blog#5 – Making the Most of Your PLN

Social media has and will continue to be a powerful networking tool for engaging with public audiences. That said, navigating the digital conventions of the social world is still rather new. Unlike legacy media, which remained relatively exclusive, the democratization of social media has allowed for all individuals to voice their stances in a public way that had never been possible before. As public figures bask in the limelight of social media however, it is not without its risks. Just as the internet and social media have been able to improve accessibility to people’s voices and subsequently their influence, it can just as easily be taken away. That is, if someone such as a government official makes a remark that is viewed as too controversial, or if an actor’s sordid past is dug up and exposed, their reputation can be ruined quite literally overnight, if not even entirely banned from a social media platform. As a result, any benefit of being able to reach broad audiences will be virtually (no pun intended) lose all influence in the public eye.

       The inherent democratic nature of the internet is a double-edged sword. On one hand, people can spread their message more easily and with higher visibility. On the other, famous figureheads can just as easily be scrutinized which they often are. To manage such derision, it is important to address negative replies in a way that is reflective of the image you want to portray to the world. Although this can be nerve wracking, the beauty of the internet is that it gives enough room to pause and think—this might not always be the case with some—meaning that before a response is given, it can be scrutinized before it addresses negative critiques. That said, formulating such responses should be done with immediacy but not with so much haste that tact and courtesy are not used in the response to derisive and defamatory comments. While notable individuals use social media to increase their influence through building a brand and/or informing their followers, the reality is that they are in many ways much more vulnerable than average users who do not have as much of a following. It is for this reason that those with more followers must maintain a favorable public persona online.

       Although the risks of constantly being scrutinized by the public are very real, if managed properly, one’s PLN can be incredibly beneficial. The nature of notoriety itself has not changed; it was the same decades ago as it is now. What has changed is the accessibility it gives to individuals and their visibility to the world. Because of this, PLNs can provide people with the networking ability to connect with people they may never have been able to connect with before. This results in people being able to work with others in a more collaborative manner based on mutual interests. In a sense, the networking of today effectively reduces—but does not entirely eliminate—relationships based on nepotism and encourages people to work on areas of interest instead.

       Building a community with online tools provided by an employer can be beneficial for internal communications. However, what this effectively does is limit people’s ability to reach out to others with more ease within their field. This will lead to less information as a closed network essentially becomes an echo chamber. That is, in order to deliver information, a free and open network must be established that connects society. For this to happen, a reliable PLN can be built in a decentralized manner. For example, instead of establishing arbitrary relationships based on titles, formalities, and hierarchies, relationships based on individuals’ ability to trust one another will be more effective for delivering information.

       Information though is not always what it seems; the internet is full of misinformation today. For notable individuals, sharing such misinformation can be just as damaging to their reputations just as their own actions; people with such influence naturally are scrutinized more and are held to a higher standard in the public view. Therefore, veteran storytellers often double-check where they are getting their information from as what they share is by proxy attributed to their name. This is because what influencers share with others is, for lack of a better term, seen as an endorsement, meaning that it’s incredibly important to verify where sources are coming from before they are posted online.