Journal #3: Commercial Concerns in the Social Web

Friesen, N. (2010, 6 December). Education and the social Web: Connective learning and the

      commercial imperative. First Monday: Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet 15(12). Retrieved

      from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

Friesen seems to be making the argument that social media companies such as Facebook and Google are not good for educational purposes because their first priority is making money from advertisers. They are trying to provide as large an audience as possible for ads so they can make more money. It almost seemed to me that he believes that the social media companies have deviously created a consumer desire for social networking sites so that they can steal consumer information and sell it to marketers. I think it's more probable that the consumer demand for social networking created an opportunity for selling information that has created the privacy issues. I think he has it backwards.

I couldn't really follow his argument that because there is only a "like" button social media sites are somehow lacking for educational purposes. I think that educators using "free" tools are smart enough to exploit the advantages of each tool and minimize the potential disadvantages. He is right, though, that everyone using social media should remember that companies do not develop products as a public service with no expectation of profit; consumers should always employ their critical thinking skills.

Q1. Does the fact that social media companies are profit-driven necessarily reduce their value for educational purposes?

A1. I don't think so. It depends on what the educator's purpose is. As a way to increase communication and student-student interaction and collaboration, social networking sites are great. Teachers need to use different tools for different objectives and not expect one tool to work for all purposes. Plus, teachers can help students understand the value and downside of social media, this helping them develop better critical thinking skills.

Q2. Should the social media privacy concerns (e.g., student personal data being harvested for sale to advertisers) deter teachers from using social media in the classroom?

A2. Students are already using social media in their private lives with all the potential privacy issues that could affect them. In addition to making school more relevant and fun, social media in the classroom can be used to teach students how to protect themselves and their privacy.