[MUSIC] How do some social media campaigns become enormous, while others simply don't? Why do some people experience exceptional fame on social media, and others struggle to publish content? Have you ever thought about how your professional and your personal identities may be similar or completely different on social media? And how do we create content that's accessible for a broad audience ethically? That's exactly what this Ethical Social Media MOOC is about. My name's Dr. Jonathon Hutchinson and I'm a lecturer in Online Communication and Media. I specialize in social media research and have an interest in the intersection point of online communities and institutions. That is, how we interact with larger systems, for example politics and culture, through social media. Right now we're located at the University of Sydney where some of the leading experts on social media are located, and we've drawn on their expertise within this MOOC. At the completion of this Ethical Social Media MOOC, you'll be familiar with the contemporary theoretical debates, you will have produced your professional social media persona, and will be familiar with how to design and operate your own social media campaign. You'll also have access to a growing world of expertise in this area, and will engage in discussions with some of the leading experts in the field. We might think of social media as an activity, such as connecting to Facebook, to stay in touch with friends or loved ones. Or sending out a tweet, to engage with a broader group of like minded folk. These are indeed great examples of social media in practice, but these two definitions only begin to scratch the surface in attempting to describe what social media is and how it's used to communicate. What we'll explore in greater detail during this MOOC is that these mobile and networked information and communication technologies are enabling a host of new and emerging social, cultural, and political activities. Citizens are arguably enjoying increased access and participation affordances in politics, journalism, health, education, and financial systems and are engaging in institutional activities that were once inaccessible. We put this theory to the test and asked people on the streets of Sydney their thoughts on social media. Well, social media for me is communication. You can connect with people everywhere. You can connect to old friends, to family members all over the world. Social media is a way to keep in contact with everyone, I find, and share things that I'm interested in. It definitely has its benefits for our generation, gives you a lot more insight into other people's lives; a certain freedom of speech I'd say that wasn't available before. It gives power and voices to the voiceless. And you get to see so many different perspectives which I really like about it. It depends what you invest into it and the quality of what you actually invest into it on that media. It can be the greatest time waster and life waster I suppose imaginable. My Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Snapchat. Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter. Everything probably, yeah. I'm one of those people who has a Facebook account but I don't really use it. I only opened a Twitter account to make a complaint. I do not carry a mobile phone but I do Facebook. I use Facebook, I use Twitter, I use Tumbler. Social media is to me that, but it is very shaped by my own perspective on the issue. Have I considered why they're free? I imagine that there's a lot of, kind of, machinations in the background, which people make their money from. And so, yeah, I don't really think it's free to be honest with you. I'm scared to read the terms and conditions because I know pretty nasty and the stuff doesn't belong to you anymore. Nope, I've never read the terms and conditions, yeah. I am the one in 10,000 and I'm very passionate about making sure people read the terms and conditions of their contracts. I don't know enough about it, I don't know if anyone knows enough about how private their information is on Facebook. I guess anyone who uses the Internet and all of the social media sites it's kind of agreed that, I don't know, we're letting others into our lives that we don't know personally, so anything could happen really. If you are putting something up on a platform that's public, then you need to just be wary that there's possibly someone who's able to make money from it or exploit it in a way that you might not be aware of. If privacy exists today it's a dying luxury. I think social media is pretty great but it does have a lot of negative reactions surrounding it. When you go on social media you have to make certain personal decisions about what you are going to give away, and what you're not. There are certain things that I will never share with anyone about myself. I don't think people represent their true selves. [LAUGH] If that's even possible, in doing, in that kind of space. Everyone's trying to one up each other, and it turns into so much hatred, and then blaming everyone for everything. I think that's stupid. There's cyberbullying going on. There's a lot of ways you can spread hate. There are lots of purposes I suppose. It could be useful, it can also be an evil force. Look, if it makes people connect, if it makes them present a side of themselves that they would like people to see, then wonderful, excellent. [MUSIC]
