Blog Post# 6 Notable individuals on Social Media

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)?

After reading “Social Journalism and the News Establishment” by Martin Hirst (2018), I think we should re-think the public discourses that social media form. Social media was understood as “a series of networked platforms on the internet and applications on our mobile devices, through which we connect with friends, family, colleagues, associates and random strangers” (Hirst, 2018, p. 125). It has many functions, and the news industry certainly knows how to use it well. However, Hirst (2018)’s chapter is not about celebrating how social media platforms helped journalists to be more engaged with the mass, in fact, he was proposing the opposite. Engagement, in his perspective, is more than just to connect with the audience, but to listen and act upon the public’s opinions. Social media nowadays is not a neutral medium, it can be controlled by those who want to make money out of these platforms, or who control the platforms, therefore, misinformation is prevalent on the internet. Internet users are getting more rational when they see stuff online, they would not take the information seriously unless they are validated by the authorities, and in fact, most news is not worthy of validation, therefore, the credibility of this information was often questioned by the mass. Hirst (2018) also comments that: ” my experience of journalists on Twitter—with a handful of exceptions—is that they are ‘engaged’ with their audience, but not listening to them. Furthermore, I would also argue that for many journalists, being on Twitter is of no more use than as a platform to bicker among themselves and insult each other, usually over ideological differences” (Hirst, 2018, p. 129). Even I don’t believe the news on Twitter, the comments there are chaotic and less convincing, it seems that the journalists were keener to speak their biased opinions rather than stating the facts. Donald Trump uses Twitter as a diary, and there’s not much credible information that can be found in the ex-U.S president’s Twitter account, hence, the trust issue is not limited to the journalism profession, but to other professions as well.

In this sense, notable individuals should use social media in a more careful way. On the one hand, engaging in social media allows notable individuals to expand their PLN, for example, in Jody Vance’s interview, I see how important it is to have a network community in a place that can offer support in a professional context. Accessing social media platforms allow the more supportive person in one’s PLN, and that’s a great thing. But as Vance said, there are pluses and minuses of using social media, the risks might be, as identified above, you allowing yourself into a public discourse that is full of untrust. A public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official), should consider this risk very seriously before engaging in social media. They should be able to handle the critics and know how to build trust between themselves and the audience.

How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer social media policy?

This is a hard question to address, normally I would just not allow employers to enter my own social space because I think work and life are separate things, but if I was invited into a PLN full of my colleagues, and we use the same social media platform, I wouldn’t use that platform to share my personal values or my thoughts. For example, if I use Twitter and my boss knows my Twitter account, I would just delete everything personal in my account, because I am a pretty private person, I don’t like to mix work and life. I am certainly happy to receive comments on my work, whether they are negative critiques or accomplishments, I wouldn’t feel too sad or happy. I think every comment is worth listening to, if I have confidence in myself, I would know which critique is true or not, and I will not take any false critique too seriously. I guess people are making social media platforms too big of a deal, if we did something unsatisfying in work, the thing we should do is to address it by working, not explaining to the critiques why you are wrong.

Source used:

In the Public-Eye – Social Media and Broadcasting – Course YouTube Channel

 Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen Journalism by Martin Hirst
Chapter 6. Social Journalism and the Gig Economy pp.142.