Module 5 : User-Generated Content on the
Internet
Evaluating Different methods of internet
communication
Case problem 1
Lakeside Police Department
Detectives at the Lakeside Police Department, which patrols an area outside of Chicago, Illinois, have received several calls in the past month from victims of identity theft. In each case, the detectives traced the theft back to the user’s social network account. As part of the department’s community education division, detectives want to offer a course in protecting users’ privacy and identity on social networks. Because the detectives have busy caseloads, they have asked for your help in researching some precautions users can take. As part of your research, they also would like you to visit a few sites and examine their privacy controls. Complete the following steps.
1. Start your browser, and then load the Facebook Privacy Basics page (http://www.facebook.com/about/basics). (Note: If Facebook redesigns its site and this link no longer works, use a search engine to search for the Facebook privacy policy and be sure to open a page at Facebook.com.)
2. Create a word processing document for this case and insert two headings for Question 2 and Question 4. Below the Question 2 heading, type your answers the following questions :
a. Briefly describe what information people can get from a Facebook page.
b. How can you stop someone from contacting you?
c. What are three things you can do to secure a Facebook account?
3. Use your browser to load the Twitter Support page (http://www.twittter.com). (Note: If Twitter redesigns its site and this link no longer works, use a search engine to search for the Twitter Help center and be sure to pen a page at twitter.com).
4. Below the Question 4 heading, type your answer to the following questions about Twitter using the page you viewed in Question3:
a. What does it mean to mute another Twitter account?
b. What are two suggestions from Twitter for managing offensive content?
c. What are three things you can do to keep your account secure?
5. Close the browser tabs you opened, and save your document as Mod5CaseProblem1.rtf.
Case Problem 2
Evaluating Social Hubs
In this module you learned about different social networks and how they can be combined using a social hub. Some organizations use social hubs as a way of consolidating all of their social media accounts using social hubs to consolidate information, which gives potential students the ability to check out a school’s community. You’ll explore several social hubs in this case problem and evaluate their content. Complete the following steps:
1. Start your browser, and then load one of the following pages: MIT Connect (http://www.connect.mit.edu), Northeastern University’s Social Media Dashboard
(www.northeastern.edu.social-media) or Mississippi State University social media Hub (www.social.msstate.edu). Alternatively you can use a search engine to see if your school has it’s own social hub and load that page, if so.
2. Review and evaluate the content on the site you selected to get a sense of where it
comes from and who writes it. Create a word processing document for this case and insert three
headings for Question 2, Question 3, and Question 4. Below the Question 2 heading in your document, type the answers to the following question:
a. What is the school name and URL of the social hub you viewed in step 1?
b. When does the content for the social hub originate from? (Hint: Look for icons representing different social networks.)
c. Does the social hub include content that is written by people who do not appear to be
affiliated with the school? If so, who is generating this content (prospective students, outside sources such as news organizations, etc. )? What methods did you use to try to determine where the content comes from?
d. After reviewing multiple postings, who do you think is the primary audience of the social hub-is it prospective students, current students, people looking for research opportunities
and so on? Explain your response and support it using specific examples from the site.
3. Choose a second social hub listed in Step 1 and then repeat Step 2 to evaluate the second site and answer the same questions about the second site. Below the Question 3 heading, answer the questions from step 2 in your document.
4. Below the Question 4 heading, type the answer to the following question: Of the two social hubs you viewed, which one provided more information about the student experience? Explain your answer.
5. Close the browser tabs you opened, and save your document as Mod5CaseProblem2.rtf