Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?
Engaging with a public audience has many benefits and many risks as well. While public figures might have many followers on social media, they need to be very cautious about how they engage with them as their reputation is always on the line. Nowadays, it’s almost a must to engage with a public audience through social media not only to increase popularity or to stay in the competition, but also to create opportunities for building one’s network.
However; it’s imperative not only to public figures but anyone to carefully select what to share with the public audience as they can be held accountable for it. The engagement of some public figures might be driven by their support and even though their posts seem authentic, they might be far from the truth. The way they appear on social media can be misleading for many followers, but if they spoke the truth, their sponsorship might be withdrawn.
How do notable individuals use social media?
Public figures/persons use social media with a specific purpose. To gain more followers is one of the reasons; and not only the purpose but the mode matters every single time they engage. At times, their engagement might be driven by a sponsor, like promoting a specific brand or product, for the purpose of more business. Including the reason when the public figure itself is a brand or has a business. Another way of creating more engagement with their network is to share little bits of one’s personal life. While it might be very authentic and powerful for followers to be able to peek into a notable person’s life, it could also be misleading. Public persons also might have hired professionals to stay on top of their social media accounts as it takes lots of time and effort to frequently engage and share through these channels.
What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?
Being in the public eye can be beneficial but also challenging at the same time. Once one has a good base of followers who they engage with frequently, they become a powerful network. As Jody Vance mentioned in her interview, you never really know which network connection you will benefit from. I also agree with her when she said that volunteering gave her the opportunity to build her network and meet professionals who were key in her career. I can resonate well with her example of being persistent with following her dream even through the challenges of life.
Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how to build a PLN to rely on?
Building a good base of trusted followers takes time and continuous engagement is necessary with them in order to build that trust. This might be based on just one post from that person or maybe several years of engagement. When I am looking to expand my PLN, I do my research on the person and decide if this will take me in the direction I am going. I will look at their engagement on social media and their posts, but also do my own research on the topic they share about before I trust it.
How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize risk in sharing misinformation?
Storytellers, new or veteran, must do thorough research in their topic before sharing their stories. As they have many followers, their credibility can be ruined if they provide misinformation; therefore, they must search for reliable resources before sharing their stories.
Vance, Jody & Miller, J. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 03 – 21 JODY VANCE.” 03 Mar. 2021. doi: https://.youtube.com/watchv=dgZOJgJKdyl&feature=youtu.be
November 24, 2021 at 12:29 pm
Hi Liv, I agree with you that people in education and government offices should only post positive things and watch what they say. They should also see who the target audience is and consider how they will address themselves. The benefit of being in the public eye is that one can advertise products by targeting people in their PLN. One can also use general influence to support or influence new ideas to people and cause transformative changes. However, I tend to differ from your statement that it is challenging to build a community. Although it can take time, it is easy to build community so long as one knows who to target. You have broadened my views on the role of sharing accurate information and that it will particularly help me build a community. I will ensure that I enrich myself so that I can grow my experience.