About this course: Social media connects us across space and time, allowing us to find like-minded communities and participate creatively in public life as never before. We may often use social media without thinking much about the possible consequences. But there is a shadow side associated with social media use, which takes the form of hate speech, increased surveillance, lack of anonymity and questionable use of our data.

Who is this class for: This course is suitable for those with an interest in media and communications, social or cultural studies; as well as current or budding social media strategists and community managers, or anyone who wants a more nuanced understanding of their social media use.

Week 1: Social Media Concepts

In the introductory module, we will examine the concepts of being social, of self-representation, online identity and publishing.

Week 2: Collaborative Practices of Social Media Users

We examine who the users of social media are, how they use it and their motivations. We will also look at the difference between networks and communities.

Week 3: Participatory Culture and Media Organisations

Organisations are often accused of exploiting their users and online community members when they participate in collaborative cultural production activities.

Week 4: Social Media Data Analytics

Communication across social media platforms produces an enormous amount of data that can describe content, location, users, purchases, events and emotions, along with larger scale areas such as reactions to news and politics, integration with sporting events or information and knowledge exchange.

Week 5: Ethics in Social Media

Just because we can access social media doesn't mean that we should. In this module, you are asked to critically examine the use of social media and think about how you can manipulate the data in meaningful and beneficial ways compared with typical neo-liberal approaches.