To understand how to balance PLN and public discourse, let’s first break it up.

P = Personal, L = Learning, N = Network

Learning Involving interaction, communication, and exchange for knowledge and experiences with others, so Personal learning network may not be that “personal” as it sounds like. Networks are build up on the social media platforms.

Social space on the internet is a place where people can be anonymous and anyone can assess it. people don’t have to know you and you don’t have to know them. So, sometimes the comments by others can be harmful, disrespectful. While most people is friendly and glad to use it as a tool for learning. You can learn from people all around the world.

As a public figure, the most important thing is their reputation. No matter they are an educator, a lawyer, or a government official. They need to be trusted by the public, which means they need to be very careful about what they say and post on the internet. One small mistake can be overly amplification and interpreted. Losing the trust of the public means that loss their authority, and their speech will no longer taken by the public.

As I said, social media is an open space for everyone. Everyone has the freedom of speech, even when they make negative replies. Facing negative comments is something that each of us will experience to some extent. For me, I understand that it is an open space for everyone, and I know the purpose of why i am using social media. I am here to learn, and making friends with people have some interests with me. As for the negative replies, I will listen if the comments make sense and can help me improve myself. Otherwise, I will just ignore them.