Connect personal identity to a professional social media platform is a double edge sword. Showing personal identity by expressing ourselves with our personal perspective can attract more attention (Meikle, n.d). Mooney (2020)’s experience also shows that expose his identity get him the job as hockey journalism, and it also helps him to meet people who have a similar identity to him. However, Mooney also experienced an attitude change when people contacted him thought he is white and found out he is black later through the internet. There are platforms such as Reddit encourages people not to expose their personal identity. Some people could feel safer to express themselves without letting others know their identity. However, when we are sharing with whom we imagine we are sharing could raise a security issue, and the professional use of social media surely should avoid such risks.
Every individual is unique, and all of us might see a thing from different perspectives. When we addressing our differences in public discourse, we should listen to others’ opinions, ask for their suggestions, let their opinions challenge ours and see things in different directions (Mooney, 2020). Listening to others ideas and consider them seriously can help us to see things from different angles. Moreover, our own attitude about others’ opinions is important. Considering others’ opinion and take their suggestion can help us to distinguish biases that exist in our own opinion. We first need to trust others and have an attitude that willing to accept different thoughts and voices, we then could recognize bias and change them. In addition, in expanding knowledge, we could ask for help in our PLN, and they could give us their professional opinions or give us a direction or a shortcut that helps us to find solutions and get knowledge easily.
My identity in my PLN is a listener who would listen carefully, learn from others, and sometimes gives a few valuable suggestions. I am not a person who wants to help everyone to solve any of their problems, but my PLN connections tend to think that I am a person who worth trusting. I set a boundary between personal and professional communications, but I am who I am, so if my PLN connections talk to me as frequently as my friends, I believe they would see my identity similar to my friends.
References
Meikle,G. (n.d). Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility. Retrieved from
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315884172/chapters/10.4324/9781315 884172-10
Mooney, H. (2020). EDCI 338 a01 – HARRISON MOONEY. YouTube. Retrieved from