f**king banner

No, I'm not at all happy with the new banner on the top of my blog. After four years at start.no and home.no.net, I will have to move. Think I'll just resign and use blogspot. I am using Blogger after all. URL: marika75.blogspot.com.

summary of my phd-thesis

Being in mediated spaces: An enquiry into personal media practices

The main purpose of this thesis has been to analyse mediated practices among young people: what significance do use of personal media have for the individual user? The concept of personal media is understood as denoting tools for interpersonal communication and personal content creation. Although the history of personal media did not commence with digital network technologies, the development since the mid 1990s indicates that new patterns of being in mediated spaces have materialised. The consequences are potentially considerable, and it is therefore vital to understand personal media practices from a user-perspective. Moreover, the recent development affects previous notions of communication media. A crucial ambition has consequently been to conceptualise the notion of personal media and the distinctions between personal communication and mass communication. This study is primarily based on qualitative interviews with 20 users, aged between 15 and 19 years old. Participants all have a multifaceted online presence and, accordingly, a particular knowledge on the area of study. Throughout the research project I also observed their ever-changing presence online.

The thesis opens with a synthesizing discussion, in which I present previous research on personal media; introduce eight specific research questions; consider the methodological approaches pursued; and theoretically deliberate on aspects concerning communication, subjectivity and privacy in networked cultures. The opening discussion is followed by five articles, which comprise the main part of the thesis.

In “Conceptualising personal media”, I explain the main characteristics of personal media. I introduce a two-dimensional model, locating personal media and mass media differently according to a horizontal interaction axis, and a vertical institutional/professional axis.

In “Mediated subjects: how personal media affect performances of selves”, I examine perceptions of self-performances. Mediated communication is characterised by other qualities than offline communication, and users regularly disclose private information. As a consequence boundaries between what is considered public and private are changing, yet the constructed mediated self cannot be described as unfiltered.

The main purpose of “Becoming more like friends: a qualitative study of personal media and social life”, is to examine the qualities of mediated interaction and the integration of mediated and immediate social spheres. Mediated communication differs from face-to-face communication, not by being less meaningful, but by enabling other forms of disclosing practices. I argue that the ability to integrate different social spaces has become a characteristic element of social competence in network societies.

“’I made this!’ Being through creative digital practices” was written in order to analyse the creative aspects of being in mediated spaces. Sharing fragments of everyday stories appears to be important for media practices to be personally and socially meaningful. I argue that perceptions of creative strategies are connected to originality and the ability to create aesthetically pleasing expressions. Creative practices are nonetheless ordinary and essential parts of life, and being creative in mediated spaces is a way of being social and receiving recognition from peers.

In the final article “Converging forms of communication? Interpersonal and mass mediated expressions in digital environments”, I examine the grey-areas, which cannot be described as purely interpersonally mediated or mass mediated. The concept of communication is discussed by examining aspects of interaction, participation and social integration. These aspects are applied as variables in an analysis of conversations in a personal weblog, Underskog and a reader-discussion in the online edition of the Norwegian tabloid Dagbladet.

mountains

Idunn
Originally uploaded by Marika.

I'm off to Telemark together with Idunn, Janne and Mette. Four women and a simple cottage for a few days. Very low-tech, I'm looking forward to it a lot. Idunn and I had a couple of wonderful days there in August 2005. Peace and serenity, here I come!

Oh, had an interesting experience yesterday. After Simpsons (which was fun), we ended up on the rock-pub Maiden. Featuring "Karaoke from Hell". Not the average karaoke-bar and not the average karaoke-concept. Instead, old metal classics to choose from, a live band to sing with. Lights and action. Uh, I didn't sing, I have never seen such dedicated karaoke-performers.

being in mediated spaces

My now submitted PhD-thesis is entitled Being in mediated spaces: An enquiry into personal media practices. Yet, curb your enthusiasm, no need to get all excited yet. After all, I now have to wait for almost six months before I know whether the thesis-committee will even approve my work. I feel kind of empty and anxious since I can no longer re-write, re-work and improve my thesis.

I loved being a PhD-student.

gossip

One of my favourite fun-girls is clearly also a smart girl. Look, Cameron D reads books about globalisation on the beach: Thomas L. Friedman's The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Globalised World in the 21st Century (link to nytimes review) from 2005.

Learning to know important things such as this of course explains my daily visits to gossip site Popsugar.

a messy post starting with Lessig on Keane and ending with me

Lawrence Lessig has written an inordinately clever review of Andrew Keen's The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture. I'm quite sure Keen has a few valid points, but Lessig's comments convince me more than Clay Shirky's semi-defence of Keen's main ideas.

A side-point: I find it particularly interesting to read the section entitled "The Least Important (Lessig) Fallacy", where Lessig comments on Keen's interpretations of his ideas. I do wonder how many scholars I misinterpret throughout my thesis? You know, communication and dialogues are really just continuous misinterpretations :)

Btw, I was quoted in Norwegian tabloid Dagbladet, apparently having said: "We are in the midst of a gigantic psychological experiment, which for ever will change the traditional distinction between public and private. As if I said that! Well of course, boundaries between private and public are being adjusted, partially because of individual online practices, but, "gigantic psychological experiment". Oh well, I'm learning to live with my tabloid self.

hanging out

danah boyd has often argued that children and youth in the US go online to socialise because they are no longer allowed to walk the streets and meet friends in public spaces. Here is an article from the Daily Mail, claiming the same is true in UK: How children lost the right to roam in four generations.

The article addresses the situation for children. Children and youth in Norway are still allowed to get around by themselves, meeting friends and hanging out. Embarassingly, I did feel slightly uncomfortable leaving my 14-year old niese and her bestfriend alone at Friday's teen-favourite happening in Oslo, a three hour long live hit-show at Rådhusplassen. Silly me, they are 14! And, the concert-arena was heavily supervised by the police and guards.

mediate/immediate

Lately, I have sometimes been using "immediate interaction" to describe face-to-face interaction, though I'm not at all sure whether it is an appropriate term. According to the Wordnet Database, immediate can be defined as "having no intervening medium", which is of course how I think of it as opposed to mediated interaction. Clearly, I am aware that communication is never immediate, but, in face-to-face situations, always mediated through the body, language, speech, non-verbal signs. I do like the online/offline distinction, but this is not always appropriate as I also discuss communication mediated through phones and even postal letters.

I can't believe I barely have six weeks left to finish my thesis. I will make it, but it feels weird. The last three years have been wonderful.

Navy Numa

What can I say? Some Numa Numa versions are more fun than others. I especially love the guys who appear at about 1.23/4.11. I'm actually embarrassingly addicted to that section. Hot moves!

Superstreng

I still find it utterly uncomfortable to talk on radio. But you know, I guess the practice is valuable. Or rather, I don't find it very uncomfortable to talk, but to listen to myself afterwards. A couple of weeks ago I visited Eirik Newth's "Superstreng"-show, and we were of course talking about social networking services, especially Facebook. Kind of common sense stuff. Here's the podcast. It's in Norwegian of course.

Facebook is highly profiled as vicious by the mass media these days. They apparently exploit all your personal information and intend to use your private photos in commercial campaigns. Or something. If you know Norwegian, you might want to read Ove Skåra's answers to readers of the Norwegian tabloid VG. Skåra represents the Norwegian Data Inspectorate.

I don't have the time to comment. Obviously, I have read Facebook's terms of service. My short answer is that mediated practices are experienced as so meaningful that they outweigh the perceived threats to privacy.