THE RESEARCH POLITICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Abstract

‘This is the first time the world has seen this scale and quality of data about human communication’, Marlow says with a characteristically serious gaze before breaking into a smile at the thought of what he can do with the data. For one thing, Marlow is confident that exploring this resource will revolutionize the scientific understanding of why people behave as they do. His team can also help Facebook influence our social behaviour for its own benefit and that of its advertisers. This work may even help Facebook invent entirely new ways to make money. ‘What Facebook Knows’ http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/428150/what-facebookknows/