Blog #7

This week’s material discusses balancing a PLN and public disclosure in regard to a public PLN. With social influence on the rise, with an especially young demographic of influencers, curating a PLN that is well balanced is especially important. With that, there are many risks and benefits associated with engaging with a public audience.

 With political tensions emerging worldwide, the benefit of having a public audience is that influencers are able to influence their following with similar views as their own. This is a very valuable tool as supporters follow their lead. On the contrary, this tactic can also be used for not so good reasons. Having a public audience also allowed people to connect with one another without borders. This means that there are no geographic restrictions in connecting with people around the world (aside from government influenced regions).

There are many risks that come with having a public platform and engaging with a public audience. As mentioned previously, having a large influence can be good for not so good reasons. Further, as everything is audited online, one small mistake can reach large numbers of people creating an overwhelming number of criticisms. With cancel culture being a “trend” on social platforms, this can be a large risk to an influencer’s image. 

With social media platforms being easily accessible, employers most definitely use these platforms to do a background screen on incoming and current employees. Individuals using these platforms must be aware to face the consequences of inappropriate content under their name. On the contrary, social media platforms can be used for good in terms of work. I know of a few working in communications and have been hired based on their content on social platforms. 

In the cases I receive negative replies and critiques of my personal values and social media, I would take it with an open mind, understand their perspective, and act accordingly. We’re all growing and learning together on social media therefore having a close community where opinions can be safely shared is extremely valuable. Personally, the content posted on my social platforms is somewhat filtered in that I know everything that is being posted. Further, I have settings to accept my ‘tag’ of a picture of myself posted by someone else to have maximum security. When I do receive negative feedback it is a great time to self-reflect and learns to not offend others in the future. 

Notable individuals use social media to share aspects of their life. Obviously filtered as there is a large audience, people are able to keep up with their lives. One notable figure on my social media is Tom Daley, an Olympic diver from the UK. I personally appreciate the way they’ve used their platform, taking to important issues while still giving enough of their personal life for user engagement. Tom and his husband (an American actor) have recently had a baby boy however, the child’s presence on their platforms is kept private. The baby’s face is not shown in any picture posted as they believe it’s their child’s choice whether they want to be ‘famous’ and have a following. 

Being in the public eye and having a PLN comes with many benefits. In Sophie Lui’s interview, she mentioned how she grew her career by reaching out to upper-level journalists. Not only did this expand her PLN but grew her career to where it is now. Today, as a well-known anchor, I’m positive she has people reaching out to her to boost their career. Secondly, being in the public eye with a PLN comes with promoting those with smaller, not as well known PLNs. I appreciated at the end of the video where Sophie gave shout-outs to people she believes posts great content online creating more engagement for these smaller content creators. 

Building a community of social media directly associated with employment can be difficult in that content is spoken from the companies views. This can be very easy or very difficult whether or not the views align. From my personal experience, I manage the UVic Water Polo social media platforms and I find it very easy to post content as I am well engaged with the material however, for those who aren’t, could find this very difficult.