Data

Social media data refers to the myriad of ways in which information is given off by people using social media. In this sense, 'data' can be as simple as someone creating a social media profile and giving basic information about themselves (for instance, Facebook's 'About Me' section). But it's also the almost overwhelming amount of information a person generates on the platform that serves as a window into their life.

It's not just the information people willingly provide. It's also the ability of social media platforms to mine (and sometimes not very ethically) the data amassed by people's online activities. Everything people do on a social media platform generates data.

And when all those people do all those things, it adds up to a staggering quantity of information about how society functions. And what businesses can do, with varying degrees of permission obtained from individuals, is to use that data visually to see into the not-so-private behavior of the people who are their current or prospective customers.