Literary means our ability to read and understand a language. We are living in a world of Digital Expansion. Technology is everywhere, and we communicate daily through social media and networking platforms. So, we need to be smart and mature while we use Digital Media. Here, Digital Literacy means our ability to be mature and smart users of digital resources.
“Digital literacy means that you know your way around the digital landscape,” says Shayne Sherman, CEO of TechLoris.
Without Digital Literacy Skills, we cannot be called 21st-century citizens because the absence of Digital Literacy means we cannot use internet-based communication in a good way. It will not just be a personal skill but in your career and in business it plays an important role. In the Digital World, one needs to be smart and skilled. If you are good at understanding how the Digital world works, you can guide others as well.
When we see digital literacy benefits, we can list the following usage:
- Digital Literacy makes us use the internet in a mature way.
- It makes us aware of the right-wrong things on the web.
- We become good workers, leaders, and users of the internet.
- Digital literacy skills make you grow your business as well.
- You can make an impressive online profile through this skill.
>>> You can Download the PDF File of this Blog as this blog was written for my students at Amity University Tashkent - for their Communication Skills paper in Semester 1. >>>
Read this Article for a Detailed explanation of DL and its benefits, principles, etc.: https://www.sampoernauniversity.ac.id/definition-of-digital-literacy-its-benefits-principles-and-examples/
Read Benefits: ADOBE WEBSITE
- Netiquette (Watch a Video: https://youtu.be/_KM1eN6ZC3k )
Etiquette means Mannerisms/Manners or behaviour rules for us. On the internet, we connect with thousands of people. Some of them are known to us and some of them are completely unknown. There is a need to follow a protocol for personal safety in social media as well. We do not want anyone to disgrace or insult us there and in the same way, we should not harm others on the web. But still, there are problems.
We can observe some Netiquettes to make an impressive Professional Image on Social and Digital Media.
- While Driving on the road we expect other drivers to observe the rules of the road. It means we should also be following the rules while driving. The same is true as we travel through cyberspace. It is a limitless world now where we get to face unlimited challenges.
- Netiquette - network etiquette or Internet etiquette is important today for students and professionals
Not just universities, teachers, and bloggers but anti-virus-making companies also want users to be mature on the internet. They also share blogs and ideas to share important points about netiquette.
Do watch this: https://youtu.be/a38MJVEPWiw
- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/what-is-netiquette
- https://blog.citl.mun.ca/instructionalresources/netiquette/
- https://www.avast.com/c-netiquette
- https://www.cfr.msstate.edu/StudentOrgs/Fps/docs/(Mar2016)Writing%20a%20Formal%20Email.pdf
- Social Media Etiquette: https://youtu.be/u0lk3tremKM
- https://coursedesign.colostate.edu/obj/corerulesnet.html
Writing Electronic Mail is one of the very first things that we do in our job or education now. People communicate in a formal way at offices and for work. So, it is very important for your career that you learn how to write a good e-mail. It will be right to say that this simple skill of writing can make a huge difference to your work and career growth. All organisations are searching for people who can write impressive and sensible e-mails.
See this Article: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/email-writing-tips/ )
More explanation: https://www.menlo.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/writing-a-formal-email.pdf
I have shared a Blog for you from: https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/career-english/write-perfect-professional-email-english-5-steps/
Tips for E-mail Writing in a FORMAL WAY!
1. Begin with a greeting
Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Lillian”. If your relationship with the reader is formal, use their family name (eg. “Dear Mrs. Price”). If the relationship is more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Kelly”. If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”.
2. Thank the recipient
If you are replying to a client’s inquiry, you should begin with a line of thanks. For example, if someone has a question about your company, you can say, “Thank you for contacting ABC Company”. If someone has replied to one of your emails, be sure to say, “Thank you for your prompt reply” or “Thanks for getting back to me”. Thanking the reader puts him or her at ease, and it will make you appear more polite.
3. State your purpose
If you are starting the email communication, it may be impossible to include a line of thanks. Instead, begin by stating your purpose. For example, “I am writing to enquire about …” or “I am writing in reference to …”.
Make your purpose clear early on in the email, and then move into the main text of your email. Remember, people want to read emails quickly, so keep your sentences short and clear. You’ll also need to pay careful attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation so that you present a professional image of yourself and your company.
4. Add your closing remarks
Before you end your email, it’s polite to thank your reader one more time and add some polite closing remarks. You might start with “Thank you for your patience and cooperation” or “Thank you for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” and “I look forward to hearing from you”.
5. End with a closing
The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”, “Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or “Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send button, review and spell-check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect!
