Blog #1

My name is Gabrielle Smith. I'm in my third year at Stockton, studying Literature with a creative writing concentration. Post-graduation I'm hoping to go into publishing, preferably editorial. More specifically, I'd love to work in the comic industry, but I wouldn't mind editing fiction either. Blogging isn't super new to me. I took a digital writing class previously, in which we had to blog, and I've made many a blog when I was a teenager.

In chapter six of The Connected Educator, the authors discussed building a connected learning community. It begins with an anecdote about one of the earliest connected learning communities, and how one of the authors learned how to meet people online. It then travels into the idea of personal learning networks, which "help you leverage deeper connections and relationships". Once a PLN develops, it becomes a two-way street of learning, beneficial to all involved. Networks are for you. Communities are about the collective building, and what is beneficial to everyone. In order to start a PLN, you need to become active on social media. You must curate who you follow, after that. Then, you must interact. The text suggests that with Twitter and other social media that you do not develop an echo chamber--the idea in networking is to find people in your area of study, not everyone who agrees with you. A healthy community is fostered by all, and has diverse culture and values.

The first article I read was 10 Blogging Blunders to Avoid. It basically lists things you should avoid as you blog. A good amount of it is common sense (pay attention to proper grammar and spelling, use visual aids like pictures and videos), but other things are more intricate. It asks that you categorize more and make use of social media.

The second article I read was Get Twitter Followers: Building a Foundation. It told me a lot of things I already knew from previous classes, but there were some tidbits I had never thought of. One was that you should tweet every 20-60 minutes during local working hours. This is likely because people like to procrastinate at work, so they check their social media all the time.

Lastly, I watched Connecting to the World Using Twitter. The presenter encourages you to use alternative forms of twitter, like TweetDeck, that are easier to interact with. She also says you should use your smartphone for faster interaction. She encourages conversation and making people comfortable, not just to network.