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)?
As mentioned in my many other posts, social media is an incredible way to communicate with members of the community that you may never have otherwise encountered, as well as a way to deliver and receive information relevant to your interests (as well as spark interests you may never thought you would have until one day seeing it on social media). Social media provides an avenue for information and movements to be met with people who hold positions of power who can then enact change. It carries voices and opinions which give insight and empowerment, as well as exposes strengths. Vance highlights how engaging in a media space can provide instantaneous opportunities. She explains how Drex, a person who had never met her, DM’d her asking if she would consider radio. Then he put her in touch with Larry Gifford who invited her in for a meeting which sealed the deal. Her PLN connections and social media made this opportunity happen for her and it happened almost instantly.
Vance is not the only notable person who benefits from social media, many others use social media to influence, educate and engage communities to enact change. An example of a notable person I follow is David Suzuki. He has created “FridaysforFuture” climate strikes that have grown into a worldwide movement. This movement, as well as the many others, create change as they put pressure on the people in powerful positions to make change. I must admit I am a huge fan of David Suzuki because his passion speaks to mine, and because he is authentic and educated. He provides facts and evidence to support his missions all while being kind, unapologetic and consistent in them. I have built up huge trust on what he shares and he motivates me to do the best for the environment, therefore the best for the people living in it.
As there are many benefits to using social media for some, the use of it by persons in a position of trust can be difficult. What you post on social media can truly affect your appearance/ credibility, as well as that of your employer. As an educator, how I choose to brand myself, truly affects how the school system may look, as well as how reliable and trustworthy I appear. “It takes a life-time to build a reputation and a heartbeat to break it” and “you have to be careful bc its everything is a postcard to the world (Vance, 2021). I have spent ten or more years developing my “brand” and I must protect it. That means that I must be mindful of what I post and what debates I get into, or how I challenge others, as those who I challenge (or those watching the comments of those I challenge) may appear in my future communications, employment opportunities and classrooms. Not only am I mindful of this, but my employers are. My district has a very strict social media expectation that is outlined in our employee manual. We are not to add students to our social media, we are not allowed to have any questionable photos posted on it, and we are to avoid controversial conversations online.
Sometimes the inability to address controversial conversations can place you in a paradox where you want to be open and authentic but you are truly not allowed to be. That is a difficult place to be since I am supposed to teach my learners how to have kind controversial conversations in a respectful and constructive way. In this case, I would have to decide what my bottom line is and what I would be willing to potentially lose through my actions. As Vance said it, “If I am going to knowingly to break rules, I need to be prepared to lose a contract. I need to weigh these options (Vance, 2021). Now, in the occupation I have, there is not much room for moving my bottom line as the Education system is a huge branch and I am not sure I am willing to lose my reputation over a potential controversial topic, yet. I say yet because there has not yet been a conversation I have had motivating enough more me to act on, as well as the fact that I am still considered a newer educator who is trying to develop trust and form alliances which I would need to potentially “muddy the waters” and stay “protected.” It would be important for me to have someone in my corner, much as Vance did with Scott Moore, to vouch for my beliefs and to secure my position. It truly is hard to be “100 percent of who you are and own who you are” in a world where everyone is watching and scrutinizing. In a world where your employers also hold an opinion over what you should and should not be saying and doing online. Vance “feel[s] more free because [she] is a veteran of the industry now. [She] has experience.” She can leave her DMs open because she has built a solid reputation and she is confident in who she is and what she does. She has built trust around her information and the way she presents herself. This being said, she does mention how, “competition matters but the collective is incredibly important too because you may end up on that team” (Vance, 2021). Therefore, she is still weighing her decisions and actions even though she has security and experience. I am sure that after I get back from Maternity leave and build more experiences, become confident in my teaching again and gain more allies/ collaborators that I may feel more free in many ways too. Starting off is just not as easy because you don’t yet fully know where you are going or who is going to be in your corner until you start constructing them.
How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer social media policy?
Vance mentioned how she would, “Delete the jerks, [because] there will always be jerks” (Vance, 2021). I have no place on my social media for purposeful discrimination or hate of others at all. If someone were being purposefully hateful, I would delete them in an instant. However, if the comment was perhaps made with a lack of knowledge, I’m not sure I could be as black and white as Vance is. As and educator, I think a little bit of the grey is okay because it brings up misconceptions and allows for conversation. It would allow me an opportunity to educate and bring awareness to harmful behaviours and comments, again showing my PLN the importance of educating people. Of course this would be done in a respectful and kind way and if it led to more hurtful/hateful comments, I would end the conversation and delete the person, but leave the conversation.
