This weeks readings and video from the course channel have given me some insight and perspective into what it takes to build a genuine and successful PLN. The interview with Mo Amir was very insightful in the sense that we could hear from someone with a notably successful podcast and PLN. I liked particularly what Mo Amir had to say about building an audience. Which was that he doesn’t worry or even look at stream counts or overall numbers for any of his podcasts. His reasoning was that looking at those statistics would artificially push him towards catering to certain topics to gain popularity. Through ignoring these statistics Mr. Amir has been able to cultivate a very genuine PLN where he creates the best possible content on the subjects HE is interested in, rather than creating something he is not passionate about but caters to the highest view count. This has lead to the best possible outcome for both Mr. Amir and his listeners. I believe this to be a good outlook when building a podcast and relying on your PLN. Don’t necessarily cater and create content with the intent of casting the widest net possible. Create it with the intent of building a quality product that comes from a genuine source. In doing this you will surely garner an audience of some size.
Could my PLN be used to help professional development post-course? Absolutely, the connections I have made throughout the course and more specifically with my final project cohort could definitely help professional development. I think especially since all of us in the course have been exposed to the same information and now will have similar perspectives on the importance of building a professional network through your PLN everyone would be more open to staying connected for the sake of networking and having potential opportunities arise from it.
To answer the question on if my PLN can be relied on? well though I think my PLN is dependable and is certainly a good resource for me to use to build professional connections and gain opportunities. I still think that one should have good in person communication skills as well and that’s there is a lot more that goes into a good professional appearance and portfolio than a good PLN. The readings this week discussed a lot about how there is such a movement into online networking and how much can be done from ones PLN now but I would still say that a PLN is just a baseline tool for you to use to gain insight, perspectives, and connections. It provides you with the means to connect to people but the work certainly doesn’t stop there.
References
Social Media and Emerging Economies Technological, Cultural and Economic Implications – Chapter 5- From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-02490-5
A Global PLN – Supporting One Another https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgoDet6pwaI
Hi Aidan! I agree with your opinion about professional appearance. If you are a shopkeeper who started a business on the network platform, it is necessary to have a personal and friendly image photo! This will shorten the distance between customers and you, or increase the professionalism of the industry and show a stable, reliable image.