LING 100A USC Social Media User Microtargeting Essay Edit my first draft of the explanatory synthesis ( in the browser) that was based on these 3 texts a.

LING 100A USC Social Media User Microtargeting Essay Edit my first draft of the explanatory synthesis ( in the browser) that was based on these 3 texts

a.“Facebook scandal’s lesson: Your person is a commodity” by John Diaz

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/diaz/article/Facebook-scandal-s-lesson-Your-persona-is-a-12777786.php

b.“Facebook is watching and tracking you more than you know” by Kim Komando

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/facebook-is-watching-and-tracking-you-more-than-you-know

c.“Ban targeted advertising” by David Dayen

https://newrepublic.com/article/147887/ban-targeted-advertising-facebook-google

d.“Stop freaking out about Cambridge Analytica: Targeted ads are great” by Sonny Bunch

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2018/03/22/stop-freaking-out-about-cambridge-analytica-targeted-ads-are-great/

And here is the comment that my teacher made;

Please use a mix of quotes and paraphrases in the paper. Also, I’m not sure why you calling microtargeting illegal. As Bunch notes, there is nothing illegal about any of it, not even Cambridge Analytica.

Please address both of these issues in the final draft,

Also, this paper has a lot of opinion when it is supposed to be explanatory. How are you going to write the next paper which uses the same readings? Grading Rubric for Explanatory Synthesis: LING 100A
CONTENT
Provides background
information on the issue(s) to
introduce the topic.
Integrates all texts and
authors.
Is objectively written. Reports
on rather than evaluates the
sources
Relates the articles to each
other in relation to main
themes or subtopics.
Supports explanation with
relevant information or ideas
from the texts.
Does not show evidence of
plagiarism on turnitin.com (or
in any other way).
ORGANIZATION
Overall structure— effective
introduction, body, and
conclusion
Paragraph development—
each paragraph focuses on
one topic only and is
developed with ideas,
examples or details from 2-3
of the texts
Effective use of transitional
language within and between
paragraphs
LANGUAGE
Grammatical errors do not
interfere with understanding.
Word form errors are
infrequent.
Errors are not so numerous
that they distract the reader.
Paraphrases correctly
incorporated and cited.
Quotes used infrequently.
FORMAT
References listed at the end
of the paper following APA
format
2-3 pages typed in
12-point font, double-spaced,
1” margins, stapled
Original Title
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NOTES
NOTES
NOTES
NOTES
Explanatory Synthesis
1
Social Media User Microtargeting
The advent of the internet and social media platforms was met with notable excitement
due to their potential interactional benefits. Users identified such capabilities as instant
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messaging, sharing of pictures and videos, and the ability to trace long-lost contacts from a
concentrated pool of subscribers. Facebook established itself as a leader in the social media
industry, amassing a substantial user base. The trend was followed by a decline in the use of
traditional advertisement channels as television, billboards, radio, and print in favor of direct
marketing via social media digital fronts. However, such a transition was, and continues to be,
marred by cases of unethical data mining without the knowledge of users. Facebook, in
particular, has been on the limelight due to illegal data mining for advertisers as well as political
affairs. Illegal microtargeting can be addressed through legislative action and civic education to
enlighten users on the potential ways of safeguarding their data.
Social media service providers have resulted in the mining and selling of client data for
profitability causes. The emergence of microtargeting and personalized advertised was motivated
by the availability of a ready pool of data from which companies can identify potential customers
and share their promotional messages (Dayen, 2018). Such a discovery prompted a worldwide
adoption of social media adverts that are designed to reflect the interests of users or those of their
social networks. Such social media providers as Facebook employ algorithms that monitor user
activity and compose a profile that is sold to advertisers (Komando, 2016). Diaz (2018) likens
the handling of social media users and their contacts by Facebook to the exchange of
merchandise in the marketplace. The company notoriously pawns its clients’ information to high
bidding promoters, a move that can be interpreted as profit-motivated. Such behavior diverges
from the original perspective of communication and unifying people across the globe.
One of the main factors promoting the perpetuation of illegal data mining and selling by
social media providers is the ignorance of users. Diaz (2018) discusses the irony of Americans
learning the role of Facebook in sourcing their private information to compile psychographic
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databases used to aid President Trump’s campaign by the Cambridge Analytica company. The
author further comments on how active users of the platform unknowingly provide personal
information, which is used to earn the company millions in promotional revenue. Moreover, the
allowance of external parties to secretly gather clients’ data through their Facebook pages is
bewildering (Komando, 2016). Such applications gain access by exploiting users’ nativity in
assigning or limiting permissions. The continued illegal collection of user information is what
Dayen (2018) refers to as the “surveillance economy.” Nevertheless, Facebook and other digital
platforms would not be able to mine the personal information if clients understood the
implications of privacy rights and undertook mitigative strategies.
Social media data mining practices promote unfair discrimination in marketing. Among
the many evils of microtargeting is the use of discriminative advertising practices that focus on a
specific population while hindering others from accessing product information (Dayen, 2018).
The writer highlights how marketers target gullible people to further their sales as well as the
potential of Big data mining to bar minority groups in the U.S. from accessing housing adverts.
The same approach was used by Cambridge Analytica to identify people whom they could
influence to alter their perspectives on the country’s presidential elections. The company focused
on such biased factors as personality, gender, geographical location, sexual orientation, wealth,
and race, among others, all of which give rise to discriminative promotional messages (Diaz,
2018). Therefore, microtargeting not only is unethically done but also opens doors for more
questionable practices.
The state has a responsibility to control microtargeting and oversee the activities of social
media providers and digital marketers. Presently, there is a lack of notable efforts by the U.S.
government to regulate advertisements in the social media arena, despite its right to do so
SOCIAL MEDIA USER MICROTARGETING
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through the Federal Trade Commission (FTR) (Dayen, 2018). The government’s efforts in
controlling the volume of television adverts as well as banning promotions threatening the
wellbeing of the public, with such examples as tobacco products and collection of information
from underage children, provides precedence for acting on illegal data mining from social media
accounts. Diaz (2018) also discusses the role of policing, citing the novel California Consumer
Privacy Act, which requires social media houses to declare the kind of information they collect
from subscribers and how they use it. Such interventions from the governments, both federal and
state, can help protect citizens from microtargeting.
Unethical microtargeting can be addressed through legal oversight and public education
to inform the masses on available strategies of data protection. Such concern emanates from the
rampant mining of private information from social media users for targeted promotions.
Facebook has reportedly been making millions of dollars by selling client dossiers to promoters,
who engage in discriminative advertisements for profitability. Such behavior is encouraged by,
among other factors, the ignorance of subscribers who fail to keep track of access permissions.
The state can exercise its regulatory capacity to cushion the public’s privacy from unethical
service providers and marketers.
References
Dayen, D. (2018, April 10). Ban targeted advertising. Retrieved from
https://newrepublic.com/article/147887/ban-targeted-advertising-facebook-google
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Diaz, J. (2018, March 24). Facebook scandal’s lesson: Your persona is a commodity. Retrieved
from https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/diaz/article/Facebook-scandal-s-lesson-Yourpersona-is-a-12777786.php
Komando, K. (2016, March 11). Facebook is watching and tracking you more than you know.
Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/tech/facebook-is-watching-and-tracking-youmore-than-you-know

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