The Technological Environment and the Challenge of Social Media

After reviewing the lessons for Module Two, you are now familiar with the marketing environment. One of the components of this environment is technology. Especially in today’s technologically advanced world, where many people have access to high-speed internet, social media has become an integral part of people’s lives. Therefore, marketers rely heavily on social media to reach customers. In this discussion, you will explore ethical and legal issues related to social media information-sharing policies and consider whether we need new laws.

For your initial post, you will choose a social medium with which you are familiar (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) that marketers use to reach their current and potential customers, and address the following issues: 

1. Pros and Cons: Identify the social medium you have chosen and list at least two pros and two cons of using this social medium for reaching customers.
   
   
   
   


2. Privacy: When you sign up for most internet services, including social media, you consent to sharing your information for advertising purposes. This enables these media to track you on the internet and record your behavior. As a result, a lot of people have voiced concern about privacy. 
   
   
   
   Decide whether you think it is ethical for social media to track you on the internet and study your behavior, and whether legislators should intervene and pass laws to restrict or eliminate this capability. Share your opinion and explain your rationale, using the social media platform you analyzed in Step 1 to illustrate your point.
   
   
   
   


3. Legislative Regulation: There are no clear boundaries to the scope or limitations of business with social media. For instance, Facebook started as a social interaction platform, but it has recently served as a news medium as well. This brings up the question of whether they should then be held to the same standards and regulations of a news company, and currently the answer lies in somewhat of a grey area. 
   
   
   
   Share whether you think laws should be put in place to control the scope of social media activity in the way news organizations are and explain why or why not. Refer to the social media platform you analyzed in Step 1 to illustrate your point.