#SMPASOCIAL, Summer Edition
Professor: Nikki Usher, Ph.D.
Twitter: @nikkiusher
Office hours: by appointment; Class MW 6:10–8:00PM, RM 308, 5/20–6/29/2019
How to use this online document:
*To skip to readings, Control F for Course Readings. Course readings due on date listed.
*Most PDF readings will be on Slideshare. To use a Slideshare PDF, look below the document’s image and you will see three buttons: like, share, and download. Download so you don’t hurt your eyes.
*All readings are linked on this document. Please alert me to any missing or corrupted links. NOTE: Reading lengths are estimated based on double-spaced page word count or a publication’s estimated reading time; podcast/video lengths indicated.
Course Description: This course will help the student develop an understanding of how social media works and explore the impact of social media on society. The student will gain a better understanding of how social media is used to promote journalism and reach a broader audience and the ways social media can also be used to undermine public discourse (and journalism).
Expanded course description: Today’s media environment has been saturated by so much confusion around social media. One day, it’s fake news being spread by Macedonian teenagers. The next day, you hear your social data was used to selectively target you for not just any old ads but political advertising designed to trigger you into voting a certain way. You hear that YouTube is a cesspool for conspiracy. Then you wake up to news accusations that Twitter has been suppressing political content, especially from the right. Our current president uses Twitter as a platform for announcing policy and putting forward his strategy, disrupting the way that journalists have to cover the White House (not to mention report on the financial markets).
Meanwhile, you might hear that social media companies are destroying journalism, yet somehow you’re supposed to also know social media secrets, especially when it comes to making your own news stories go viral. Every day, you hear there’s some new hot social media tool, and you know that a newsroom is likely to be among the first and earliest adopters. You’ve been told to get on Twitter and “build your brand” but need some extra guidance. And while you know you’re supposed to be aware of social media “fakes” like shark photos in hurricane waters, you don’t *exactly* know how to verify this type of content.
What’s a young, aspiring communicator supposed to do with this mess? Well, learn about it! Yes, you will learn skills in this class. But skills and tools come and go. More importantly, you will learn what you need to know about the macro issues social media presents for journalism today. And you will also come to see that social media more than about navigating a platform professionally. Rather, social media represents a chance to rethink journalism and a new opportunity for learning and for listening.
Now has never been a better time to learn about journalism — and social media’s role in journalism is of critical importance. Journalism may be in crisis, at least in the popular imagination, but a vast number of scholars and media insiders do dispute this idea (including me). If you want to be an informed, engaged, and literate member of the populace, understanding how social media works in society is critical.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- By the end of this class, you should be able to explain how social media is changing the job of journalists, political consultants, and others in the public eye.
- By the end of this class you should know how better use social media, including for personal branding, reporting and news gathering, and for sharing and spreading communication campaigns.
- By the end of this class, you should be able to explain what happened to the Internet and what the costs of detoxifying it might be. You should have excellent knowledge about how social media influences (and can corrupt) our our news and information ecosystem.
Course Policies
Approach to Teaching & My Expectations for You
Overall, my teaching philosophy might be summed up like this: you’re adults, it’s my job to inspire you to learn, but I can’t force you to do anything. I also believe that learning should be an active process — I’m not a big fan of just lecturing (and in fact, research shows that lecturing is often ineffective). But this means that you also have to be engaged and active in your learning process — the more you put in, the more you will get.
I am a big fan of college students and remember my college experience warmly. As a result, I’m fairly reasonable when it comes to understanding the demands and difficulties outside the classroom. I am deeply committed to encouraging a quality experience here at GW both inside and outside the classroom.
Please treat both me and your classmates as if you were in a professional, work setting. This means having integrity, being inclusive and civil to your colleagues, and taking responsibility for your decisions. Please treat all digital communications seriously, with the knowledge that they will live on the internet, potentially forever. I expect to see professional emails (though I may often respond with just a quick yes or no) — some guidelines for writing emails to professors are here (How to Email your Professor Without Being Annoying AF)
Everyone in this class can get an A if they work. For some suggestions about study habits, please see this Vox article.
