I just read the report "Political blogs - craze or convention" by the Hansard Society (you can download it for free here). The organisation asked 8 citizens to read and judge a sample of 8 political British blogs. As part of the review process, the jurors were required to post comments on the blogs and check back on their posts. The jurors were largely disappointed when they found little activity around their comments, both on the behalf of the blogger and on the readers'.
As I read the experiences of the "jury", I come to think of the weblog by Eva Biaudet, a Finnish politician. Many of the visitors who have commented her posts have also asked her questions, and she does answer some of them. There's only one response within the comments, between readers.
Further in the report: "Distinguishing four primary modes of expression in the bloggers’ postings – fact, opinion, experience, and questioning – we found that more than half of their messages were expressions of opinion, less than a quarter referred to experience, while 14.3% were factual, and only 6% sought answers.
This could indicate that political blogs, and blogging in general, are a modern type of soapbox, where enquiry and interaction are of less importance than furthering one’s views. This insight also indicates that there is a lot more work to be done in terms of politicians participating in online forums such as the blogosphere, rather than simply putting forward their own opinions for the public to read."
I guess Eva belongs to the minority (the 6 % who seeks answers), as her initial post states that "I hope you will find me here and give me ideas and comments on politics or anything." She ends the post with a question: Have you got any ideas to make Europe more interesting?
3 other weblogging Finnish politicians, Heidi Hautala, Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Rosa Meriläinen appear on the list of Finnish weblogs. These 3 women belong to those who express opinion and share experience. Or used to express, maybe I should add, as the weblogs haven't been updated for quite some time now.
And what's more, the important aspect of blogging - the possibility to post a comment - is not present in 2 of these 3 weblogs. Even though the posts contain political opinions, there's no possibilty to ask, argue against or develop the thoughts further in a comment. Neither do the blogs have any links or blogroll, which makes these weblogs mainly a form of self-expression, or a diary if you like. Heidi Hautala's readers do have a possibility to ask questions, and read the answers online, but these comments are not directly linked to posts in the weblog. There's an e-mail adress to Rosa Meriläinen at the bottom of the page, but no contact information is available in Anneli Jäätteenmäki's blog. It seems like enquiry and interaction is not top priority here. Neither is frequent updating.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
High tech guarantees a better life?
Last weekend, I visited quite a few relatives back home in Ostrobothnia. And naturally, they ask me what I'm up to these days. I explain that I'm a researcher, examining weblogs.
In 9 out of 10 times, 3 questions follow:
According to Marx, capitalism fosters a culture of selfishness. Weber thought that the rationality in modern societies wears away kinship ties, while the ever expanding bureaucracy manipulates and isolates people. Durkheim again believed that as the member of the modern society is more and more interdependent, s/he is less able to create a common moral framework within which to judge right and wrong.
Will my thesis on communication in weblogs enhance my relatives' life quality? Will also weblogs foster individualism? Will there even be any weblogs as we know them now around, say, in a decade? Alex Halavais states that: "Blogging is dead, long live blogging. I suspect that over the next few years we will see a lot of calls suggesting that blogging has died, and I suspect that in a sense they will be right."
It's too early to say, especially here in Finland where the phenomenon of blogging is slowly taking off, not to mention to predict the actual impact on the life of Mr and Mrs Citizen. But I've got a couple of possible scenarios regarding the future of blogs and it will be fun to see if any of them turn out to be true.
In 9 out of 10 times, 3 questions follow:
- First up is "Why can't you get a decent job, where you work with your body and hands?" Answer: Because I choose not to.
- Second: "Who pays you to do this?" Answer: Rather vague as my funding ends in about 2 weeks...
- And the most fascinating one: "How does your research make my life any better?" This is a good and justified query as many researchers are funded by taxpayers' money. But what's more, it's interesting in my case because the question expresses a doubt that high tech equates a better life, and thus implies that little research on the matter is needed.
According to Marx, capitalism fosters a culture of selfishness. Weber thought that the rationality in modern societies wears away kinship ties, while the ever expanding bureaucracy manipulates and isolates people. Durkheim again believed that as the member of the modern society is more and more interdependent, s/he is less able to create a common moral framework within which to judge right and wrong.
