- Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in public discourse – especially when addressing our differences?
- How can a PLN be curated to minimize bias and expand knowledge of the lives of others?
- How does the identity of who you are, fit into your PLN?
- Do you include professional and personal boundaries?
Just like Harrison Mooney’s example, his first blog was about hockey. As a very white sport, people want to hear the voice of a black hockey fan. But he is not liked by others. There are even many whites who argue with him based on their skin color (Mooney 2020). Connecting personal identities to social media platforms will trigger communication and collisions between different backgrounds and cultures. But PLN is indeed promoting the development of ideas and concepts in public discourse. More and more people with different cultures and backgrounds are beginning to communicate and learn from each other. When differences arise, there will be different voices arguing with each other. Only by maintaining an inclusive and unbiased attitude can differences be resolved properly.
First of all, the way PLN minimizes prejudice lies in its tolerance. To learn more about people from different cultures and backgrounds, try to listen to their ideas and insights to learn and develop (Meikle 2016). Don’t worry too much about unnecessary disputes. As long as a person speaks his thoughts and understanding about something, there will be different voices. What we need to do at this time is to think about divergent opinions. Through the understanding of the lives of others, to interpret and understand those different voices.
My identity is more like a listener in PLN. I will collect and think about the opinions of others, and after summing up, I will gradually form a complete view of a matter. But many times, I will also put forward my opinions. I tend to discuss my professional issues with others, such as economics. If I know very little about certain aspects, I think I will be a good listener. My own identity can help me find people in the same field in PLN. We can share each other’s thoughts and insights to gain new knowledge.
I will definitely distinguish between my personal and professional boundaries. Because many personal information and data appearing on social media platforms is threatening. I will try to use two accounts, one as a personal account and the other as a professional account. In this way, there will be a good separation between daily life and professional content.
Resources：
Reporting in a Connected Culture with Harrison Mooney – Course YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/elKNQpz0RrI
Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility Meikle, G – Chapter 4https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315884172/chapters/10.4324/9781315884172-10