Communication Policy: I am generally quite responsive to emails, but if I have not responded in 48 hours, do ping me again. If the question is complicated and requires more than a two sentence explanation, please see me in my office. If there’s a quick question, text me. If one of your questions is in the syllabus, I will tell you: look in the syllabus. If one of your questions is on the assignment, I will tell you: look on the assignment. It’s a life skill to be able to look for information on your own.
Attendance Policy: I don’t have one. It’s your choice about whether you show up ready to learn. If I don’t see you, that has consequences far beyond your participation grade — I’m less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt & I’m less likely to be a resource for recommendations and job leads. I do not want or need doctors notes. If you miss class for any reason (what some professors might call excused or unexcused absences), it’s on you to get notes from your classmates.
Laptop and Mobile Policy: It’s your choice as all the research points out that laptops and phones hurt academic performance. But this is a social media class, so there is a case for having one of these devices. I am well-versed in spotting people who aren’t paying attention — again, meaningful participation is what matters.
Late Work: Generally not tolerated, but there are exceptions
Grade Disputes: I take special care to grade your work both fairly and accurately. For this reason, I do not enjoy, nor do I encourage, haggling over grades. If you genuinely feel that there is a dispute, after 24 hours you may submit to me in writing your dispute, which must contain, (1) the question being asked; (2) the correct answer; (3) your answer; and, (4) your argument for why your answer is also correct. This paperwork does not guarantee alterations to your grade. A re-evaluation of your work may also prompt further reductions. In the case of simple oversight or a miscalculation, alert me of my mistake.
Inclusion and Civility:
You may be offended at some point in the semester, be emotionally challenged by a reading or a discussion, or have other discomfort in the classroom related to much larger structural and societal issues. You’re in journalism and political communication, or otherwise have enrolled in a class in this department. As an instructor, I will do my best to honor our respective differences and embrace our similarities, but I will not always be perfect. I’ll do my best, and if there is something I can do better, please see me. I do not specifically request you to identify your gender, race, ethnicity, but If you have an identity preference that you think I should be aware of, let me know (one day there will be university boilerplate for this).
At times, there will be frank conversations about race, gender, ethnicity, violence, sexual assault, etc. that may be painful, frustrating, or even offensive to you. Note that given your chosen career, there are no trigger warnings. Do your best to figure out how to deal with the fact that sometimes, the world is not a pretty or fair place.
Guest lectures and special opportunities: Please note that this course builds off the experts we have in Washington. You are expected to be a model for GW students for these guests, which includes your course preparation, respect for their accomplishments, and active engagement in their work and presentation. Please note that some of our special opportunities fall outside course times, generally early on Friday mornings. Please do your best to accommodate these and I am happy to communicate to any employers about this class obligation. Chatham House rules apply to any of our guests (participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed to the public in subsequent conversation).
Films: I might ask you to watch films, videos or documentaries on your own time that we will discuss in class. These will be available online as directed in the syllabus.
University Boilerplate:
Students with Disabilities — DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS): Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202–994–8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to:http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/
In Case of Crisis: The GW Community cares, more than you know! If you or someone you know is in trouble — either in severe crisis, or simply having difficulty, please contact GWCARE. You can fill out an anonymous request form for someone you know or ask for help yourself. Please let me know sooner rather than later if appropriate if there is something interfering with course performance, whether it is your physical or emotional health, or some other difficulty. I don’t care about the details, but I do care about your success.
UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC): The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address students’ personal, social, career, and study skills problems. Contact office at 202–994–5300 or visit http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/AcademicSupportServices
Services for students include:
- Crisis and emergency mental health consultations, confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and referrals
Security:
In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building. After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.
University Closings: In case of inclement weather, students should check the George Washington University website (http://www.gwu.edu/) for potential closings or sign up to receive GWU text alerts.
Religious Holidays: Please see GW’s detailed explanation.
