This article explores how information gained by companies through social media has multiple marketing applications.
Appropriate Subject Area(s):
Marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, business management, privacy, consumer behaviour
Key Questions to Explore:
- What are the social and commercial implications of the personal information people provide through social media applications?
New Terminology:
Mission
Materials Needed:
The Internet
Introduction to lesson and task:
As the article says, the newest, biggest and most interesting collections of data on human behaviour belong to technology and social media startups – many of which didn’t exist just a few years ago. This lesson explores the reach of social media and the implications for businesses that collect or otherwise use the data.
Action (lesson plan and task):
- Survey the class to discover who uses social media.
- Create a chart on the board with the following: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, Blog, other
- Under each category record the number of users in the class.
- Discuss why some students prefer one over the other.
- Ask students what information they have recorded about their own lives on social media. Ask if they know how the medium is using their data.
- Divide the class into four groups and assign each group a section from the article, having divided it into four sections as follows:
- Section 1: begin with When Tech company Strava and end with urban planning mysteries
- Section 2: begin with For decades and end with But right now, that doesn’t exist.
- Section 3: begin with The massive quantity and end with derives most of its revenue.
- Section 4: begin with Companies that want to improve and end with the end of the article
- Have each group read and discuss their section, then report out to the class the key messages in it
- Discuss: What are the social and commercial implications of the current practices as described in the article?
Consolidation of Learning:
Have an in-class debate: Be it resolved that the practice of social media companies collecting and using personal information for commercial purposes is an acceptable outcome of engaging in social media.
Success Criteria:
Students will have a good understanding of how their personal data are used by social media companies and be able to make decisions about what information they want to share.
Confirming Activity:
Have students search TED Talks for a talk on social media information and privacy. They should watch the talk and write a one page paper on how this new information is linked to the lesson.