The London School of Economics and Political Science ‘As if nobody’s reading’?: The imagined audience and socio-technical biases in personal blogging practice in the UK David R. Brake A thesis submitted to the Department of Media and Communications of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, April 2009. Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. Page 2 Abstract This thesis examines the understandings and meanings of personal blogging from the perspective of blog authors. The theoretical framework draws on a symbolic interactionist perspective, focusing on how meaning is constructed through blogging practices, supplemented by theories of mediation and critical technology studies. The principal evidence in this study is derived from an analysis of in-depth interviews with bloggers selected to maximise their diversity based on the results of an initial survey. This is supplemented by an analysis of personal blogging’s technical contexts and of various societal influences that appear to influence blogging practices. Bloggers were found to have limited interest in gathering information about their readers, appearing to rely instead on an assumption that readers are sympathetic. Although personal blogging practices have been framed as being a form of radically free expression, they were also shown to be subject to potential biases including social norms and the technical characteristics of blogging services. Blogs provide a persistent record of a blogger’s practice, but the bloggers in this study did not generally read their archives or expect others to do so, nor did they retrospectively edit their archives to maintain a consistent self-presentation. The empirical results provide a basis for developing a theoretical perspective to account for blogging practices. This emphasises firstly that a blogger’s construction of the meaning of their practice can be based as much on an imagined and desired social context as it is on an informed and reflexive understanding of the communicative situation. Secondly, blogging practices include a variety of envisaged audience relationships, and some blogging practices appear to be primarily self-directed with potential audiences playing a marginal role. Blogging’s technical characteristics and the social norms surrounding blogging practices appear to enable and reinforce this unanticipated lack of engagement with audiences. This perspective contrasts with studies of computer mediated communication that suggest bloggers would monitor their audiences and present themselves strategically to ensure interactions are successful in their terms. The study also points the way towards several avenues for further research including a more in-depth consideration of the neglected structural factors (both social and technical) which potentially influence blogging practices, and an examination of social network site use practices using a similar analytical approach. Page 3 Acknowledgements A thesis is a rite of passage and it is by necessity a solitary one in some respects but I could not have started, continued or completed this journey without the generous help and support of many. My supervisors, of course, have played a key role. Robin Mansell showed faith in my work when I was struggling and kept me on the path to completion. Your calm assurance and sage advice have been invaluable - thank you. Thanks also to Nick Couldry, now at Goldsmiths, whose suggestions and criticism are always stimulating. I am grateful for the interest and support that you generously showed even once your formal supervisory role had ended. Other staff in the department have also been generous with their time - particularly the others on my thesis committee. It has been a privilege to benefit from Sonia Livingstone’s advice and to work with her on several projects while completing my thesis. The breadth and depth of your understanding of media theory and practice combined with your warmth and energy are an inspiration to many of us. Shani Orgad’s early advice was invaluable. I am grateful to my examiners, Paul Hodkinson and Neil Selwyn, whose balanced and thoughtful assessment of my draft has helped me to clarify my arguments and put my scholarly contribution into perspective. I also could not have managed without the help and encouragement of my fellow LSE students - Elizabeth, Ellen, Patrick, Zoe, Nancy, Giota and many others. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you too to those who made themselves available for the interviews at the core of this thesis - you were unfailingly thoughtful and generous with your time. I am grateful to Knut Lundby for inviting me to join the Mediatized Stories Network and to all the members of that network for the stimulation they provided and the interest that they have shown in my work. Thank you also to all of the other academic friends I have met (mostly) at conferences and who have kept in touch online, particularly Lois Scheidt, Gordon Gow, Maria Bakardjieva, Lynn Schofield Clark and Theresa Senft. Last but not, of course, least, I would like to thank my family. Thank you to Mum and Dad for respecting my decision to pursue this even when I found it hard to explain why I would do such a thing and backing me up through the long struggle. Adrien, my son, your love and laughter kept me sane. Thank you to my father-in-law, Robert - I hope I will also be able to work elephants into my graphs one day. Thank you most of all to my wife Delphine. Your love, support and patience throughout this thesis journey have been exemplary - I dedicate this thesis to you. Page 4 Table of Contents DECLARATION.............................................................................................................. 2 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................. 5 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... 9 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 9 1.2 THEORETICAL ORIENTATION AND METHODOLOGY................................................ 10 1.3 THESIS OUTLINE ..................................................................................................... 12 1.4 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................ 15 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 15 2.2 CMC STUDIES........................................................................................................ 16 2.3 STUDIES OF PERSONAL HOME PAGES ...................................................................... 17 2.3.1 Strategic self-presentation.............................................................................. 18 2.3.2 Identity construction ...................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Technological and social influences on home page practices ....................... 22 2.4 WEBLOG STUDIES................................................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Technological influences on Blogging practices........................................... 24 2.4.2 Social Influences on Blogging Practices ....................................................... 29 2.4.3 Privacy ........................................................................................................... 31 2.5 STUDIES OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITE (SNS) USE ..................................................... 33 2.5.1 Privacy ........................................................................................................... 34 2.6 STUDIES OF THE IMAGINED AUDIENCE FOR MASS MEDIA ........................................ 35 2.7 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK........................................................... 39 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 39 3.2 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM.................................................................................. 39 3.2.1 History ........................................................................................................... 40 3.2.2 Goffman and symbolic interactionism..........................................................