The chapter starts off by explaining the major shift social media has had on our society by breaking down the numbers each of the big platforms started with and are making now. After Facebook bought Instagram it grew exponentially, 7 years later in 2019 Instagram had more than one billion users (Lipschultz, 2021). "Social media sites offer a unique opportunity to measure human nature and communication behavior" Socal media sites use our digital footprint to asses unique analytics that can be used to influence our purchases and interactions. "An application programming interface allows data to be shared across social media sites," which allows for these sites to share your information with one another, making all of your feeds more personally tailored (Lipschultz, 2021). Recently, laws have been passed that mandate social media sites to make users aware of them potentially using and/or selling their data across platforms and allow them to decline tracking and selling, as many consumers were unaware of this taking place. I personally allow tracking on most of my social media sites right now but after reading this chapter and doing my research I have realized I should turn it off, as I am opening myself up for my data to be sold and for my apps to target me.
Social media measures include the number of fans, followers, friends, mainstream media mentions, likes or favorites, number of interactions or engagements, and conversions to purchases (Lipschultz, 2021). Through these, somewhat crude metrics, social media marketing has developed into a large and important aspect for businesses of all sizes. Brands want to build a relationship with their followers that will result in purchases of their products, and through social media marketing they can track what posts garner attention and result in purchases or just saves. This allows brands to focus their social media marketing strategies on what will make them the most return on investment. Google Analytics has been a great tool for businesses online as it allows these businesses to focus their marketing based on search terms and traffic to their web pages (Lipschultz, 2021).
I was made aware of how sites and different platforms are capable of tracking and sharing your data, but I have never really thought deeply into how dangerous it could be, and the risks of having my personal information out in public. I feel like that is something I should be more careful and considerate about starting now, so that I do not risk anyone having access to personal and confidential information.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole! I think that although some of the data being collected is concerning, it is a necessary evil that a lot of people are willing to accept. I would love to see a social media platform that offers either A a free social account that gets targeted ads and tracked data or B a monthly subscribed account that has no information tracked. The fact that social media companies do not give the consumer that option makes for a feeling of our privacy being violated.
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