The business of conversations: Market social media surveillance and visibility

Authors

  • Daniel Trottier

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v18i2.3930

Keywords:

social media, surveillance

Abstract

Businesses increasingly rely on social media for personal information, which renders their market more visible. This paper draws on a surveillance studies perspective to consider the growth of market surveillance on social media. Drawing on a series of 13 semi–structured interviews with professionals who use Facebook as a business tool, this paper considers three emerging strategies. Radical transparency imports self–presentation tactics in a corporate realm, furthering corporate visibility. Listening refers to the surveillance of personal information. Finally, a conversational approach combines the visibility of both the market and the corporate actor. While popular literature celebrates this as a kind of mutual transparency, corporate actors are strategic in terms of what they present on social media.

Author Biography

Daniel Trottier

Daniel Trottier is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Informatics and Media at Uppsala University.

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Published

2013-01-30

How to Cite

Trottier, D. (2013). The business of conversations: Market social media surveillance and visibility. First Monday, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v18i2.3930