Time Spent on Class Work
The federal government requires me to estimate the time you will spend outside of class on our class. Honestly, I’m not quite sure — but if you find yourself spending more than 12 hours for any typical week on this course, please see me.
Academic Integrity
Neither cheating nor plagiarism will be tolerated.
I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one’s own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
Cheating on an exam includes, but is not limited to, looking on another student’s exam, allowing another student to use your exam, and bringing a “crib sheet” of answers. Plagiarism involves representing someone else’s work as your own — whether another person’s work (e.g. you purchase a paper off the internet) or a published source (e.g. using others’ material without giving that source credit including copies of other’s tweets/social media passed as your own w/o proper attribution). For more information on what constitutes a violation, please refer to GW’s code of academic integrity. Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing in ANY way will receive a ZERO for the course and will be turned over to the Department and be reported to the university. Note that the university policy provides the option for an F on the assignment; as political communicators and journalists you are held to a higher standard and will get an F for the course regardless of this policy. Note I have zero tolerance for this. It’s really not worth risking it. If you are having trouble in the class, see me about it.
COURSE DETAILS
Twitter:
You are expected to contribute two original tweets a week relevant to social media. A third tweet should be in conversation with something your classmate has posted. Memes, smart articles, fun stuff, trend pieces, news stories, fun and games and serious work. If you do not wish to use your personal Twitter account, please set up one for the purposes of this class.
Our class hashtag is #SMPASOCIAL.
Sample tweets: This article LINK on instagram’s new sharing policies makes me feel creepy about using it: link (either automatically shortened or use bit.ly) #SMPASOCIAL
Sample tweet in response to classmate:
@nikkiusher that [link] was a creepy story. What do you think about Snapchat’s new rise to prominence? (New Link, or leave it at that) #SMPASOCIAL
Or: I totally agree with @nikkiusher. I’m not going to go to [link] anymore. #SMPASOCIAL
REMEMBER TO USE THE CLASS HASHTAG!! NO CREDIT, NO EXCEPTIONS W/O HASHTAG
There are a number of dashboards that make it incredibly easy to follow conversations via hashtags. You can rely on Twitter, but you can also use Tweetdeck (here is a tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-TweetDeck). At the beginning of the semester, I will pass out your classmates’ twitter handles and create a Twitter list.
Your three tweets are due on Sunday at 7 p.m. Please send me a screenshot of them at this time. Your tweets are graded with a check plus/check/check minus.
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Tweets =20%
Class participation = 20%
Midterm= 30%
Final paper = 30%
READINGS
Note: Readings are either linked here or linked to Slideshare (where I can track downloads). Slideshare allows you to download the readings; you do not have to read them on slideshare. Look for the blue “download” button on the bottom of the image screen, you may have to scroll through the pages to get there).
Week 1:
5/20: Introduction
Suggested reading: What is Social Media — (this article has been cited almost 9,000 times!); Boyd and Ellison, 2013 (characteristics of social media)
Twitter: Best tutorial out there (24 pp); Best Practices for Journalists (2 pp); From 2014, but not much has changed (how to win friends and influence followers)(2pp); How David Farenthold Used Twitter to Break Some of the Most Important Stories of 2016 Election
Set up Twitter, think about your handle, begin tweeting #smpasocial
5/22 Social Media Trends & Twitter
Visit from Josh Gibson, the Council of DC, communication’s director and social media coordinator
Advanced Twitter workshop: How to livetweet events (7 min read); How to use Twitter moments (9 min); Ways to use Twitter moments for journalists (4 min); How to create Twitter lists (2 pp).
Very important: How to think about the patterns of inequity within Twitter! (My stuff on gender 8 pp); What it’s Like when Elon Musk’s Twitter Mob Comes After You? (8 pp)
In class, you may be expected to curate a Twitter moment and/or livetweet.
