Task 3B Reflections on Network Theories

Task 3b

Before looking at the reader “The Networked Professional” I am convinced that I know a lot about networking and that the theories behind it are simple. Networks are essential contacts between people that help forward our careers, socialising and learning. I am sadly mistaken that there is actually a lot more to professional networking than just this and there are a lot of complex theories in the thinking behind it.

My initial thoughts were quite ignorant. I couldn’t believe that there were so many theories behind networking, something that appears to be so simple. Initially I found it difficult to understand why there are so many arguments and debates on things that I have never before thought of as being significant or that even exist. Is networking really as complicated as what it is being made out to be or are the concepts thoughts that are over analysing the way we network to have a more complex meaning behind it? Is it really important to analyse how we network? Why can’t we just let it happen naturally?

Here are some of my reflections :

Cooperation

My initial thoughts about cooperation were that obviously it works to your advantage to cooperate with somebody. If you help somebody out they are more likely to help you out in the future. Upon reflection this was quite naive of me to think, and I found the example of “prisoner’s dilemma” with the “tit for tat” strategy (Axelrod, R. (1984) pages xi- xiv) very helpful in aiding my understanding that whilst professional networking you can be taken advantage of or you can take advantage of someone else. There has to be some sort of trust with in the network, so how do we gain that trust?

I found a good example to me was our blogs. I have noticed that the people that leave more comments on other people’s blogs tend to get more comments back themselves and have also learned that not leaving comments after someone has done for you can leave people less willing to interact with you again as you are giving nothing to them so they are not benefiting from sharing their thoughts with you.

In the world of dance and employment it is important to build a strong reputation for yourself so that people want to cooperate with you. Reflecting further on the question raised from Axelrod, R (1984) pages xi-xiv: “When should a person cooperate, and when should a person be selfish, in an ongoing interaction with another person?” I realised that sometimes you have to let people down to keep your reputation, like not helping out someone by recommending them for a job because you know they are not strong enough. First impressions are also essential as they are difficult to change.

Affiliation

I can see how affiliation is associated with personality and how your personality traits can affect how you socialise and make connections with other people. For me this concept is the easiest to relate to as I feel that naturally I like to spend a lot of my waking time with other people and that I have almost been trained in my profession to work through my inhibitions and speak and get to know people a lot more and a lot faster than I probably would if I wasn’t in a profession that required as much contact in order to progress.

A lot of dancing contracts are about 6 – 8 months, some shorter and a lot of times you will be working and living with people who you do not know. Over time you learn how to get to know people quickly and also learn which characters to avoid and which to connect with. You also learn how to tolerate and live with those who you maybe wouldn’t choose to in real life. It is a big help to have a web of affiliates to support you in times of stress. Even being away from home for a long time can be upsetting and  so it’s important to have a group of people around to help you feel like you are not alone.

Connectivism

Looking from a connectivist point of view I can see that the internet has benefited us greatly in being able to gather information from which we can learn.  Having the internet at hand with developed search engines such as Google means that you have so much more information available to you from different sources than not having the internet and having to search individual sources for example books at a library.  The internet has also made looking for the knowledge a lot faster because it looks for words related to your search and usually finds what you are looking for in a matter of seconds. It knows where to look, whereas you may have to look through a lot of books to find what you were looking for in a library. This all links back to the advantages of web 2.0 and having so much knowledge on the internet that is constantly being updated means that people are more likely to want to find out more and learn new things. It becomes more of a hobby than a chore as there is not as much effort needed on the learners part to find out the knowledge. I have found that I use connectivism in the real world while in rehearsals for shows. To me connectivism is about using all the people in your network not just learning from one particular person. For example there maybe other people in my cast that I can ask about particular parts of the choreography not just the main choreographer. In relation to the internet I can use sites online such as you tube to watch dances in order to learn them myself instead of needing one particular person to teach me the choreography.

Social Constructionism

When you make a new social connection the properties of the relationship with the person or network are not yet determined. That means that you have the opportunity to construct the properties in ways that are suitable. For instance, if you meet a potential employer you can create an environment that is more professional than you would if you were meeting a co worker. You would be able to do this in many ways, perhaps by using more formal language and limiting the topics of conversation. An example of when I have done this is when applying for a job, my CV has a professional head shot rather than a photo taken by the pool on holiday. This creates a first impression that starts to define the properties of the connection. As this connection becomes stronger it is possible to change the boundaries depending on the relationship.

I decided to read an introduction to Connective knowledge by Stephen Downes that is referenced in the reader.  Downes talks about a lot of other different concepts that are related to connective knowledge, some of which are argued by readers who have commented. I tried to look up connectivism and found that there is not a lot of information about it. Wikipedea does have a page but more citations are needed and there are only a few paragraphs suggesting that there haven’t been mountains of research to do with this theory. I am not surprised as this concept is particularly difficult to understand in the grand scheme of connectivism as a whole outside of networking. Many of the theories behind the concept are also being debated so there does not seem to be a clear line in some cases of what is connectivism and what isn’t.

Communities of practice

This is a concept that I have been unaware of but actually am involved in without realising it. “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ I found that this website was a great help in explaining further in maybe a more simple way what the extract in the reader from Lave and Wenger (1991 pp. 98-100) was talking about.