Will my thesis on communication in weblogs enhance my relatives' life quality? Will also weblogs foster individualism? Will there even be any weblogs as we know them now around, say, in a decade? Alex Halavais states that: "Blogging is dead, long live blogging. I suspect that over the next few years we will see a lot of calls suggesting that blogging has died, and I suspect that in a sense they will be right."
It's too early to say, especially here in Finland where the phenomenon of blogging is slowly taking off, not to mention to predict the actual impact on the life of Mr and Mrs Citizen. But I've got a couple of possible scenarios regarding the future of blogs and it will be fun to see if any of them turn out to be true.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Stupido
The former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Durão Barroso is interviewed in today's Hufvudstadsbladet, as he's likely to be elected president of the European Commission. Towards the end of the article, the reporter Marit Ingves writes: "Barroso is already keeping in touch with the governments of the different countries [in EU] and he says that he's disappointed in them. He's working on getting more women working in the Commission but obviously in vain.
- When I discuss this matter I'm answered: yes, but you yourself is not a woman."
If this is true, and he's cited correctly, then it is the most stupid argument I've heard in a very long time. According to some member states in the EU, there's no need for women working in the Commission because the president is a man! I'm not sure whether to burst into laughter or tears.
- When I discuss this matter I'm answered: yes, but you yourself is not a woman."
If this is true, and he's cited correctly, then it is the most stupid argument I've heard in a very long time. According to some member states in the EU, there's no need for women working in the Commission because the president is a man! I'm not sure whether to burst into laughter or tears.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Une carte des bloggers parisiens
I like this idea, it's a map of bloggers in the city of Paris. 144 bloggers are listed so far. Apparently, it's a betting to see whether the Parisians can come up to the New Yorkers and their site where 3546 bloggers are listed.
And by the way, la France, joyeuse fête nationale!
[Via Douze lunes]
And by the way, la France, joyeuse fête nationale!
[Via Douze lunes]
No sun screen but cinema screen
Since it's freaking cold, the worst summer since 1928 they say, I've been watching a lot of movies lately.
Spiderman 2 - enjoyable, easy to watch but not as brilliant as some feel.
Pretty woman - since many women about my age praise this movie to the sky, I decided to buy it on sales and watch it. I'm quite tired of the wide-eyed looks when I admit I haven't seen it. But what a waste of time and money! I wouldn't be surprised if this fairytale story increased prostitution when it hit the movie theatres back in 1990. Gere's character was sleazy and if girls grew up looking up to this Vivian (J Roberts), I feel sorry for all of us.
Shattered glass - based on a true story about a journalist at The New Republic who wrote phoney articles. Good acting and a good plot. I wonder what Glass is up to nowadays. Will he, and should he, ever get hired as a reporter again? Does he even want to?
Spiderman 2 - enjoyable, easy to watch but not as brilliant as some feel.
Pretty woman - since many women about my age praise this movie to the sky, I decided to buy it on sales and watch it. I'm quite tired of the wide-eyed looks when I admit I haven't seen it. But what a waste of time and money! I wouldn't be surprised if this fairytale story increased prostitution when it hit the movie theatres back in 1990. Gere's character was sleazy and if girls grew up looking up to this Vivian (J Roberts), I feel sorry for all of us.
Shattered glass - based on a true story about a journalist at The New Republic who wrote phoney articles. Good acting and a good plot. I wonder what Glass is up to nowadays. Will he, and should he, ever get hired as a reporter again? Does he even want to?
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Allbritton back in Iraq
Christopher Allbritton is the reporter that was funded entirely by bloggers and blog readers to go to Iraq and blog there. Now he's gone back to Iraq but this time, he both blogs and writes for Time magazine and New York Daily News. For this reason, he's been accused of "selling out". I don't agree however with his critics.
An interesting quote by Allbritton from the article on this in OJR: "Blogs are an addition to mainstream journalism, providing opinion, perspective and possibly even fact-checking. They're NOT a substitution. They should not be, and I hope they don't become one. The media ecosystem needs newspapers of records and crazy bloggers both. Remember, the goal is an enlightened public, and if blogs help in that regard, then they should be celebrated. But if they don't, then they're no better than an annoying pamphleteer."
An interesting quote by Allbritton from the article on this in OJR: "Blogs are an addition to mainstream journalism, providing opinion, perspective and possibly even fact-checking. They're NOT a substitution. They should not be, and I hope they don't become one. The media ecosystem needs newspapers of records and crazy bloggers both. Remember, the goal is an enlightened public, and if blogs help in that regard, then they should be celebrated. But if they don't, then they're no better than an annoying pamphleteer."
