- Community engagement is public communications – 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?
One of the benefits of having a diverse PLN in social media is that your posts or “voice” can reach a variety of people. This means that when you post an informative post on the prevention of COVID-19 and you have 100,000 followers, that means that you were able to reach at least 100,000 people. Additionally, it can be considered as a bonus if these 100,000 followers understand where you are coming from because they are more likely to support your post and share it others. In other words, aside from the 100,000 followers that you already have, you could also reach the followers of your followers. In connection to this, one of the possible reasons why Markiel Simpson succeeded in promoting the representation of the Blacks in school curriculum is because he was able to reach the right people. By saying “the right people,” these are the people who supported his advocacy and called the attention of departments or other organization who can take action. As a result, Simpson will be able to fulfill his goal to have the Blacks treated with dignity (Global News Morning BC 01:26-01:30). If efforts like these will push through, time will come that there will be one who is marginalized or disenfranchised.
- How does social media engage in advocacy communications?
Social media engage in advocacy communications through connecting people belonging in the same network. In the case of Markiel Simpson, he used Twitter to promote his advocacy. Even though it took him a long time to get the attention of the proper organization, his calls to action were soon responded by people in positions of power (Miller 15:20). This is actually in line with his commonly used hashtags which are #StrongerTogether and #TogetherWeRise (Miller 15:38). Simpson’s hashtags implies that with just him alone, he would not be able to make a change. That is why he needed the help of others to help him realize his plans. Without the social media, it would be hard for Simpson to look for the right people and engage with them. Just as Clark and Aufderheide explained, “Public media 1.0 was also limited in generating vigorous public conversations by the one- to- many structure of mass media.”(57) In this kind of public media, disemminating information and connecting with the right kind of people will definitely take a long time.
- How does social media use in public discourse potentially challenge advocacy communications?
Even if the social media can be a good tool that facilitates discussion among different groups of people, social media use in public discourse can potentially challenge advocacy communications because there no clear policy yet with regard to the use of social media (Clark & Aufderheide 62). This means that when people say negative things online, there is no guarantee that these people will be held accountable for what they said. Because of this, it was easy for people to bash or discriminate others. Also, users need to be very careful in engaging in sensitive topics like politics because their employers might not like their political views and discriminate them because of it.
- Does your PLN amplify the views of others?
I believe that my PLN amplify the views of others because I support others promote their advocacies through sharing their posts and tagging other people or organization that might be interested to it. I remember that on the onset of COVID-19, I made it a habit to retweet and favorite different infographics on the Corona Virus and how to stop it from spreading. Most people who originally created these infographics advocated for everyone’s safety and dissemination of credible and reliable information. Because COVID-19 is relatively new during that time, a single fake news can cause a panic so I made it a point to support those who are dedicated in spreading awareness on COVID-19.
5. How can we better use social media to build PLN?
In my case, I believe that I can better use social media to build PLN through creating good contents. Instead of making videos to entertain people, it would be better if content creators will focus on things that matter like education.
Works Cited
Clark, Jessica, and Patricia Aufderheide. “A New Vision for Public Media: Open, Dynamic, and Participatory.” Media and Social Justice, PDF file , Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, pp. 55-67.
Global News Morning BC. “New Campaign Calls for Better Representation of Black history in B.C schools.” Global News, 16 Nov. 2020, globalnews.ca/video/7465200/new-campaign-calls-for-better-representation-of-black-history-in-b-c-schools.
Miller, Jesse. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 02 – 22 Markiel Simpson.” YouTube, 22 Feb. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSpm1Lx8-A&feature=youtu.be.
Hi Zongyujia,
I have the same opinion as you that I also think that my PLN amplifies the views of others. You mentioned that you sharing other people’s posts and tagging other people or organizations that may interest you. I am happy to tell you that I am using the same way, this is a very efficient way of the learning experience and getting other people’s ideas.
Hello! Thanks for leaving a reply, I really appreciate it. In addition to tagging other people in posts that they might be interested in, another way to connected with other on social media is through posting intriguing questions to start a thread. If the questions are not intriguing or should I say stimulating enough, I do not think that anyone would be interested to share their thoughts to others. Before posting a question, I would advise that one needs to scroll down his/her news feed first and consider the trending topics as well as the common interests of his/her PLN members.
Hi Zongyujia,
I am really appreciated to read your post! I am agree with your opinion that advocacy really helps Simpson to build and expand his PLN, he promotes his opinion and contacts with same-minded people through the PLN and finally achieved success. Also, I think that your habits of sharing important and correct prevention measures of Covid-19 must be helpful for most people. Thanks for sharing your awesome post and helping to spread correct prevention knowledge of Covid-19!