Coursera - Understanding Media by Understanding Google

Few people who “just Google it” to find an answer to their every question understand just what the company does (and why). Through this course, you'll join the minority that really gets it.

About the Course
Google Inc. is one of the key success stories of the Internet era. The company has expanded beyond its original search business through innovation and acquisition to touch the lives of nearly every person who lives life online. For example, Americans spend more than 3,400 hours per year using consumer media, the field where Google’s impact is most profound, and citizens around the world must understand what the company has wrought not only to control their offline and online environments, but also to interact and engage successfully with anyone in our professional and personal lives.

Enrollees in this course learn how to understand the tactics that modern media companies, journalists, marketers, politicians, technologists, and social networks are using to reach them and affect their behavior. They learn how to adopt strategies that put them on an even footing with these entities in achieving their own communications goals. They

think about, react to, and write about excerpts from half a dozen important books;
read a sampling of newspaper and magazine reportage from Google’s entire history;
monitor news sites and specialized blogs about the company and its competitors while the course is in session;
take note of their own usage of Google and other online resources; and
learn how to anticipate the future impact of the company and its competitors on aspects of the media such as information consumption, creation, and distribution.

Course Syllabus

Week 1: The Age of Google

Introduction: Why study Google and the media?
Search and Research

Week 2: Google and Publishing

Google and News
Google and Books

Week 3: Google and Advertising

How and Why the Magic Works
Advertising Personalization and Privacy

Week 4: Google and Video

Google, YouTube, and You
YouTube (and Google) and the News

Week 5: Google and Mobile

Google and Smartphones
Google and "Wearable"

Week 6: Google, Social Media, and Privacy

Google's Social Circle
The Private, The Public, and the Politic(s)