Now, if someone were to critique me I would be all open to that. I love hearing what I can do better, or what I have perhaps done incorrectly so that I can change the way I think and act. I want to be a better human and advocate for all. That being said, I get to choose how I deal with that critique. I get to choose if I will change my ways or not depending on how valid and constructive the critique is. Sometimes I may just simply thank someone for their comment knowing that, through my experience, this comment is not as effective as it could be, or I may choose to change my entire thinking and actions as a friend of mine did. My friend addressed someone’s critique on her social media incredibly tactfully and she took steps to improve her original post. She had posted about how she uses rice and dyed it in order to make a cute little spring sensory bin. Someone had DM’d her and commented on how in certain cultures using rice is disrespectful. My friend decided to create another post with this information on it and asked others to speak to their feelings about using food/ rice as a “play item” in order to see if there was anything else she was missing. She shared those responses. She then created another post about how she had already made this and that it may be a waste not to use. So, after asking the caregivers and learners in her class how they felt about it (securing how no one took offence and were all okay with it), she decided to use it. I was impressed to say the least. My friend demonstrated that she didn’t know it all and that in fact, had much to learn. She taught us how we can deal with critique and how we can change in how we do things, but not everything. I have even deeper respect for her now and I trust that she will always be open and truthful in her learning process and share her learned experiences.
My friend’s actions taught me a lot about how I can build a PLN that can be relied on and how I can create trust and validity in the information I share. If I am open to critiques and new information, and if I take that information and change the way I engage, people will gain trust in me as I did in my friend. They will gain trust because they will see that I am constantly learning and applying my new knowledge in my PLN. I will also make sure to provide evidence and fact in what I post by sourcing out “real news” from “Fake news.” There is so much of this out there and I believe it is really important to source out the sources before posting. It is also important to watch out for content sourcing and content farms, not only because it is taking a hit on the journalists wage and importance, but the information that has been sourced can at times be very subjective rather than objective with no one to decipher between the two types of content. An example of this is how BBC used “citizen-journalists” to cover the conflict in Syria in 2011-20212. Although these eye-witnesses were extremely important in gathering information, there were problems in managing the subjectivity of the information gathered since, “ there was a tendency to have their own political agenda, or exaggerate details in order to favour their “side” in the fighting” (Hirst, 2018). Content farms and sourcing may not actually give an objective outlook, because the information has been subjectively weighted.
How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize risk in sharing misinformation?
As a broadcaster or journalist in a time before the internet and social media existed, you would have to greatly rely on your sources and editors in order to ensure your information was in fact correct. However, now with the aid of internet/social media, journalism and broadcasting has become more of a freelance reality. Therefore, the journalist or broadcaster can go directly to the source and curate their own version of the story knowing it is credible as they can access and verify those stories in real- time. Those same “storytellers”can minimize the risk of misinformed information by creating a reliable network that is filled with experts in order to source solid information as well. As I mentioned earlier, it is also through hands on life experience that veteran storytellers have gained invaluable lessons and knowledge of how to minimize risk in sharing. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that one’s ability to share “perfectly” in the early stages may not be as easy as you are continually learning how. That being said, if you fill your PLN with experts and use credible sources, you will have a lower risk of sharing misinformation.
I want to end this blog with this snippet from the interview with Vance. I think she describes greatly the vital roll your network plays in your professional life and how every communication and conversation within it can lead up to where you end up. She demonstrates that your PLN is working for you (positively or negatively) behind the scenes (without you even knowing) because people are talking about you and watching you.
“I have benefitted so much from the foundation of my network and from being open to the connections that you have with the people who may float by you and not know they may become a huge piece of your network. Ex: How I Volunteered for Greater Victoria Open. I was sitting at a table with some of the biggest heavy weights at the industries I wanted to get into. I didn’t know this. Volunteering really helps network bc people know you want to be there.Things are happening behind the scenes- people are talking about you” (Vance, 2021).
Citation:
Vance, Jody & Miller, J. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 03 – 21 JODY VANCE.” 03 Mar. 2021. doi: https://.youtube.com/watchv=dgZOJgJKdyl&feature=youtu.be
Hirst, M. (2018). Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen Journalism (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.4324/9781315401263