Research on Social Media and Learning Communities: What topic did you research from the task above? What social media platform did you use, and what learning communities did you find? Be specific.

The topic I researched has to do with music (once again) as it is something I am passionate about. I sifted through r/makinghiphop, a subreddit on the platform Reddit dedicated to musicians who have an interest in, well, making hip hop! In terms of music making itself, there were countless communities which differ into the various genres of music. The reason I chose this community to look at in particular are the unique flairs that users may attach to their posts. Flairs are a common tool used in subreddits; they categorize posts into subsections which help the user understand what they may read before they even read it! One of the rules of the subreddit also includes no lazy posts, thus making all the posts detailed and meaningful in discussion. 

Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN): What social media platforms do you use or plan to use to build your personal learning network (PLN)? How do platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, or Youtube help you connect with others and stay updated?

In terms of my personal PLN, I want to use as many of the big social media networks as possible as I believe each platform serves its own unique purpose that excels beyond their counterparts. For instance, Instagram would be superior to Youtube in terms of short form content, and the same vice versa. Respective platforms also host their own unique communities. The members of a learning community on X (Twitter), may not be as prevalent on a site like Reddit. Gathering and sharing as much knowledge within these individual spaces as possible would be my goal. For me personally, even if my activity within these groups aren’t loud, I enjoy a diverse social media presence!

Setting Professional Goals and Engaging with the Community: How have you, or do you plan to, identify the right media platforms, set personal/professional goals, and engage with the community? Share your experiences or plans for sharing content and participating in discussions in your PLN.

How I continue to use social media as effectively as possible is that I cater all the content I share toward the same topics. For example, on most (if not all) of my social media, I have left hints in my bios or posts that show that I am working mostly within the realm of music, even if the content I share on that platform isn’t specifically geared toward music. One thing I think I may need to work on is the activity I partake in prior to using social media. It would be effective for myself to set goals more often so I can surf the web more intently rather than recreationally.

Protecting Your Information and Ensuring Ethical Behaviour: How do you protect your information and ensure ethical behaviour in your PLN? Discuss any security measures you take to keep a safe and trustworthy digital environment.

One software I keep downloaded on my laptop at all times is called Avast Security, which exits out of infected sites or blocks links containing malware from my computer. As someone who shares and receives a lot of download links, this has come in handy time and time again as many people using the web might not necessarily use their tools for good. Nowadays, it is relatively easy to moderate what happens on your own social media pages as we can now filter keywords or phrases that could be uploaded to our posts. Inappropriate comments can also be easily deleted with as little as two clicks on many of the major platforms. 

Privacy Concerns and Online Participation: Do/How do privacy concerns affect your willingness to join online communities or share information?

As per most internet users, we value privacy one way or another! Many times, I shy away from groups of people on the internet when I hear of notorious names being the communities, of which are some pretty nasty people with not so great intentions. Having these concerns completely brushes me away from joining certain online communities as I would rather completely eliminate any risk rather than sitting around and finding out. With that being said, if I join a community then later find out that some members may not be who they say they are or act in suspicious manners, I will choose to surf that community with more attentiveness and awareness.