Personal Learning Networks

One important thing I’ve learned while studying at Full Sail University, is to build and maintain personal learning networks (PLNs) via the web. For those of you who don’t know what a PLN is, it is anyone that you engage and exchange information with. Think of it as your social network, but one that is more gauged towards learning. 

Photo courtesy of: http://www.olecommunity.com/the-power-of-personal-learning-networks-wait-what-is-a-personal-learning-network/

Blogs can be an excellent source for PLNs, but they need to be written by credible sources. I have a number of public relations blogs in my PLN. One of my favorites is Richard Edelman’s 6 A.M. blog. As the president and CEO of the world’s largest independent public relations firm, Richard Edelman can certainly be considered a reliable source for any public relations practitioner. I find his blog posts to be extremely helpful because he writes about what he is currently doing in the field. For example, on March 5, he wrote about his trip to Vietnam and China. Readers not only get a first hand look into the life of a public relations practitioner, the blog also offers information on how public relations is practiced in countries all over the world. 

Another one of my favorite daily reads is the blog PR in Your Pajamas. Written by Elena Verlee, founder of the Cross Border Communications agency, this blog covers a wide variety of different topics within the field of public relations. For example, on March 13, the blog featured a post titled, 7 Critical PR Lessons for Launching Start-Ups. I found this post to be extremely beneficial while working on my business plan in graduate school. 

These are only two of the blogs in my PLN, and not all of them are public relations related. It is important that your PLN covers a wide variety of topics. My PLN is also comprised of technological and social media blogs that I find to be extremely beneficial. Consider setting up a really simple syndication (RSS) feed for all of your favorite blogs. Google has a great RSS reader that can help you get started. You can also use your Twitter to keep track of your PLN. Both writers of the blogs above have Twitter accounts. By following your favorite blogs on Twitter, you can easily find out about blog updates and new posts.

Which blogs do you consider to be an asset to your PLN? Do you a use a different reader for your RSS feed?