Inspiration drought
Ususally, I have no problem with filling dozens of pages with text. But I do now. The last few weeks, I've related Habermas´s notion of the public sphere to blogs and to blogging (that's presumably what my dissertation is all about). I've read tons, thought, taken notes and made a mindmap of ideas on paper. But now, when I should transmit these thoughts to an article (my first...), my fingers freeze. Perhaps I'm distracted by the fact that the rock festival Ruisrock hits my town this weekend, or the sunny weather, or the fact that I've got a job interview tomorrow. Whatever the reason, it truly is an odd experience.
I've read somewhere (my memory fails here so unfortunately, I can't provide a link) that instead of being afraid that one's article isn't good enough, and thus holding on to and improving it forever, one should keep writing and publishing many texts as this is how you learn. You're better off being Woody Allen, who's produced 39 quite enjoyable movies since 1965, than Renny Harlin who stakes big time on a movie from time to time, but with a mediocre result.
In my search for inspiration, I googled and found that "things around me" is what gets people's creative motor going. That's quite general but I guess it could to the trick. It sure works for Manu Chao. I saw the re-run of a documentary of him last night. He says that for a song to be born, the things that are right there under his nose must inspire him, and preferably within five minutes. If he is inspired within this period of time, there will be a track. If not, he drops the whole thing. Considering how brilliant his albums are, it seems like a good creativity plan.
I've read somewhere (my memory fails here so unfortunately, I can't provide a link) that instead of being afraid that one's article isn't good enough, and thus holding on to and improving it forever, one should keep writing and publishing many texts as this is how you learn. You're better off being Woody Allen, who's produced 39 quite enjoyable movies since 1965, than Renny Harlin who stakes big time on a movie from time to time, but with a mediocre result.
In my search for inspiration, I googled and found that "things around me" is what gets people's creative motor going. That's quite general but I guess it could to the trick. It sure works for Manu Chao. I saw the re-run of a documentary of him last night. He says that for a song to be born, the things that are right there under his nose must inspire him, and preferably within five minutes. If he is inspired within this period of time, there will be a track. If not, he drops the whole thing. Considering how brilliant his albums are, it seems like a good creativity plan.
Monday, July 05, 2004
Tales of life and death in the streets of London
There's an interview with Londoner paramedic and blogger Tom Reynolds in today's Guardian. He's got a loyal audience that appreciates his writings, but Reynolds doubts that he comes across as a good writer. "...I look at [my posts] and think, oh god I've used too many commas ... the only thing is I write fairly plainly. I think that's the main thing." he says.
I agree completely on the grammar issue: It's the story or the message that's important, not the linguistics. One's knowledge of where to put the commas is a matter of secondary importance when blogs are concerned. But this is where my agreement ends, I think Reynolds writes fascinating entries. Check out the superb blog here.
I agree completely on the grammar issue: It's the story or the message that's important, not the linguistics. One's knowledge of where to put the commas is a matter of secondary importance when blogs are concerned. But this is where my agreement ends, I think Reynolds writes fascinating entries. Check out the superb blog here.
BlogTalk streaming
Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend BlogTalk 2.0 in Vienna, but I'm looking forward to following it online. Link to the conference stream here. The conference kicks off today with the keynote by Mark Bernstein: The Social Physics of New Weblog Technologies.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Catchy tunes on Ebay
There are currently two songs around on the same theme: Ebay. One track is simply called "Ebay", was released last year and is a cover of "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys. The other one is more catchy; I simply cannot get "On Ebay", on the new album 'un' by Chumbawamba, out of my system. I catch myself humming it constantly. But beneath the stirring tunes lie serious intentions. The song is a critical remark on how the US deals with the situation in Iraq. It can also be seen as a concern for the risk of finding Iraqi treasures on Ebay.
"Stuff happens, freedom’s untidy and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this stuff cropped up for sale on Ebay at the weekend.", band member Alice says in an interview on rock-city.co.uk (where the reporter repeteadly misspells the name of the band). Well, let's hope that her misgivings don't turn out to be justfied.
And while I'm at it, I'll recommend a great band, though of a less political nature than Chumbawamba: Nightwish and their new album Once. Superb!
