BLOG 2 My Online Presence
My Visitor & Resident Map
When I started drawing my Visitor and Resident map, I didnât expect it to make things this clear. I realized that most of the time, Iâm online as a visitor. I go to platforms to look things up, watch videos, or read posts, and then I leave. I donât always feel the need to comment or interact. In learning spaces connected to this course, though, I act more like a resident. I post, reply, and leave some trace. Seeing this visually made me notice that my online behaviour changes depending on how comfortable I feel and whether the space feels personal, professional, or somewhere in between. This connects to the Visitor/Resident framework (White & Le Cornu). The online presence depends on our purpose, not only just for the platform.
White, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement.
Platforms and Professional Learning
Just as Jesse mentioned in his blog, PLN is more like a form of continuous learning. But in my view, students use various platforms to build their professional networks. LinkedIn is the easiest, but blogs and discussion forums in class are also important. It’s also important to reflect on and learn from these. Some students also make use of less “formal” online platforms like Discord or Reddit, and they may not even consider these as “professional” platforms. What struck me the most is that merely being present on these platforms doesn’t mean you’re building a network. Usually, it depends on whether you put in the effort, or perhaps it’s just not obvious to you. I’ve also come to realize that even small actions, such as leaving comments or replying, can make them seem like learning communities.
Expanding My PLN
This activity also made me wonder how my online image would be perceived by my employer. Suppose someone were to view my activities(comments), they would see that I actively engage in learning in related fields, while being relatively silent in other areas(because people always fail to focus on multiple different fields). This is a good thing, but it also means that if I don’t do it consciously, my online image is not so “complete”. I think it is incorrect to completely separate myself as an individual identity from my professional identity. This cannot be achieved. On the contrary, what I realized is that it is important to know which things are “public” and to make sure that these things can reflect the image I want others to see. Developing my personal learning network feels like not joining another network, but rather appearing more attentively in the network I have already been part of.
Chandrasekhar, U. (2025, March 7). Social media networks â The stage behind the âlike, comment, & shareâ (Part 3). Medium. https://umachandra.medium.com/social-media-networks-the-stage-behind-the-like-comment-share-b3fffcddd6fd