Social media plays an essential role in media distribution and consumption. This course should expose students to the inner-workings of companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc… The business model of most social media platforms greatly relies on advertising and it is important to understand how the data we input into these platforms is being used and sold to third parties. The pros and cons of social media should be explored – whether it be in the realm of privacy, activism or media creation.
////////// SOCIAL MEDIA
Key concepts / terms
Targeted advertising ♦ Virality ♦ Crowdsourcing ♦ Hashtags
Resources
- Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites – Ranking by eBiz MBA
- The Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You – New Yorker article by Maria Konnikova
- How to Target Facebook Ads – Facebook for business article and video
- Hashtag Activism, and Its Limits – New York Times article by David Carr
- Our Demand Is Simple: Stop Killing Us – New York Times article by Jay Caspian Kang
- Facebook Is Eating the Media. Is That Such a Bad Thing? – Slate article by Will Oremus
- Twitter Study: Actors are a TV Show’s “Greatest Asset” – Variety article by Marc Graser
- Privacy in the Age of Facebook – NY Times article by Jim Rutenberg
- The Business of Fake News – Video report from the Wall Street Journal
- How to Spot Fake News
- How Social Media Sites Profit from Fake News – Fortune Magazine with embedded video
- Fake News, Real Consequences – from Samantha Bee
