Social networking technology: place and identity in mediated communities

Abstract

This paper explores the rise of social networking technology as instances of mediated communities. A dialectic between collectivity and place, resulting in the grounding of a shared sense of the past in a particular place, is at the base of all communities. In this sense community is, by its very definition, inherently 'mediated'. We reformulate the notion of a 'virtual community' to examine the particular modalities of mediation across interactions occurring on Myspace. Data from two separate conversational exchanges are taken from open access Myspace profiles. Drawing on an approach broadly informed by the principles of Discursive Psychology (DP), we examine how identity is constituted within interaction by drawing on symbolic resources. The significance of place and off establishing a delicate relationship between the on-line and off-line accomplishments is underlined. The paper develops the arguments of Benwell & Stokoe (2006) and Dixon & Durrheim (2000) to arrive at an account of 'place identity' as the central dynamic in mediated community.

Social Networking Sites: Mediating the Self and its Communities

“…Although surveys are powerful for understanding frequencies of occurrence, detailed textual analysis of online interactions can be useful for understanding the way in which people actually use these networking sites. Our approach is similar to that of Hevern (2004) and Goodings, Locke and Brown (2007) who studied actual online content and profiles. Hevern showed the importance of self-presentation while Goodings, Locke and Brown (2007) revealed that within these relatively global media people manage to maintain locality and construct virtual communities.…”

“…Our approach is similar to that of Hevern (2004) and Goodings, Locke and Brown (2007) who studied actual online content and profiles. Hevern showed the importance of self-presentation while Goodings, Locke and Brown (2007) revealed that within these relatively global media people manage to maintain locality and construct virtual communities. We advance both of these issues but also examine how young people's uses of Bebo collide with the assumptions Bebo has about the self and the community.…”

studiVZ: social networking in the surveillance society

“…Specific research that has been conducted on SNS includes: appearance and attractiveness on Facebook (Tom Walther et al 2008), business and policy implications of SNS and other ''participatory Web and user-generated content'' (OECD 2007), effects of MySpace and YouTube on election campaigns (Gueorguieva 2008), factors that influence privacy settings (Lewis et al 2008), friendship (Boyzd 2006, gender (Magnuson and Dundes 2008;Cohen and Shade 2008), implications for libraries (Charnigo and Barnett-Ellis 2007;Harris et al 2007), language use (Carroll 2008;Herring et al 2007), media theory (Beer 2006), medical education McGee and Begg 2008;Thompson et al 2008), music culture (Baym 2007;Beer 2008a), pharmacy education (Cain 2008), place and identity (Goodings et al 2007), psychological distress (Baker and Moore 2008), research ethics (Moreno et al 2008), self-esteem and sociability (Zywica and Danowski 2008), SNS as virtual learning environments (Mitchell and Watstein 2007) and their role in education (Mazer et al 2007), studies on specific users such as African Americans (Byrne 2007) or the Korean site Cyworld (Kim and Yun 2007;Haddon and Kim 2007), taste performance (Liu 2007), teenage life (Boyd 2008), the fusion of public and privacy (Lange 2007), the rise of marketing relationships on SNS as a challenge for public relations (Meadows-Klues 2008), and work skills (Bernardo 2007). Surveillance and social networking sites thus far have with some exceptions (e.g.…”

To Screen or Not to Screen? Using the Internet for Selection Decisions

“…For example, research on social networking websites has focused on issues of social dynamics, communication, and interpersonal relationships (e.g., Ellison et al 2007;Goodings et al 2007;Valkenburg et al 2006;Willard 2007), rather than on personnel selection practices (see Kluemper et al in press, for an exception). Since 2009, there has been a growing number of practitioner websites and blogs suggesting appropriate screening techniques (Fishman and Morris 2010;Rosen, 2010;Juffras 2010).…”