Looking at my own PLN, a big part of it do span a few of the major social networks that are popular in today's social media age, such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. Maintaining my channels of communications and connecting with friends, co-workers, professionals and other like-minded people through social messaging Apps or chat groups had also reinforced the efficiency of my PLN when I need information, crowd source for solutions, seek opinions or simply to have a discussion on an issue. In this course, I am also glad that we would be given the opportunity and flexibility to try out many interesting tools that could potentially take our PLNs to the next level.
One thing I had noticed is that the size of our PLNs to change from time to time. For instance, through engaging in our preferred communities, sharing valuable information and other social interactions, I learned how to build and manage a network that best serves my various interests. Over time, I also got to understand and select what is useful and what is not. Have you ever reach a point where you start to periodically review your Facebook's (or other social media platforms) contacts/links/pages and decide who or what remains? The number of contacts one has is an easy way to define the size of one's network. For example, the graph for my Facebook network over time would look something like this:
This is a simple graph that basically shows my Facebook network's (as defined by number of contacts) size over time. In the beginning, I had tried to expand my network as big as possible, but as time progresses, I learn to downsize (or rightsize) my network in an effort to streamline what proved to be useful for my consumption. Over time, I also went through a series of expansion and contraction in my network, as I engaged new people and new communities, but eventually I will reach a level that I am comfortable with.
Would your graph look somewhat similar to mine?
What is your approach to building your PLN, and do you use any other interesting tools to cultivate your PLN which you might want to share?
Interesting post, Dennis. My graph would probably begin like yours with a sharp dip at one point then a steady increase that continues to move upward. My networks continue to grow as I move through the Ph.D. program but there's very little overlap in my networks so context collapse (another thing we've looked at this week) isn't often a concern for me. I've increased my social media presence during this class but I'm an active user in two spurts during the day and most of my contacts have come to realize that. I have noted that there are times when I have to take a moment to remember who certain people are in some of my networks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophia for your comment. I agree that the growth of personal networks are largely affected by events in our lives, for example, joining a new program, new social communities, interest groups, etc. And also our personal habits are heavily influential in the way we use and adapt social media, and there is no right or wrong approach to making it work for us.
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