Journal #2

Join an Affinity Group and Share your Digg Stream

I have joined the Learning & Development Center of Excellence (LDCOE) for about a couple of months.http://elearningindustry.com/. It  has different topics discussed between the group members, for example, “Do you use a steps of training method?”, or “What managers should know about learning and memory in the brain?” etc. Members of the group can make comments on any of the topic or just click “Like” link to show your support to the topic.

I started to use Digg because of the GED 512. I am not very familiar with it, but I think it’s useful if you want to get some information on certain field occasionally, since it will keep on updating the information you are interested.

Question 1: What can we benefit from joining the affinity group?

For me, joining LDCOE opens a window of the learning area and makes me thinking of something I never thought before. And it is useful to read the comments from the other members as well, I think it’s good to hear from different voices. Although, sometimes, there are some discussions I am not interested. It will make feel disturbed, especially when it keeps on send email to your mailbox even if you have no time to read it when you are busy. But after all, I think I benefit from joining the group, because I can keep an eye on the learning area and at the same time, keep contact with the experienced members. 

Question 2: How to select the affinity groups which are right for you?

There are numerous affinity group in various fields. So how to choose the right groups for you?  I was confused by this problem. Once I joined several groups at the same time, and it kept on sending me many emails every day. I was overwhelmed, and then I cancelled some groups that are useless to me. So we should choose the groups according to the area that we really have interest in, and furthermore, the topics in the group good. It’s a good idea to be referenced by your friends. And also avoid joining too many groups at the same time.