Having the necessary information is crucial in almost any area, especially for research and development. The purpose of collecting data is primarily for knowledge discovery, then for further consideration. In other words, all websites gather people’s information and base on them to explore their behaviours and trends. From there, they will shape the browsing experience that match each person’s preference in the future. As mentioned above, social media, especially Facebook and Google, track all users’ activities online. All the information is stored in their database and remains in there for later use. In a similar manner, most institutions collect statistics about their consumers’ behaviours and habits by investigating social media data. Therefore,
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There have been studies that investigate the purposes of utilizing social media data. The findings highlight several main purposes, including business (Zimmer 2008; Oboler, Welsh & Cruz 2012) and management (Oboler, Welsh & Cruz 2012; Kennedy & Moss 2015). The first use of these data is for advertising. It is clear that most companies mine data for financial incentives. Researches have shown that the majority of revenues of giant corporates like Google and Facebook comes from advertisements, which matches Leaver’s statement ‘data mining is clearly a core element in the operation of Facebook and Google’ (2013, para. 9). In other words, data are ‘traded’ between social media companies and other institutions. The advancement of technology makes it easier for these businesses to reach their targeted clients through advertisements placed on social media. Based on their browsing logs, each user’s social media interface is tailored to match their taste. Advertisements that match their interests and needs are shown. For instance, when people do the online shopping, the system will automatically generate suggestions that are related to their purchasing …show more content…
Social media participants are facing different levels of risks when their data is being constantly gathered and shared. The invasion of users’ privacy can negatively affect both their personal and social lives. For example, one feature of Facebook allows users to ‘tag’ their friends in posts and photos, whether they want to or not. The people who are tagged may be in unpleasant situations if the posts are undesirable. That is to say, people can get involved in adverse circumstances online, regardless of their usual contexts, whether intentionally or not. There have been incidents regarding privacy intrusion on social networking sites, leading to cyberbullying, dismissals, or even worse, suicides. Also, third-party partners are also criticized for ‘phishing, and other malicious purposes’ beside data mining, according to Debatin et al. (2009, p. 86). Cybercrime nowadays are often committed through means of social media, such as hacking, scams and frauds. This fact calls for higher concern in data
There have been studies that investigate the purposes of utilizing social media data. The findings highlight several main purposes, including business (Zimmer 2008; Oboler, Welsh & Cruz 2012) and management (Oboler, Welsh & Cruz 2012; Kennedy & Moss 2015). The first use of these data is for advertising. It is clear that most companies mine data for financial incentives. Researches have shown that the majority of revenues of giant corporates like Google and Facebook comes from advertisements, which matches Leaver’s statement ‘data mining is clearly a core element in the operation of Facebook and Google’ (2013, para. 9). In other words, data are ‘traded’ between social media companies and other institutions. The advancement of technology makes it easier for these businesses to reach their targeted clients through advertisements placed on social media. Based on their browsing logs, each user’s social media interface is tailored to match their taste. Advertisements that match their interests and needs are shown. For instance, when people do the online shopping, the system will automatically generate suggestions that are related to their purchasing …show more content…
Social media participants are facing different levels of risks when their data is being constantly gathered and shared. The invasion of users’ privacy can negatively affect both their personal and social lives. For example, one feature of Facebook allows users to ‘tag’ their friends in posts and photos, whether they want to or not. The people who are tagged may be in unpleasant situations if the posts are undesirable. That is to say, people can get involved in adverse circumstances online, regardless of their usual contexts, whether intentionally or not. There have been incidents regarding privacy intrusion on social networking sites, leading to cyberbullying, dismissals, or even worse, suicides. Also, third-party partners are also criticized for ‘phishing, and other malicious purposes’ beside data mining, according to Debatin et al. (2009, p. 86). Cybercrime nowadays are often committed through means of social media, such as hacking, scams and frauds. This fact calls for higher concern in data