The Tools of a (Connected) Professional

    What is a professional without their tools? Now that you're a connected professional and are connecting with your community, you need to have an arsenal of tools to use to stay connected. In my previous two posts on The Connected Professional, I outlined how to become a connected professional and how to build your connected learning community.

Tools of the Trade

    The most obvious tool connected professionals use is networking. Either through social media, going to events virtually or in-person, or working with others. 

    A tool we haven't gone over yet is using non-social media resources, such as podcasts, blogs, websites, videos, books, etc. With the power of the internet, there is an endless variety of resources on the internet. These are so accessible to create and consume, it seems almost obviously that they'd be your tools.

    Here I'd like to introduce you to an online tool called an RSS feed-- a way to collect your content. RSS feeds (or RDF Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication, this tool as gone through many name changes) is a tool to create a feed of aggregate content. Instead of having to go to each page separately to check for new content or updates, you can view new content through an RSS reader. RSS has been around since 1999, but really cemented itself into the format we know today in the early 2000's.

    You can view an abridged version of how RSS feeds work in this diagram below from Eliance, a business consulting company:

Simple Techniques

    Alongside the tools at your disposal, how can you keep up with all these resources you're taking in?

    A simple technique you can use is to keep track of your findings. As mentioned in the previous section, RSS, in the grand scheme of the internet, is old-- So is bookmarking! These techniques have stood the test of time and have been available to all internet users for a reason!

    Another technique you can use is simply to collaborate with your connections. Your community is there for you to learn, so don't be afraid to ask people! Collaborations aren't just getting together with another creator to make a new piece or product-- they can be as simple as asking for help. Communities thrive off of the sharing of information.

    As an artist, you'll be familiar with practicing your technique and building your style. You need to do the same as a connected profession. Note what works for you and what doesn't. If RSS feeds and bookmarking aren't your style, you can use the "favorites" function on your favorite social media websites. If forums don't work for you, you can join Discord communities! Everyday, there are more tools and techniques to your disposal.

Extending Your Reach

    So... now you have all this knowledge, you need to put it into practice. How will you use this knowledge now that you have it? How do you apply this to your real life and career?

What being a freelancer feels like

  

    All freelance artists know that you need to wear several hats in order to be successful. Being a freelance artist means being your own boss, employee, bookkeeper, social media staff, and most importantly: being your own PR person. 

    Your career lives and dies off of your reputation, both with clients and peers. For clients: Do you work well with others? What's your work-life balance look like? Do you underpromise and overdeliver or do you overpromise or underdeliver? For peers: Are you rude? Do you get into frequent conflicts? Can you work in a team? People talk!-- But that doesn't mean you always need to be a saint or that you can't make mistakes. We're human after all, sometimes we slip up. The key to maintaining your reputation is to remain professional through your mistakes, analyze what went wrong, what went right, and always be learning.

    The tools are yours to use-- use them wisely.Tell me in the comments your tools, how you use them, and how you're facilitating a clean reputation in your professional life.

Thank you for reading,

Shaun DiGiovanni

For more context, please read my previous blog posts about this topic:

The Connected Professional • Building a Connected Learning Community