Leon Benjamin, a blogger at Winning by Sharing has posted an excellent presentation, How do I build brand me?, on Slideshare. It contains some very useful and (for me) timely advice on social media networking and prompted me to add the following (now, slightly edited) comment:
Thanks Leon, seeing your blog and Slideshare has been timely for me. I spend a lot of time sharing links, writing posts and creating resources for my students and to build my reputation as a counsellor who is passionate, committed and knowledgeable about the profession of counselling. I have evidence from students, clients and colleagues that this is successful, but your blog and presentation has helped me to be patient, focus on the process rather than the outcome and to remember that influence cannot always be measured by immediate reactions and change. In fact these principles apply as much to client work in counselling as they do to my involvement with social media. And the fact that I am now thinking, 'This could make a good blog post' shows how much I have begun to think in terms of creation, curation and sharing. Best wishes, @MarsdenTherapy
So, here I am creating the very post I mentioned in my comment. I think this is an example of why I like social media and its networking potential. I'll make a list:
- I have Tweeted the link to Leon's blog on my Twitter feed to alert my followers to something interesting I've found on the Web. I'm particularly thinking of those followers who are also colleagues at the University Centre, Blackburn College and interested in developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) and using social media to engage learners.
- I have followed Leon on Twitter, 'liked' his Facebook page, added his blog to my feed, added his blog to my newsletter on Scoop.it and subscribed to his Slideshares. So I'm now 'connected' and have expanded my network. He may or may not subscribe to any of my social media sites but either way I'm going to be notified whenever he uploads content.
- Finally here I am embedding Leon's content in my own site and adding my own reactions. For me this is fun but it's also learning.
So, I shall continue giving time and attention to my social media accounts. It's fun to create and curate; it enables me to connect with colleagues from across the world; I'm able to engage with different opinions and experiences, new ideas and research; it develops my writing and critical thinking skills; and builds my reputation as a counsellor, supervisor and teacher who is working at being authentic and is certainly passionate about his work ...
Now ... I need to add this to my blog and post a link on Twitter ...