- Advantages of Social Media
Social Media is extremely active and huge in its role now. We do not have any domain of life and career where social media does not have an impact. This has become a need and at the same time
Read this Article to make Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140422162738-44670464-5-benefits-of-using-social-media/
- Effective Ways of Using Social Media
Social media was once mostly just for fun, but not anymore. – The New York Times
A Smartphone does not make you smart. You must use it smartly and bring good learning in life. We know that technology saves us time today. But the important thing is to think about what do we do with that saved time. If we are just feeling comfortable in spending hours and hours on social media without any good work - it is dangerous. The addiction to social media apps is so much that people of all ages are glued to their phone screens everywhere. It is good to stay social and stay connected with your online community but doing it at the cost of your work or health is not a good thing. The effective ways to make fruitful use of Social Media can be based on some of these ideas:
- Use Social Media to expand and enhance your community
- Go for Networking with people who are connected to you in some way
- Try to share opinions with thoughtful ideas and insights to make an influence
- Maintain dignified and decent online behaviour
- Appreciate people for their good work and avoid commenting with an intention to hurt
- Prefer to avoid controversial responses or posts on the social media
- Be brave to report if there is any cyberbullying on you or someone you know
- Collaborate with people from the same interest groups
- Look for professional networking for your career and business as well
- Keep your privacy and security strong
- Never Take Social Media for Granted, always verify the information, and do not forward rumours without proper check
- Do not use social media for personal purposes at the office, (Office Work at Office)
- Always remember that each social media has its own nature – like Facebook is different from LinkedIn in the way we use it
- Have a Personality on social media and keep a singular voice on views
- Be Active because consistency is the key to being successful on social media
- Blogs
Before I define this for you – let me say that you already know Blogs. You may skip the task of defining it because it is imperative to know about Blogging in this century of communication. But as a student of Communication, you must be able to understand how BLOGS came into existence and prominence as well.
In simple words, an article on an online platform is called a blog now. Video Blogs are there on Youtube and PhotoBlogs keep us amazed on Instagram. Microblogging is done on Twitter and professional blogging is there in LinkedIn.
Now we are moving ahead to understand what a BLOG is, how can you read them and how can you have a blog of your own writing!!! (Learning technology not just for knowing it but for using it!)
‘Log’ means ‘record’ of activities. You might have heard that supervisors and even drivers keep a log book to make entries of their observations and updates. When we write a ‘Log’ or record or article on the WEB (Internet), it is known as a Blog. There are more than 600 million blogs in the world. The number will be higher by the time you read this article.
More than 3 billion blog posts are published each year worldwide. That’s 8.28 million blog posts published per day, and 5,750 blog posts published each minute. (2022, Internet Live Stats)
In the United States, there are over 31 million active bloggers posting at least once per month.
And based on search analytics data from Ahrefs, people search Google for “How to start a blog” 53,000 times per month worldwide. That’s over 1,700 people who consider starting a blog every day.
About 70 million new blog posts are published each month on WordPress, along with about 77 million new comments. (2022, WordPress)
Each month, more than 409 million people view over 20 billion pages on WordPress.com sites. (2022, WordPress)
You can see this blog of IFS Amity – English https://ifsamityenglish.blogspot.com/
We get the following benefits from Blogs:
- Storehouses of Knowledge with Globally available content
- Provide opportunities for free expressions
- Commercially used for promotion via content
- For a business, it creates brand awareness and does promotion
- It enriches the web with learning content
Click Here to see more material on Blogging.
- Professional Profile on Web
We make a resume or CV
"You never get a second chance to make your first impression." Of course, we do not get another chance 'unless the recipient of our communication allows' us to do so.
We have been able to understand that it is only communicative competence that wins attention. All our communications have been done to draw attention to accomplish the three objectives of Communication: 1. To Inform 2. to Persuade 3. Entertain. When we relate the requirements of the contemporary world to communication skills, we realize that expressing oneself is crucial. How we present ourselves to the world around us will decide what the world thinks of us!
In both cases- Offline and Online- we need to keep in mind that Accuracy is the key to being expressive. Be it the grammar or the tenses, be it the words or the syntax, we need to be precisely focused. Follow the Four Rule formula:
- Don't Lie! The moment you trespass on your territory, you are gone!
- Focus on Your Strengths that Relate to the Reader/Listener's Requirements and mentioned Criteria.
- Don't give Generic Statements; Write Details and explain how an incident/experience made you develop or learn a particular skill.
- Proofread the Content with utmost care and concern. Spelling errors are what you really need to avoid.
While we are discussing the importance of a Professional Profile on an Online Platform, here is one platform which is very popular today:
- Make an Account on LinkedIn.
- Network for professional growth
- Read Articles on Professional subjects
- Write your blogs on LinkedIn
- Contact Employers
- Follow Companies for their updates
- Search for Jobs and Apply wisely
- Use it to connect with your colleagues and classmates from studies
- Generate Resume through LinkedIn resume making