"Stuff happens, freedom’s untidy and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this stuff cropped up for sale on Ebay at the weekend.", band member Alice says in an interview on rock-city.co.uk (where the reporter repeteadly misspells the name of the band). Well, let's hope that her misgivings don't turn out to be justfied.
And while I'm at it, I'll recommend a great band, though of a less political nature than Chumbawamba: Nightwish and their new album Once. Superb!
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Blog struggle
One can find interesting stuff at the bottom of one's drawer. 
Last night, I found an article I wrote last summer, while working as a news reporter at the local newspaper. It's about a blogger and his three different blogs in three languages. I can't help smiling when reading as the birth of the article comes to mind. I had been trying to evoke an interest in blogging as a news worthy topic amongst my colleagues for quite some time. Some agreed with me that it was something worth writing about, but my idea never made it to the top priority-list. But one day, in the midst of August, I managed to get an interview with this blogger and the editors didn't decline. I was thrilled to bits, and he seemed pleased too.
The blogger, Panu Petteri Höglund, states in the interview: "The weblogs cannot replace newspapers but I can well imagine that they will become an important channel for recruiting journalists and columnists. There will probably be a vivid collaboration between the weblogs and the newspapers. The boundaries between them are becoming less fixed.".
More on the collaboration between these two actors here.
Last night, I found an article I wrote last summer, while working as a news reporter at the local newspaper. It's about a blogger and his three different blogs in three languages. I can't help smiling when reading as the birth of the article comes to mind. I had been trying to evoke an interest in blogging as a news worthy topic amongst my colleagues for quite some time. Some agreed with me that it was something worth writing about, but my idea never made it to the top priority-list. But one day, in the midst of August, I managed to get an interview with this blogger and the editors didn't decline. I was thrilled to bits, and he seemed pleased too.
The blogger, Panu Petteri Höglund, states in the interview: "The weblogs cannot replace newspapers but I can well imagine that they will become an important channel for recruiting journalists and columnists. There will probably be a vivid collaboration between the weblogs and the newspapers. The boundaries between them are becoming less fixed.".
More on the collaboration between these two actors here.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Midsummer feast
I'm off to celebrate Midsummer now, which means that the blog won't be updated in a couple of days.
For those of you who are not familiar with this celebration of summer solstice (the photo above is taken at 00.30 a.m.), one crucial thing to know about it is that love is strongly connected with Midsummer. Since the Midsummer night is magic, a woman can see her future husband in her dreams. Where I come from, girls pick seven different kinds of wild flowers, during complete silence, and sleep with the flowers under the pillow. The husband to be will appear in their dream.
When I was younger, I faithfully undertook this procedure. The hope of getting a glimpse of my future husband remained, until the year I dreamt of Donald Duck. Nonetheless, there's no need for such methods anymore :)
Glad midsommar!
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Just another manic Monday
Even though First Monday was born in May 1996, I've never heard of this peer-reviewed journal on the Internet. Perhaps the fact that I hate Mondays has something to do with it.
Anyhows, the journal's solely devoted to the Internet and the global information infrastructure. In the current issue, David Huffaker discusses the role of weblogs in class room settings. "Weblogs provide an excellent opportunity for educators to advance literacy through storytelling and dialogue", he concludes.
Anyhows, the journal's solely devoted to the Internet and the global information infrastructure. In the current issue, David Huffaker discusses the role of weblogs in class room settings. "Weblogs provide an excellent opportunity for educators to advance literacy through storytelling and dialogue", he concludes.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Backlash?
Anne Beaulieu, a senior researcher with Networked Research and Digital Information at Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, writes about blogs as fields for ethnographic work (Meditating Ethnography: objectivity and the making of ethnographies of the internet. Forthcoming 2004).
In the section about blogs, she refers to the paper on weblogs by Torill Mortensen and Jill Walker and states that the blog is experienced as "a context and a mode of communication, a hybrid tool for making, presenting and reflecting on the object that is furthermore exposed in a new way.".
But this part in Beaulieu's paper fascinates me the most: "The informality of this mode of writing, researching and communicating has been the object of backlash in some academic circles (though none, as far as I could tell, were ethnographic), and some scholars have reported that their blogging activities were considered too ‘journalistic’ by their peers (Glenn 2003). These protests may be signs of changing values in the wake of novel forms of scientific communication."
