Podcast Review

    This morning I listened to the episode, "How to Show Up Online," from the podcast, "Difficult Happens." In this episode, Laura and the guest speaker, Deborrah Ashley talk about a few topics ranging from LinkedIn, dealing with trolls, to the permanence of social media activity.

    In regards to Linkedin, Deborrah gives a few tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of the site. She states that the most important aspect is your profile. it should be a "well-optimized profile that positions you as an expert in your field" (Currie 4:50). When someone shares a piece of content, most of the time the viewers will check out the poster's profile to know where this information is coming from and to see if it's a reliable source. As well, people are able to view your activity on your Linkedin profile. This means that it's important to consider what you share on the internet and how you react to other people. As Deborrah puts it, "Everything you put out on social media nowadays, whether you screenshot it, (or if someone) takes a look at your activity, it's gonna stay with you forever" (Currie 5:56). I think this is important not only for professional online communication sites but more casual social media platforms as well. For one, it's better to have a respectful history of online interactions so you're not making an environment worse. Secondly, some employers are very resourceful when it comes to finding background information about a potential employee. If the account is public, assume that everything you post will be seen by anyone.

    Laura and Deborrah also talk about the amount of trolling they can sometimes experience, both being notable figures when it comes to both Linkedin and online communication podcasts. Trolling, similar to flaming, is when someone intentionally tries to upset someone or a group of people online. Most of the time, trolling will result in "flame-wars," in which the troll tries to bring out the worst in someone. The book, Communication Online, by Julia Green, defines flaming as "Hostile online language that creates a toxic climate for relationship development and growth" (p.105). If either speaker were to fall into these "flame-wars," their viewers would be able to see the interaction and it could have consequences on their reliability. Rather, Deborrah mentions that people often troll because they are deprived of something. It should be seen and dealt with from the perspective of empathy.

Sources

Currie, Lara. “‎Difficult Happens; Effective Communication for Bosses: How to Show Up Online with Deborrah Ashley on Apple Podcasts.” Apple Podcasts, 18 Aug. 2020, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-show-up-online-with-deborrah-ashley/id1358426248?i=1000488461621.

Green, J. M. (2017). Communicating online. United States: McGraw Hill Education Create. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781307589122/cfi/0!/4/2@100:0.00