Numbers: LJ 3 #USFLIS4380SMS20


The chapter 6 reading from the Social Media Communication textbook was very similar to the We are data readings. The chapter was titled Social Media Metrics and Analytics, which tells us that the main topic is the numbers involved in social media for marketing. The chapter describes how basically everything done on social media is trackable data. In the We are data reading, our actions online are also described as data but in a different way. Just as the title says, we are the data, not just the things we do. Our individual clicks collectively categorize us into online data. This data is each person as a whole, each click adds to the person being categorized further. Our categorization doesn't depend on who we physically are, but on what we define ourselves as based on our clicks. Our online presence defines who we are in data, and how we will be organized. In the textbook reading we aren't considered the data but what we do online is. Each time we like something, view it or click on it, we are inputting data to be analyzed for marketing. So again, rather than each person being the data to categorize, what we do online is the data, as explained in the textbook. Based on both readings, everything done online is still data, every click is still data, but the data means different things depending on who is collecting it. The textbook's explanation of online "traffic" makes it seem as if those who collect the data are trying to manipulate the traffic for more profit. They collect the online traffic to then forecast what will come next to be prepared and receive a larger ROI. Overall, having an online presence, in general, is putting data to be analyzed and organized into being. These readings put it into more perspective when people would say to watch what you post and do online because even if the information isn't seen by everyone, you are now connected to it and categorized based on it. The internet and social media have consequences, we are actively being tracked online, and these are things to be aware of. The internet is not a place of total anonymity and it shouldn't be treated as such.


Citation:

Cheney-Lippold, J. (2019). We are data: Algorithms and the making of our Digital Selves. New York University Press.

Lipschultz, J. H. (2017). Social Media Communication. Routledge. 

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