If some consider blogs to be a backlash today, what will the opinions be in a couple of years? And what will the role of the blog, when it comes to academic research, be? Blogging has in fact already matured from link-driven sites to moblogs, hobby weblogs, diary weblogs and some weblogs focus on one single matter. And within a short period of time, too. But what about the role of the blog in academia: will the scientific communication develop in unexpected ways, or will the claimed backlash continue? I definitely hope Beaulieu is right when saying that the criticism may be a sign of changing values in academic communication.
In the section about blogs, she refers to the paper on weblogs by Torill Mortensen and Jill Walker and states that the blog is experienced as "a context and a mode of communication, a hybrid tool for making, presenting and reflecting on the object that is furthermore exposed in a new way.".
But this part in Beaulieu's paper fascinates me the most: "The informality of this mode of writing, researching and communicating has been the object of backlash in some academic circles (though none, as far as I could tell, were ethnographic), and some scholars have reported that their blogging activities were considered too ‘journalistic’ by their peers (Glenn 2003). These protests may be signs of changing values in the wake of novel forms of scientific communication."
If some consider blogs to be a backlash today, what will the opinions be in a couple of years? And what will the role of the blog, when it comes to academic research, be? Blogging has in fact already matured from link-driven sites to moblogs, hobby weblogs, diary weblogs and some weblogs focus on one single matter. And within a short period of time, too. But what about the role of the blog in academia: will the scientific communication develop in unexpected ways, or will the claimed backlash continue? I definitely hope Beaulieu is right when saying that the criticism may be a sign of changing values in academic communication.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
"Serial blog murder"
Blogging pioneer Dave Winer suddenly closed his free blog-hosting service, Weblogs.com , a couple of days ago. Some bloggers got upset when denied access to their blogs, others took the news more calmly.
Sometimes I've questioned the idea of keeping one's research memos, collection of links etc on a free blog-hosting service, like I do. Can I expect any guarantees that my blog won't be shut down? And what if it is, how will I feel about it?
Naturally, this is not the only place where I store my thoughts and links to papers etc, still I think I'd better update the back up of the content in this blog, just in case...
Sometimes I've questioned the idea of keeping one's research memos, collection of links etc on a free blog-hosting service, like I do. Can I expect any guarantees that my blog won't be shut down? And what if it is, how will I feel about it?
Naturally, this is not the only place where I store my thoughts and links to papers etc, still I think I'd better update the back up of the content in this blog, just in case...
"The net is only halfway"
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was yesterday granted the recently founded Millennium Technology Prize in Finland. This means that the founder of the web is a one million euro richer man today.
According to the Swedish newspaper in Finland Hufvudstadsbladet, he says that the net is only halfway.
"The net is nowadays seen, or should be seen, as a helper when one wants to do other things. It should be working without us noticing it. The time has past, I hope, when people surfed the net just for the sake of surfing."
According to the article, Berners-Lee condemns the hardware centered attitude that shines through certain programs, and he also dislikes proprietary software. "The most important is the information that people share. The rules regarding how you share this information must be general enough, in order to prevent that you're tied to a certain program or hardware. Hardware must not become an obstacle."
For those of you who are not familiar with the Millennium Technology Prize: it is the largest technology prize in the world. The prize money is donated by the state and private sponsors. The prize will from now on be awarded every other year to a prominent person within technology.
According to the Swedish newspaper in Finland Hufvudstadsbladet, he says that the net is only halfway.
"The net is nowadays seen, or should be seen, as a helper when one wants to do other things. It should be working without us noticing it. The time has past, I hope, when people surfed the net just for the sake of surfing."
According to the article, Berners-Lee condemns the hardware centered attitude that shines through certain programs, and he also dislikes proprietary software. "The most important is the information that people share. The rules regarding how you share this information must be general enough, in order to prevent that you're tied to a certain program or hardware. Hardware must not become an obstacle."
For those of you who are not familiar with the Millennium Technology Prize: it is the largest technology prize in the world. The prize money is donated by the state and private sponsors. The prize will from now on be awarded every other year to a prominent person within technology.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Addicted to computers?
Therese lists three things that might indicate too heavy usage of computers and she hopes for some computer free time.
Unintentionally, my house has been computer free these last four, five days. Last Friday, we were too fed up with the noise the fan in our computer made so we decided to get a new, better one. And after the installation of the fan, it was quiet alright. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. So, we rushed to a computer pundit, pleading for a quick antidote.
