Networking Networking Networking

Discovery Educator Network. Social Networks. Professional Networks.

I feel like I've learned a lot about the company in the past few weeks. Along with the online streaming services which Discovery Education provides, there are various professional development and networking opportunities for those who subscribe to our product. One of these opportunities is the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) which is a network of educators around the country who share resources, strategies and meet at professional development events. What I find most interesting about them is that they are a network based on online communications but their networking is most important when they meet at in-person events.

One way that we reach the DEN is through social networking sites such as our Twitter page. One of my assignments has been to create an editorial calendar of tweets to sprinkle in between the main online community coordinator's tweets. I have definitely learned a lot more about twitter and twitter culture in the past week than I definitely would have on my own.

Since I started as a freshman at AU, I have heard almost non-stop about "the importance of networking." As an 18 year old I didn't quite know what networking was, how to do it or how important it would be.

My manager is always introducing me to people and telling me to reach out to them for a half an hour of their time to discuss what it is they do at Discovery. I am meeting a woman for coffee on Friday who has a more international focus and works for the Global Education Partnership. We also occasionally have press strategy meetings with all of the communications people in Discovery (its where I get to hear all my Jon and Kate + 8 news) and I am interested to talk to those people and see what it would be like to work for one of the TV networks.