Can I Get a "Tweet Tweet"

#FlashbackFriday to the time we learnt about a P.L.E. because today, we are learning about a P.L.N. (like O.M.G. right?!). Your P.L.N. is when you use your digital tools from your P.L.E. in order to engage and interact with others. It allows you to steal ideas and become inspired from these ideas. These networking platforms are deliberately framed in order to benefit the goals and needs of its users. Originally these platforms were made for family and friends but with the new Web 2.0 and endless possibilities, the communities involved are endless!

2013. Twitter for business (twitter). Retrieved from: here

This week we got to incorporate one of my favourite social media networks TWITTER, which is seen as a P.L.N. tool (click to find out what other tools fall under this category!). I have been tweeting since the early years of 2006- somewhere between caveman drawings and the invention of the smart phone. When Twitter was first introduced, I used it strictly to satisfy social needs. However, as the years past and Twitter grew in popularity, I began to use it for new purposes- professional and educational purposes. Twitter has enabled constant access to the GLOBAL world. Within this sphere, we are able to build a stream of main ideas that are relevant and useful. It is similar to last week where our online bookmarks sort through the good, the bad and the ugly- Twitter allows you to do that as well. 

@laurebor Twitter Tips to Utilize: 

·Lists: You can organize your followers into lists. This way you can separate you news feed and be able to keep your friends, social profiles, news, business, and school feeds separate!

·#Hashtags: Find relevant information- Use them as a social network search engine. They can often lead you to professionals who are relevant and important in that field of interest. They filter out the information for you and save you time and energy! 

· Suggestions: Twitter provides a list of people who they think will be of interest to you based off of your account.

Borchuk, L. (CC) 2014.

In a previous course I took at Brock, Professional Communication, our professor stressed how useful Twitter is in today's society because there has been a paradigm shift. Emphasis is taken away from the ability to compete, and put towards ones ability to NETWORK. Businesses are realizing the power of networking and promoting their brands through the use of social media. My Feedly feed informed me of the designers who took fashion week by storm, and kept their fans informed. How were the rich and fabulous able to inform their adoring fans? Through embracing their digital tools, and connecting with their audience on the best possible medium- social networks. Join these social networks, and like businesses SELL. Sell yourself to your future employers and the digital world, interact and form opinions with what is happening around you. These networks allow you to express yourself, and can help you gain valuable connections. But it is important to make sure you are displaying confidence and not being conceited over your Twitter. An article on self promotion from my RSS Reader describes how it can often be a single tweet, that crosses that line.  NOTE: sell yourself in a positive and professional manner. If our digital footprints have taught us anything, inappropriate posts can come back to haunt us. Here is another article I was able to find on successful tips for using Twitter!

Still not sold on how the social and academic collide? Let's do a little math equation.

MathKid (2014). "The Math Kid" (math humour).
Retrieved from: http://themathkid.tumblr.com/post/17857316461 

Not to worry- I'm a communication student remember? The variables for this equation will be tools learnt so far, and how they can help BUILD and contribute to the digital realm. One of the main themes of this course is learning how to become an informed legitimate digital citizen, and using this math equation, I am going to exemplify what I have learnt so far, and how the "social" and the "scholarly" might not be so different after all. 

Variable #1: Twitter:  To communicate DIRECTLY with fellow tweeters who are interested in the same areas as me.
Variable #2: Feedly- RSS reader: To explore and share data to the twitter conversation in a effective and educational way- just like a paper if you are going to make a point, make sure you have the facts to back it up!
Equation: Twitter + LinkedIn + Professional Users = an informed and conducive digital user. 

By connecting and contributing to these social media forms, you are learning how to network and gain feedback with other young professionals. And most importantly it allows you to communicate with people from other countries, professions and educational backgrounds! 

Tweet me, Link me if you want to reach me

XOXO