or Inclusion). However, as said previously, I do have a lack of diversity. This means something in my PLN isn’t working and I’ve come to realize that I need to connect more. I find myself getting sucked into schoolwork that I forget the importance of collaborating and connecting with others. It’s not a purposeful act of not connecting but simply the fact I forgot TO connect. My PLN currently lacks due to my own error in the ways I socialize thus completely stopping my PLNs growth and outcome.  


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

My ideas around Inclusion have definitely expanded through this week’s videos and readings which has greatly evolved my PLN. Inclusion was a fairly broad idea in my mind and not something I sat down to evaluate because for me it was something I already understood, which I now know to be false. Inclusion was this concept I loosely understood and followed however, with this broad sense guiding my PLN how was I ever going to reach inevitable inclusion? I am super glad we expanded on this idea of inclusion as now I can use it as a guiding tool in my networking and focus on surrounding myself with others who also consider the importance of inclusion!

Moore, S. (2017). One without the other: Stories of unity through diversity and inclusion. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca

Moore, Shelley. The Evolution of Inclusion: The Past and Future of Education. 1 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgXBhPh5Zo.

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