What Is Networking Anyways?

 As the world increasingly embraces the ideas of digital connection and networking into the mainstream, everyone from working professionals to middle school students has the idea that networking is important drilled into them. However, more often then not the concept of networking is left abstract, leaving many just guessing at what building a network even means. Luckily, that's about to change because of The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age, a book by Lani Ritter Hall and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach that uses the lens of teaching to break down networks into three distinct components anyone can use in any career to improve their professional development.

The subsets of networks The Connected Educator outlines start small and expand to potentially encompass entire industries. Most people reading will be quite familiar with the first, a familiar Professional Learning Community consisting of one's immediate surroundings. The idea here is to motivate workers to band together with those in their workplace to improve their craft through collective shared knowledge. Following that, the second network takes a step out with the introduction of Personal Learning Networks, handpicked contacts one trades information with from anywhere on the planet. By using technology to maintain bonds with a range of contacts that help each other develop with their range of experiences. Finally, the third network brings the widest reach to the table in the form of Communities Of Practice, groups that attempt to pool knowledge in order to create a foundation anyone can use to grow. The principle that the knowledge of the many will always outpace the knowledge of the individual holds true here, as these widespread communities often help people find information they'd never encounter, even in their other networks. By breaking down networking into these subsets, The Connected Educator takes strides to ensure anyone can conceptualize building a network of their own.

As a sports commentator, networking is understandably important for me as I try to find my through the talent industry. However, as someone who's just starting out, many of these subsets will not create themselves. For example, a Professional Learning Community for me consists of whoever happened to be picked up by the broadcasting organization that day, so while I may get some brief feedback, we don't stick together for long. Luckily, I can add contacts from events to my Personal Learning Network, which I certainly try to do. However, I have a long way to go before I can truly call it a network. Finally, we arrive to the one thing I truly have, a Community Of Practice in the form of Broadcast.gg, a place for new commentators to launch their casting careers. Here, commentators new and veteran pool their knowledge and review each others work to help everyone develop, and as a result many of the top tier sports commentators of the modern day got their start there. I'm not quite there yet, but I hope that by contributing to the community and making good use of my networks, I can one day land in the position of my dreams.