In the interview with Mo Amir, he discussed how his podcast was built as a hobby and it wouldn’t have existed without the use of his Twitter account and the connections he has on that PLN. He discussed how he only talks about things he is interested in on his podcast as he feels that will keep his listeners interested as well. He described his podcast journey as a process in which if you land one big guest, people will become more interested and start to recognize you and want to be on the podcast. I thought it was very interesting to see how he basically started as a small podcast without many viewers and has since moved into being in the top 40 Canadian Politics podcasts and even has been in the top 20. His success was built on both his own hard work, but also the use of a professional PLN. 

I thought Mo Amir was the perfect example when thinking about how a PLN can be used for professional development post-course. He discussed how he has developed many relationships with people through twitter as you are able to have direct communication with a variety of people through the touch of a button. I am not very active on twitter, but after hearing about Mo’s experience, I think it is the perfect PLN to use for professional development. I will definitely try and expand my twitter and try to communicate with people who are interested in similar topics and build a professional PLN. Before this class I felt as though LinkedIn was the only professional development PLN, but I have since understood that twitter seems to be the go-to for many people. 

I think my PLN can be relied on for professional opportunities. Just like Mo described, he started to engage with his Twitter account and the people on it and this led to building his reputation and his podcast. I think if I start to put more effort into making connections and building my PLN for professional use that I could definitely use it. As of right now, I don’t think I use my PLN enough to have it open professional opportunities, but that is something I will need to focus on. 

References 

Miller, J. (2021, October 25). Mo Amir EDCI 338. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgoDet6pwaI