From breathless headlines just a few years ago of “masterminds,” “dream team” and “groundbreaking,” social media data miners are now described using adjectives like “exploited,” “misuse” and “surveillance.” Does this represent the beginning of something bigger, perhaps the end of social media analytics? The vast “social media analytics” industry exists solely to mine all of this rich social data to help companies and governments make decisions. Why is it then that we are so concerned about Facebook data being used for voter targeting when campaigns and companies have long bought a myriad other highly intimate data points about us? Moreover, even those who genuinely want to give up social media entirely will find it difficult at best. Just four years ago the use of Facebook data for voter modeling and manipulation was heralded as a heroic modernization of the campaign world.

Source: Forbes March 21, 2018 20:48 UTC