5/27 — Memorial Day, off
5/29: Lauren Glickman’s show
Snapchat, temporary videos, and beyond
6/3: Social Media Trends and The BEST EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Visit from Daniel Lippman, Politico
Visit from Mike Barthel, Pew
Social Media Trends — Who uses what, and how they feel about it
Check out Pew: Social Media Use in 2018 and Pew- News Use Across Social Media (2017) — look at stats and bold headers (10 min)
Pain points and email newsletters. Process of email newsletters. The problem with Email newsletters (4 min).
6/5: Spreadability and Virality;
Visit with Amanda Rey, GW Career Services, for All the Things LinkedIn
Why do things spread: Henry Jenkins: Spreadable Media (26 pp); Valley of Ambiguity (4pp); What a Buzzfeed social media editor does all day (5pp)
Listen NPR: How I built this (00:49:33)
The Real History of Fake News; Fake News, it’s complicated! (6 pp, 6 min); Lies Damn Lies and Viral Content (just executive summary, 2 pp); Six types of fake news seen in the 2016 election (6 pp); Silverman: Fake News Outperforms Real News (8 pp); WATCH: Fake News- Real Consequences(00:55:58).
Take home midterm assigned, due 6/9 at 7 p.m.
6/10: Social Listening
Visit from Luke Peterson, US State Department, Director, Analytics
Baseline listening overview (9 pp); How to monitor social media in 10 minutes a day (26 pp, well-designed!); How to use Tweetdeck & How to Use it for Breaking News (00:02:30); Newsgathering with FB Search (00:01:55); Don’t be an AskHole (7 pp); Robinson: When Tragedy Strikes, What Do You Owe Sources? (5pp);
For oppo research and journalism: The “oppo” research of Twitter in journalism (5 pp). How to search a Facebook timeline (vid, 00:05:37, scroll to bottom). How to internet sleuth, generally (4 pp)
6/12: The Slow Spiral of Censorship?
Visitor: Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason
Facebook’s Hate Speech & Censorship Rules (16 pp); Should Facebook and Twitter be Regulated under the First Amendment? (16 pp); Fighting Online Abuse Shouldn’t Be Left to the Victims (4 pp); How all tech platforms are pawns in the culture war (5 pp)
Listen: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet (00:53:05, listen at 2x speed); Scan: https://www.reddit.com/user/washingtonpost; Reddit and breaking news (11 min read);
6/17: The Rise of a New Conspiracism
Dan Gainor, Media Research Council
The New conspiracism. My new model (w. Bob Entman) — tough, try and focus on understanding what we’re saying about how information travels (8 pp); How Filter Bubbles Distort Reality (14 min reading); The parallel lives of Trump followers, journalists, and the issues they care about (4 pp); How Twitter bots create political feuds (4 pp); But do they? (Academic literature review via Hewitt Foundation, p. 15–21 only!)
6/19: Big Tech Policy and Algorithms of Oppression
Adam Conner, Harvard Kennedy School, Slack, and FB
Types/logics of algorithms and algorithmic accountability. Algorithms of Oppression (See scanned section); Google is broken (3pp); Cambridge Analytica Scandal, Explained (3 pp);YouTube and its role (2 pp); Alt-right on the Web (4 pp); Deep fakes: (watch 00:01:12); Watch both videos here — first on Whoppers and second, below, on Zuckerberg and Facebook testimony. (~00:05:50);
6/24: Big Tech and Privacy
Lindsey Barrett, staff attorney/fellow at @Georgetownlaw’s IPR tech clinic
Take a look at the EFF guides. Should big tech own our personal data? Big tech and regulatory/privacy plans. Digital security tips. US vs. EU standards on tech privacy. Human Rights Watch and Chinese surveillance. San Francisco blocks facial recognition. Short story (and later, a Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report)
Final paper assigned, due 6/29 at 7 p.m.
6/26: What’s happening to journalism, really
Read: The Platform Press — read to/inclusive of conclusion. State of an uncomfortable union (15 pp.) All the ad-tech you thought you never needed to know anything about. Dr. Usher will have a chapter of her book done by now to share with you for feedback.