I was sure I wouldn’t survive the weekend without my combined radio-tv-newspaper- calender-archive. But I did, brilliantly. I don’t miss it all that much. I check my e-mail and read the latest news headlines at work, that’s enough. And this morning, I was told that my computer is cured and I can pick it up. It is late afternoon now and I still haven’t. I figure I’ll go tomorrow, and catch a movie tonight instead. The book, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was quite ok so I’m eager to see the cinema version of the story.
Unintentionally, my house has been computer free these last four, five days. Last Friday, we were too fed up with the noise the fan in our computer made so we decided to get a new, better one. And after the installation of the fan, it was quiet alright. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. So, we rushed to a computer pundit, pleading for a quick antidote.
I was sure I wouldn’t survive the weekend without my combined radio-tv-newspaper- calender-archive. But I did, brilliantly. I don’t miss it all that much. I check my e-mail and read the latest news headlines at work, that’s enough. And this morning, I was told that my computer is cured and I can pick it up. It is late afternoon now and I still haven’t. I figure I’ll go tomorrow, and catch a movie tonight instead. The book, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was quite ok so I’m eager to see the cinema version of the story.
I love to hate it
I love page design! I love to edit, do layout and think of creative, unconventional ways to present text, photos or figures.
A couple of summers ago, I worked as a journalist at a newspaper. Up until then, PageMaker had been my little helper but now, I had the opportunity to work with the layout program InDesign. I enjoyed it and sometimes I miss those times when playing with colors was actually paid work!
As I do now, when I’m editing a bunch of SPSS charts and text blocs in a Word-document. A reason as good as any to go nuts! I’m not a member of the Word Fan club and now I get a reason to dislike this witty software even more. But if this Master’s thesis of mine is ever going to be published, my struggle must continue.
A couple of summers ago, I worked as a journalist at a newspaper. Up until then, PageMaker had been my little helper but now, I had the opportunity to work with the layout program InDesign. I enjoyed it and sometimes I miss those times when playing with colors was actually paid work!
As I do now, when I’m editing a bunch of SPSS charts and text blocs in a Word-document. A reason as good as any to go nuts! I’m not a member of the Word Fan club and now I get a reason to dislike this witty software even more. But if this Master’s thesis of mine is ever going to be published, my struggle must continue.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Intertwingled communities of interest
A couple of reflections on the peer reviewed paper on weblogs, written by Edmonds, Blustein and Turnbull. The authors believe that, in the future, everyone will use tools derived from the blogs to structure, search and share personal information, but also to engage in shared discussion.
I'm not saying that they are too optimistic but some facts cross my mind when I read this. The informants in my study (20-29-year olds) are very keen on ICT:s as 85 % claim they wouldn't want to live without the Internet. However, they proved quite sceptical to sharing personal information on the net. Three out of four,and especially women, consider it dangerous to share personal information. Of course, this is not the same as sharing links and information on one's interest for example, but still.
"In our vision, people will be able to connect with huge, Web-scaled or small circle-of-friend groups who share a common interest." the authors write. I asked my informants whether they have discussed their interests in a fora or a chat and 74 % answered that they never have. And 72 % have never asked someone unknown on the Internet for advice. In this study, I was interested in what Castells and Wellman write about the common interest replacing the local as a base for friendship and social relations. It turned out that most of my informants didn't have friends that they've met on the Internet and where a shared interest, and not a common time or space, is the base.
I'm not saying that they are too optimistic but some facts cross my mind when I read this. The informants in my study (20-29-year olds) are very keen on ICT:s as 85 % claim they wouldn't want to live without the Internet. However, they proved quite sceptical to sharing personal information on the net. Three out of four,and especially women, consider it dangerous to share personal information. Of course, this is not the same as sharing links and information on one's interest for example, but still.
"In our vision, people will be able to connect with huge, Web-scaled or small circle-of-friend groups who share a common interest." the authors write. I asked my informants whether they have discussed their interests in a fora or a chat and 74 % answered that they never have. And 72 % have never asked someone unknown on the Internet for advice. In this study, I was interested in what Castells and Wellman write about the common interest replacing the local as a base for friendship and social relations. It turned out that most of my informants didn't have friends that they've met on the Internet and where a shared interest, and not a common time or space, is the base.
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