 I have found that I haven’t needed to challenge this concept as I can really see the benefits myself. Being involved in a group where all of the participants share the same domain that interact often to share knowledge about what worked best, or solve problems taking part in group experiments, finding an answer together, this is a community of practice. I asked myself if I was involved in any communities of practice and found that there are many:

On board my ship where I am working at the moment I am involved in a community of practice. Outside our work hours we take classes regularly. The classes themselves are fairly informal but you do have to be a part of the cast to take part. We mess around with choreography, trying to make up new dances. We also practice tricks and help each other out. For example I have never been able to cartwheel but I’m trying to learn and other members of the cast who can cartwheel successfully give me tips and pointers on how to do it better and the techniques that they use. We all leave each class having learned something new and it’s an ongoing process.

Task 3a

Task 3a

From recent experience I have found it very important to create networks of contacts that can help me forward with my career. Have you ever heard the expression “It’s not what you know but who you know”? Unfortunately, or fortunately I have found this to be true, but... not as true as “It’s not who you know but how you know them”! It’s human nature that you would ask someone to help you that you know you could trust over someone who you didn’t know at all or didn’t know very well, and it’s the same at auditions.

If you were dancing in a strong group of girls in front of a panel of employers they’d more than likely take a girl who they knew or had been recommended to them by someone reputable that knew both parties than someone who they didn’t know at all. Sometimes it can be frustrating especially when you know that the girl they have taken may be slightly weaker than you, but that’s why it is so important to create a professional network and a great motive to get involved.

I like to make a conscious effort to attend classes and workshops when I’m at home to get my face seen. When I attend these, even though I know there isn’t a job at the end I like to act like I’m at an audition, trying to create a good first impression so that people will remember me in a good way. It’s not all about dancing though, and sometimes it can be difficult but I like to try and talk to new people and find out things like who they’ve worked for, what they have enjoyed and generally be friendly.

 As you work with more and more people you encounter people who have worked in many different areas. Maybe one of these people had your dream job and had a close contact that could help get you closer to getting the job than you would be if you had no contacts at all.

Another good idea is to join an agency as this is like joining an instant network that has already been created for you. Agencies have pros and cons as usually if you get work through an agent you would have to pay them a percentage of your wage but often you are more likely to be employed with an agent for particular jobs than without as the employers trust who the agents send even if they don’t know the person who they have given the job.

Usually you would have to audition to be a part of the agency but then it’s the agents job to find work that you are suited for. So already being with an agent can put you a few more steps up the ladder to getting the job.

I think it’s also essential to make use of the technology that is available to us. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are a brilliant source for making new contacts and creating cyber networks of possible employers, agents and likeminded people who work in the same business as us. The profiles on these sites can be a help as to whether you would really want to make contact with a particular person, what kind of work they provide, etc.

 Going back to professional communication technology we have realised how important it is to understand that it is just as important to give off a good cyber impression of ourselves as it is in person so keeping these sites as professional as possible is important (or as Ethnie suggested, creating a professional and personal site is also a good idea).

It also seems that the hardest point of social networking is starting out. It’s as if you need that first job to prove yourself. The more work you have had the more likely you are to be employed again (in a lot of cases). Also I find that being away you can be forgotten about so it’s important to keep contact within the networks strong so that a chain isn’t broken.

I imagine my ideal network to look like a web made out of chains of connections. The more connections that I make add to the web making it bigger and stronger and therefore more likely to catch work from employers. I also understand that the web chains can become broken and that it’s important to keep them strong by keeping in touch and not fading away into the distance.

I admire practitioners such as Heather Morris, who plays Britney S pierce in Glee. She is an amazing dancer with many different work credits including dancing on tour with Beyonce. I wonder what her professional network is like and I wonder how many different contacts she has made in her career so far. She is someone who I would like to know more about and if I could I would ask her for advice on professional networks.

task 2d

2D

When I go about my daily practice I am most enthusiastic about music. It is music that drives me to dance and I have been enthusiastic about music for my whole life. As a child I was a very musical person and I enjoyed playing the piano and flute. I decided to study music further as an option at school but found that I could express myself better through dance and also felt more of a fulfilment from dancing to music than playing it.

I love hearing a new piece of music that I can really relate to or that stirs up emotion inside and I really enjoy attending workshops and classes where dances are choreographed to relate to a piece of music emotionally. When I see people dance with their souls rather than their bodies I am inspired. I really admire Mia Michaels a choreographer best known for her work with contestants on America’s So You Think You Can Dance as she has created so many moving and inspirational pieces. Another choreographer who I admire is Mark Battershall whose classes I have attended at Pineapple Dance Studios in London.

I am a worrier. If I don’t have anything to worry about I will worry about something that could happen that probably never will. Growing up I found that going to dance lessons I would forget about everything that was going on outside the room until the lesson was over. I was able to purely focus and enjoy dancing and it was my teachers who inspired me with their music this is what I love so much about what I do and I admire Rebecca Davies my childhood dancing teacher who was able to make me feel this way and have such a passion for dance.

It makes me a little sad sometimes when people don’t take dancing seriously.  A lot of people are uneducated about how specialised it is. In order to be a strong technical dancer a lot of hard work and motivation is needed. It annoys me when people turn their noses up at me when I tell them that I am a dancer. Some people don’t have enough knowledge of dance to be able to respect it.

I really admire those who are trying to put dance more into the public eye through the media such as Nigel Lythgoe who created So You think you can dance. I feel like the more people see dance the more they are able to appreciate it. This particular programme showcases professional dancers competing against each other over a variety of dance styles, here is a link to one of my favourites which was choreographed by Mia Michaels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XIFZLlIiM.

Although I don’t have a specific line of inquiry yet I would like to go in the direction of inquiring about music and dance. What makes a piece of music so inspirational to dance to? How can we use this to inspire more people to dance?