How Do I Plan to Build Community & Engagement – Process Blog 2

Owning and managing a website or just blogging takes much effort, consideration, and work. As I reflected on how I plan to build an online presence and community for individuals and students preparing for post-secondary education, I immediately thought about my current circle of friends, family, and acquaintances.

For the sake of easy connection with people I already knew, I am contemplating using my real name instead of a fake name. Also, I was concentrating on a local audience within Belize; however, with the help of my professor, Dr. Raluca and some of my classmates, they recommended expanding my audience and reach on a more global level. This will increase users’ access to information and resourceful tools to enhance career education and portfolio building.

Initially, I thought about using my real name so I could be easily recognized by former colleagues, friends, students, and other familiar persons. This would provide an instant audience that would boost my visibility and increase traffic to my website.

However, after this week’s reflection on Sherry Turkle’s article Who Am We  I have tentatively decided to blog under a name that I do not use in the real world – my middle name, only my best friend calls me by middle name. this article was compelling and caused me to think about blogging anonymously. I believe I’d express myself more freely under a name that is unidentifiable to the public. I would not have to fear being labelled by the things I express or the views I share. Anyway, I am still thinking about this.

I’m cognizant how terrifying the internet is and how it’s changing our lives and behaviors. While many individuals are using social media to enhance self and society, others have been using it maliciously to destroy other people’s lives and disturb the equilibrium of our society. People meddling in the dark world., child predators and molesters, scammers, and attack on the vulnerable, are a few things happening in the digital world.

My site will be available to all users, once they have internet connectivity. I plan to improve the site with information parents and guardians can use. I plan to share my stories and create an avenue for my audience to share their stories and testimonials as well. For example, I will share my personal experiences about how I managed to navigate my career pathway, ending up where I am today.

My aim will be to remain as simple and straightforward as possible. I plan to have open communication and be easily accessible. As a career exploration website, it would be great to have my audience work on small assignments and even make submissions in return for incentives or rewards. This is how I plan to add to the discursive community and improve the lives of others.