Colleague Terje Rasmussen has published a paper on his Web site, called "Media of the Self: Reflections on the personal Web Page."
The paper is a beginning sociology of the home page, and a defense for the home page as a study object.
Studying home-pages is to study grass-root ‘philosophies’ about the Self. They are certainly expressions of personal thoughts and interests, but also, they are a reflection of the normative differentiation between the individual and society. [The home page] reflects this paradox, and sociologically, it therefore stands out as one of the most interesting texts to examine today. (20)
Terje bases his thoughts on Focault's concept of technologies of the self, DeCertau on writing and orality, and Goffman on the representation of self.
Anything that has to do with power in our societies are connected to writing, Terje notes. The Web lets anyone write publicly. And to write is also to read what you are writing, and thus seeing what others see.
Writing creates a text and affects the author. It becomes an instrument for self-change. [...] Keeping a web page is to express oneself in a world, which is already dominated by stories, citations and recitations. It is an act of identification, like showing the driving license or the passport, only far more detailed and informal, and apparently digging much deeper in the Self. (11)
The paper is in English, and you'll find it as a pdf on Terje's homepage. (The home page is in Norwegian, but the link to the paper is in English: "Media of the Self") It has a few typos and is probably a work in progress. If so, I look forward to the next version.
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