This passage outlines the debate regarding the usefulness of social networking websites as a marketing tool. One side of this debate suggests that such websites allow companies to reach the widest target audience possible, and as such, are a powerful advertising tool. In addition to this social networking sites, such as Facebook, provide information such as age, occupation, relationship status, location and often personal ‘likes’. In this way, such websites provide companies with a large amount of information, allowing companies to target their product at their ideal with greater ease and efficiency. On the other side of the debate, critics suggest that such websites encourage the publication of personal information on a never before seen level. In this way, companies are in a position to take advantage of previously private information.