Week 5-Lecture Summary

Firstly, i would like to make it official that i am a social media expert! What makes me a social media expert is the fact that i use facebook and myspace which are social networks. I wanted to start off by saying that because it was something interesting i learnt and took away with me from this week's lecture. It's amazing how easy it is to claim that title. Anyways this week's lecture revolved around social media and web 2.0. Basically social media are social networking sites(facebook,myspace,twitter etc.) which are created by the individual indentity that creates a virtual community through these sites. These sites allow everyone and anyone to access them and create their own personal page with blogs, photos, videos and so forth. They are a way of communicating with people without face to face contact.

However what people do not realise is the issue of 'privacy' surrounding sites sites as facebook and myspace. Although, users may think that they have complete control over their web page these companies still have overall ownership and are able to access people's personal information and photos and use them without the user's permission. It is a real eye opener as many of us do not take the time and read the IMPORTANT privacy statement before signing up to these social networks. Before people set up their social networking group there is something called T.O.S which is the terms of service which they have to agree to. Many however are unaware of this important step.

I would also like to include an article regarding facebook's new implementation of privacy settings.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25993102-5014239,00.html

During the lecture we also learnt about something called 'attention economy' or in other words "who wants your eyeball?" This is done using something called a "cookie". For example say there was an advertisement on this page and someone clicked into it, the cookie can collect information such as: The server your computer is logged onto, your browser type, the date and time of your visit. This is all done to improve marketing performance.