Social Media
WEEK 1
KEY TERMS:
• Social media - „networked database platforms that combine public with personal
Communication”;
„Web based platforms on which members can create personal pro les, articulate
friendship connections, and socially interact”
• Filter bubble - personalised Information created by algorithms; which selectively guess
which information a user would like to see based on personal inforamtion like Location,
search History (personalization limits exposure to diverse viewpoints)
• Echo Chambers - Situation where individuals are exposed primarily to information or
opinions that reinforce their existing beliefs or ideologies ( —> selective exposure - users
actively seek out sources that best represent their idealogical stance, while avoiding
those with opposing view.)
• Attention Economy - attention has become a valuable and limited by time asset; which
has become easy to steal (e.g. mostly through various tools like noti cations, algorthims
programmed to keep you on like on TIKTOK).
A priority for platforms is to experiment with new designs, targeting techniques, and
stimuli to steal users attention;
„Money now ows along with attention”
• Mediatization - refers to the increasing in uence and interaction of mass media on
various aspects of society, including politics, culture, business, and more
• Discourse - socially constructed knoweldges of (some aspect of) reality; socially
constructed, rely on cultural models, are based on situated and cultural use
• Mobilization through a ordances (e.g. #MeToo)
- Changes in Information ows (the Development)
EARLY 90’s
• Personal computers were bulky, desk-top, and hence stationary terminals.
1
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, • The internet was only nding its purchase in society.
• Email (or electronic mail) was considered cutting-edge communication (=the most
advanced and innovative methods, technologies, and practices used for exchanging
information and facilitating interactions).
• Online social networking sites were still in the distant future.
• Short message service (SMS) was just debuting.
SHIFT
“At the turn of century, people were becoming more reliant on the Internet to accomplish
basic daily tasks.”
• Information became so much more easily accessible.
• Our everyday lives are embedded in digital and social media communication.
PRESENT
There is a dramatic shift in the beginning of 2020’s (i assume covid?) when there is a 1
bilion increase of users on social media.
• „Nearly all social activities could be, and likely are, mediated in some way in some forms
of computing techology”
• Read a news article on a news portal
• Comment on the news article comment section
• Post/express ourselves on social media platforms
• Add friends – create online communities
• Start an online campaign (e.g. crowdfunding, raising awareness campaigns)
- PROFITING OFF SOCIAL MEDIA
• Major pro ts earned are earned by those who built and maintained the digital
infrastructure (e.g., platforms, algorithms, ad networks)
• These systems guided users through websites, apps, and content — shaping what
people saw and interacted with
• Tech companies behind these infrastructures played a key role in monetizing user
attention and data
• Those who better understand this kind of communication and know how to use it may
come to have more in uence (Bouvier & Rasmussen 2022)
Major Issue: Personal Data - which is a key element of making pro t on social networking
sities, especially for data brokers, big companies;
- Social media is the terrain where:
2
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WEEK 1
KEY TERMS:
• Social media - „networked database platforms that combine public with personal
Communication”;
„Web based platforms on which members can create personal pro les, articulate
friendship connections, and socially interact”
• Filter bubble - personalised Information created by algorithms; which selectively guess
which information a user would like to see based on personal inforamtion like Location,
search History (personalization limits exposure to diverse viewpoints)
• Echo Chambers - Situation where individuals are exposed primarily to information or
opinions that reinforce their existing beliefs or ideologies ( —> selective exposure - users
actively seek out sources that best represent their idealogical stance, while avoiding
those with opposing view.)
• Attention Economy - attention has become a valuable and limited by time asset; which
has become easy to steal (e.g. mostly through various tools like noti cations, algorthims
programmed to keep you on like on TIKTOK).
A priority for platforms is to experiment with new designs, targeting techniques, and
stimuli to steal users attention;
„Money now ows along with attention”
• Mediatization - refers to the increasing in uence and interaction of mass media on
various aspects of society, including politics, culture, business, and more
• Discourse - socially constructed knoweldges of (some aspect of) reality; socially
constructed, rely on cultural models, are based on situated and cultural use
• Mobilization through a ordances (e.g. #MeToo)
- Changes in Information ows (the Development)
EARLY 90’s
• Personal computers were bulky, desk-top, and hence stationary terminals.
1
fl ff fl fl fi fi
, • The internet was only nding its purchase in society.
• Email (or electronic mail) was considered cutting-edge communication (=the most
advanced and innovative methods, technologies, and practices used for exchanging
information and facilitating interactions).
• Online social networking sites were still in the distant future.
• Short message service (SMS) was just debuting.
SHIFT
“At the turn of century, people were becoming more reliant on the Internet to accomplish
basic daily tasks.”
• Information became so much more easily accessible.
• Our everyday lives are embedded in digital and social media communication.
PRESENT
There is a dramatic shift in the beginning of 2020’s (i assume covid?) when there is a 1
bilion increase of users on social media.
• „Nearly all social activities could be, and likely are, mediated in some way in some forms
of computing techology”
• Read a news article on a news portal
• Comment on the news article comment section
• Post/express ourselves on social media platforms
• Add friends – create online communities
• Start an online campaign (e.g. crowdfunding, raising awareness campaigns)
- PROFITING OFF SOCIAL MEDIA
• Major pro ts earned are earned by those who built and maintained the digital
infrastructure (e.g., platforms, algorithms, ad networks)
• These systems guided users through websites, apps, and content — shaping what
people saw and interacted with
• Tech companies behind these infrastructures played a key role in monetizing user
attention and data
• Those who better understand this kind of communication and know how to use it may
come to have more in uence (Bouvier & Rasmussen 2022)
Major Issue: Personal Data - which is a key element of making pro t on social networking
sities, especially for data brokers, big companies;
- Social media is the terrain where:
2
fi flfi fi
