This course will give students an understanding of how social media can be managed, evaluated, and engaged in order to address the ongoing needs of businesses to balance the effectiveness and efficiency equation. Students will be provided with a framework to better assess the emerging media space and make sense of its impact on media management. As the business application of emerging media has become more accessible, with greater cross-channel depth and staying power, one needs to address both the theoretical implications and the framework of techniques and tools that get beyond Likes / Clicks / Friends / Followers to true engagement and return on investment. In this course, students will progress from philosophical discussion of social media practices to research and reports on tactics and techniques. They will discuss the evolution of social media technology and the social graph; what the “Always On” world means for journalists, companies, and consumers; issues of privacy, transparency, and authenticity; game mechanics and their impact on the roles of player / consumer; and the use of social media for networking and job search.