ECREA16-Abstract

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Thursday, November 10

1 1 : 0 0 – 1 2 : 3 0

DCC04

Theoretical Perspectives

PP 127

A Marketplace for Products and Ideas. Mapping the Blogosphere by Using Bourdieu’s Field Theory

D. Nölleke

, T. Birkner

University of Münster, Department of Communication, Münster, Germany

In this paper, we apply Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory (Benson & Neveu 2005; Hanitzsch 2007; 2009; D’heer & Verdegem 2014) in order to develop a map

of the German blogosphere. Whereas blogs have long been understood as a communication tool of a so-called counter public and been praised for their

deliberative power, they have obviously turned out to be an influential tool for promoting products. It seems that their political influence has been margin‑

alized in recent times. While some authors understand this development as an indicator for a downfall of the relevance of blogs, we argue that the blogo‑

sphere has become more multifaceted. Here, Bourdieu’s field theory with its differentiation between cultural, economic, social and symbolic capital can

serve as a framework to relate different types of blogs to each other. However, it has proven to be hard to research the highly complex blogosphere, under‑

stood as„the world of blogs in which bloggers and people who post comments on blogs talk to each other and to anyone else who takes an interest“ (Harcup

2014: 39).„Mapping“ the blogosphere (Reese et al. 2007) and the sampling of blogs (Ekdale, Namkoong & Fung 2010; Nuernbergk 2014) turned out to be

very problematic. Using Bourdieu’s field theory, we identified six subfields (politics, sports, fashion & beauty, media, food, travelling) for our study and tried

to position different blogs within the blogosphere, based on their social, cultural, economic and symbolic capital. Based on rankings within the different

subfields we randomly selected three blogs, interviewed the respective bloggers and conducted a quantitative content analysis of the blogs (N=18) and

the sevenmost recent posts on these blogs (N=126). For example, we coded follower of the blogs, postings and likes on social network sites as social capital,

hints on sponsoring as economic capital and education in the relevant field (academic titles) as cultural capital. The quantitative content analysis was com‑

bined with semi-structured interviews conducted with the bloggers the same month (June 2015) about networks, sponsoring and motivation to figure out

their habitus, another relevant category within Bourdieu’s field theory. Our findings indicate the complexities and inequalities of the German blogosphere.

In sports, for example, one blog spielverlagerung.de had a million visits per month and cooperates with Daimler Benz, while Eddys Laufblog had 3000 visits

a month and no sponsor. Sponsoring is what most of the interviewed bloggers are longing for. Apparently, the blogosphere is not (only) a place for delibera‑

tion but also a marketplace for products. Furthermore, the analysed blogs differed considerably regarding their social and cultural capital. At the conference,

we will use our data to provide a map of the German blogosphere. Of course, the findings for 18 German blogs cannot be generalized. However, our study

shows that Bourdieu’s field theory turns out to be a helpful analytic tool to research the dynamics of the blogosphere.

PP 128

Reclaiming Ourselves in the Virtual Community

J. de Boer

University of applied sciences Utrecht, Journalism and Communication, Utrecht, Netherlands

Roughly two decades after the start of its rapid popularization the discussions on the 'nature”of the World Wide Web are far from settled. Discourse tends

to be drawn in black and white, varying from utopian tales where the Internet is heralded for its potential of democratization and liberation to dystopian

narratives where the Internet is believed to lead to repression and ' merciless”capitalism. A central issue in the ongoing debate is the distribution of Power.

Here the utopian perspective can be linked to a specific understanding of the public sphere as proposed by Habermas (1964) where public discussion

of issues of interest is understood as a vital counterbalance to Power. Dystopian critique seems closer to the Foucauldian Panopticon (1975) where power is

understood as distributed yet ever present, as an inescapable gaze installing disciplined society. In a more general sense one could note that these distinct

perspectives mark a tension in (post) modern society. 'This is the tension between the normative and the real, between what should be done and what is

actually done” (Flyvbjerg 1998, 210). This paper will critically analyze how discourse on the emerging World Wide Web has evolved over the past two de‑

cades. Different perspectives on the 'nature”of theWorldWideWeb will be outlined recognizing that the‘technology of Power’is just one of the‘techniques

that human beings use to understand themselves’(Foucault, 1988, 8). Foucault argues that these 'technologies of understanding”include: 1) technologies

of production; 2) technologies of sign systems; 3) technologies of power and 4) technologies of the self. These four 'technologies of understanding”will be

used as a framework for mapping the discourse. Furthermore, the legitimacy of the utopian and dystopian narratives will be questioned following the ideal

types of domination as proposed byWeber (1946). Finally this paper will argue that democratizing technology is of vital importance for democratic society.

Building upon the notion of the World Wide Web as a 'technology of the self” a counterstrategy towards neo-liberal communicative capitalism will be

suggested. It will be argued that the conceptualization of the human subject is of vital importance in reclaiming the virtual community. An alternative

perspectives on the human subject will be proposed, suggesting that reclaiming the virtual community starts with reclaiming ourself.

PP 130

The 6C (Six Capitals): From Social to Digital Capital

M. Ragnedda

, M.L. Ruiu

Northumbria University, Media and Communication Design, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Based on an extensive literature review on the existing influences between capital(s) and digital divide, this paper will highlight the reciprocal influences

between five capitals and digital capital, proposing a new theoretical approach in analysing digital inequalities. Social (Bourdieu 1986; Coleman 1990; Put‑

nam 1995), economic (Bourdieu 1986), personal (Becker 1996), political (Seyd and Whitely 1997), and cultural capitals (Bourdieu 1986) influence the rise

of digital capital which, in turn, not only generate a digital divide between people who can and cannot access the Internet (first level of digital divide), but

also inequalities in terms of benefits they can gain on-line (second level of digital divide). Moreover, these 6C tend to create the third level of digital divide,

seen as the returning social benefits of using the Internet. More specifically, this paper proposes to examine the five above mentioned capitals and how

they can affect digital capital. Moreover, we shall see how digital capital, in turn, influences the number and types of activities online, producing effects on