Notable individuals, such as Jody Vance who are already well-established in a field tend to use social media to explore new opportunities, create new connections, maintain old connections, and to produce or consume information across various platforms. Staying open to new opportunities and keeping up to date in a field are very important in today’s gig economy’ (Hirst, 2018), in which it is more important than ever to build and maintain connections and market one’s own brand, in a time where many have difficulties, obtaining and retaining employment within a chosen field. One of the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN that stood out most to me as mentioned by Jody was the ability to rely on members of your PLN for new opportunities in times of hardship, such as following layoffs at a job. Despite management at Jody’s Citytv job perhaps considering her role there with them redundant, because Jody was in the public eye, and had a strong PLN, others could clearly see her value, and she was able to get back on her feet again in a very short period of time. I think it’s important to remember that for every critic or competitor there is that may be out there, that there is also likely someone else who will want to support you on a professional level. A great example of this is the way that Scott Moore supported Jody Vance when she was closer to the beginning of her career.
Some of the risks of engaging with a public audience in a media space, particularly as a public figure or person in a position of trust, are that while such ‘exposure’ can be hugely beneficial for one’s career, there are also a lot of repercussions for missteps. As Jody mentioned, it can take many years or even a lifetime to build one’s reputation in the public eye and to build trust with an audience, however, reputation and trust can be easily destroyed in seconds (Vance, 2021) when for example a notable figure becomes surrounded by scandal. There are many recent and highly publicized examples of this happening in the world, especially since the advent of ‘cancel culture’. An example of a scandal an individual could be involved with could do with the provision of misinformation, for example. To mitigate a risk such as this, it is important to thoroughly research a topic before posting about it and to make sure that you gather information from reputable sources. To help gauge whether a specific individual is a trustworthy source of information, you can look to their educational background as well as whether they have any relevant peer-reviewed publications within the field you are interested in writing about. For other types of risks, it is important to consistently stick to a predetermined code of ethics that guide one’s online conduct.
I think one of the best ways to respond to negative replies and critiques is to learn from them and to take responsibility for whatever action that triggered the criticism if such criticism is valid. If it is not, as Jody mentioned we can ‘delete the jerks’ (Vance, 2021) from our direct messages, or provide some sort of rebuttal, as she described in the scenario with Don Cherry. When criticism is valid, it can be tremendously useful in one’s professional development.
Finally, with respect to building a community with online tools provided by an employer, there often are many restrictions on the content that employees are allowed to post, as well as many rules that dictate the way that employees are to conduct themselves in an online setting. I have, in fact, even heard cases of management monitoring private conversations that happen between employees through platforms such as Slack. Regardless of these restrictions, I think that the professional relationships that you can build with others in this setting are the most valuable asset that come of being a part of such a community. These professional relationships often endure and can prove useful even after you or others in your professional network decide to move onto new opportunities.
References
Hirst, Martin. Navigating Social Journalism. New York: Routledge, 2018. Print.
Vance, Jody. Balancing PLN & Public Discourse Jesse Miller. 28 February 2021. Web.
Hi Rachelle, thank you for your post. Thank you for this clear statement, “Staying open to new opportunities and keeping up to date in a field are very important in today’s gig economy’ (Hirst, 2018), in which it is more important than ever to build and maintain connections and market one’s own brand, in a time where many have difficulties, obtaining and retaining employment within a chosen field.” This really showed me the meaning behind the “gig economy” in a way that is very clear for me. Employment is ever changing and it is so important to have your own brand and to stay open to opportunities. You never know which ones you will need when. I was shocked when you mentioned how you, ” have, in fact, even heard cases of management monitoring private conversations that happen between employees through platforms such as Slack.” First, I am hoping you can inform me on what slack is, as I have never heard of this before. Second, what a breach. These breaches of “privacy” only continue to make people lose trust in online tools. It is unfortunate that employers would do this to their own employees.
Hi Rachelle! You have raised some important points in your blog and I would say that you did a great job in integrating this week’s learning materials. With regard to online tools being provided by employers, I would say that the employer’s intention is for employees to maintain their professionalism while communicating with their fellow employers. Nevertheless, I just think that wouldn’t the monitoring of employee’s conversations an invasion of the employees’ privacy? When the employees learned that they are being monitored in their conversations with other employees, I think that it would create a very negative atmosphere in the company.