Why Social Media Helps Shape a Personal Learning Network

Power of Connection

For my PLN I will use primarily social media platforms—LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube—to develop my network. LinkedIn is great for connecting to users of the platform who are professionals in your field. Twitter brings together so many different people from all walks of life, who share ideas and insights throughout the day. Facebook provides many groups that professionals can join, and YouTube gives people an opportunity to connect to others interested in posted or in posting content.

Information that I will post in my professional profile will include my name, title, field of expertise, my background in education, my years of experience, and my current status in terms of work. I will also post hobbies and extracurricular activities that will allow others to identify my areas of interest quickly and easily. For instance, specific text I would include would be: “manager, five years experience, working on doctorate in business management, hobbies include astronomy and leadership studies.” It is helpful to post a little bit of information in one’s PLN because this helps to show others who you are and what you are interested in and can facilitate making and growing relationships with others. It also helps to add to one’s professional credibility (Park et al., 2014).

Annotated List of PLN Additions

1. Dave Collum. https://twitter.com/DavidBCollum?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Dave is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at Cornell University and a Libertarian fan of the Austrian business cycle. He is an outspoken critic and commentator on market cycles and provides insight into business and economics. I would add him to my PLN because he has a strong following of innovative people from many different walks of life and his views are often exciting and spark great debate. As Davis (2013) points out, PLNs are ways to make connections, and this can be done best when people are gathering to exchange ideas on exciting and interesting topics of the day.

2. Stephen Moore.

https://twitter.com/StephenMoore

Stephen is an important voice on small business matters and has a large following due to his dissertation on economics under the Trump administration. He writes for The Wall Street Journal and is a Heritage economist. I would include Stephen in my PLN because of his background, experience, insight in the field, and understanding of what makes businesses work in today’s economy.

3. TEDx Talks.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsT0YIqwnpJCM-mx7-gSA4Q

TEDx Talks are followed by several millions of people and put out great ideas in the world of business management and leadership. It is a great way to stay up to date on what the best and brightest minds have to say as well as to connect to other like-minded leaders and managers in the field. I would include this in my PLN because of the insight it offers and the great advice that can often be found among users.

4. MotivationHub

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR54lF_dD3f-8srmRqnTwgQ

MotivationHub has over a million subscribers who come to this channel to hear inspiring motivational thoughts and speeches from some of the most successful people alive today. It is a great resource for understanding the mindset of truly some of the best and brightest minds and most successful people. I would include this in my PLN because it helps to get one’s head in the right space and to connect to people who have similar desires to be great leaders.

5. The Startup Chat

https://www.facebook.com/thestartupchat/

The Startup Chat is a great Facebook group where managers and entrepreneurs share ideas, posts, experiences, and insights that are actionable and relevant in today’s business world. It is a great source for networking and developing a sense of what works, what doesn’t and why. I would include this in my PLN because it is a great group full of interesting people who are wanting to succeed at every level of business.

The Process

The process by which I found the person or group I added to my PLN was simple: I started by browsing social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, using keyword searches such as leadership, business, mentor, success, and so on. I scrolled through many suggestions looking for content that appealed to me personally because I don’t want a group or person in my PLN that I cannot easily relate to or believe that I cannot learn from. The groups and people I followed or requested to join are important to me on various levels because of the insights they provide, the experiences they have, and the content they routinely offer. I have found that Twitter is a great place to grow a PLN because it is so much easier to identify other followers of a particular person and get to know them through browsing their own posts, which reveal their thoughts and ideas on subjects. Then one can connect with them through direct messaging and engage in topics of conversation that often lead to great networking opportunities (Stranack, 2012; Wilson, 2012).