Building a reputation and trust in a connected culture can be difficult, how are you building a network of individuals who are dynamic, reliable, and participatory?

I believe that being consistent in your PLN is imperative to building a network of individuals who are reliable and participatory. As such, being consistent in what you do online or what you say to others shows them that you are reliable. An individual that is consistent in their PLN helps others form a reputation of that individual, which can help others feel a sense of reliability from that individual. In addition, an individual can increase their reliability in their PLN by being genuine in what they communicate and share. Being genuine also means taking accountability to your actions, whether that be through online messaging platforms, or sharing picture/video posts, which helps increase your reliability. I can build a network of individuals that are participatory by consistently communicating with others in a positive, meaningful, and effective manner. By doing so, I think that people in my network would feel more inclined to reciprocate this kind of communication. Having regular interactions can make individuals more participatory in your PLN. As mentioned in Woods (2013), taking the time to regularly talk to individuals in your PLN allows you to learn a whole wealth of information from them that you wouldn’t have typically learned without regularly talking to them.

Are you leveraging healthy relationships from your PLN for growth?

I have definitely utilized the healthy relationships that I have in my PLN to help me grow and become the best version of myself. Constantly interacting with others in my PLN has allowed me to grow and improve my connections with others, and has helped me learn how to form and maintain new relationships with other users. For me, a healthy relationship in my PLN involves connections that support me and provide me with feedback so I can continually grow and learn new things.

How would you create a PLN prior to engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of your choice?

If I were to create a PLN before engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of my choice, I would perform a literature review online to ensure that I have adequate knowledge of the topic before the campaign. By doing so, I would gain a better understanding of what is already known about the topic, and know relevant questions that still remain about this topic. In addition, if individuals ask questions about the topic during the campaign, I can provide them with reputable answers. In addition, I would also contact experts in the topic (online or face-to-face) in order to have meaningful discussions and learn more information about the topic. I would also follow reputable and trustworthy individuals on social who are actively sharing factual information on this topic. In addition, I would attend conferences, workshops and meetings with others that are interested in this topic. By doing so, I would build a supportive online and offline community of people who support this topic. I would also use various online platforms to connect with a diverse array of people that are interested in the topic, which allows me to understand the topic from many different perspectives. Having this foundation of trusted, knowledgeable connections, and a broad range of knowledge on the topic is imperative to having a successful social media campaign on a topic.

References

Woods, B. (2013, November). Building your own PLN: seeking new insights and ideas? Expand your personal learning network. T+D, 67(11), 70+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/apps/doc/A348998538/ITBC?u=uvictoria&sid=summon&xid=1010abdf