When I think about the media space, I am convinced that notable people use their popularity on social media to draw the attention of existing audiences. Also, notable people use social media to pass information to the audience and communicate with them, aiming to discover a trend or an idea. The public eye and PLN play a significant role in attracting public opinion based on the idea that can help a person make an informed decision. In addition, the public eye and PLN act as instrumental tools for providing insights to a person. Although the media space helps the public figures build their reputation, I believe it places their privacy at risk.
Building a community using online tools can be challenging because it’s difficult to access remote areas. Also, it is challenging to rely on the information because it is based on biases whereby the audiences react negatively to be free from judgments and hide their financial status and personal differences (Miller, 2021). In addition, the online tools provided by the employer reduce personal interaction, which I feel is helpful in solving dilemmas. Moreover, I believe the best way to address critiques and negative views is by using facts and kind language.
However, building a community using online tools is beneficial because it saves time and effort that can be used when a person needs to reach a large number of people. In addition, the online tools help people communicate with the audience and get genuine feedback which is instrumental in improving services. The steps for building a reliable PLN, following familiar organizations, using the organizations to identify the things that they follow and follow the useful ones, being innovative enough to identify the best technology for reaching the targeted people, ensure that there is good communication that enhanced through group discussions, online survey, chats and lastly try as much as possible to ensure that people are together.
Unfortunately, I have witnessed open dialogues about factual information and media literacy creating conflicts. This happens when media literacy is dismissed. People posting much information, making it challenging for others to comprehend and identify the misleading information, especially those who are not media literate. Veteran storytellers minimize sharing misinformation by ensuring their contents are simplified and more visual. Also, they ensure they can control messages freely, which helps them make timely corrections. Media literacy is the ability to create media information and take action when necessary or retrieve and analyze information from media and reflect (Trilling & Fadel, 2009, p 66). Media literacy helps people consider the critical side when developing, reading, or decoding media content. I think that the reason why one should aim for varied views, but the factual consensus in PLN is that it brings diversity and minimizes chances for misleading information. In this context, people can provide a wide range of feedback based on their perspectives, thus unveiling reliable knowledge.
References
Miller. (2022). EDCI 338 – Media Literacy with Julie Smith [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0
Miller. (2022). Sophie Lui – EDCI 338 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. John Wiley & Sons.
June 21, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Hey Isabella,
I strongly agree with the statement that famous people use social media as a platform to communicate to their audiences. But it also has its disadvantages regarding privacy. Creating a community online is a tedious task but is also beneficial for people who are in different parts of the world. They should be respectful to each other which helps to create a safe environment. Dismissal of media literacy might not be helpful and create bigger conflicts amongst people!