Identitet och själviscensättning i bloggsfären : en kvalitativ studie av bloggen iMilk

Sammanfattning: Title: Identity and self-staging in the blogosphere- A qualitative (text and semiotic) study of the fashionblog “iMilk”Number of pages: 55 (excluding references and appendix)Author: Lea KaufmannTutor: Göran SvenssonCourse: Media- and Communication Studies DPeriod: Spring term 2013University: Uppsala UniversityPurpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to theoreticallyinterpret contemporary identity in the web by analyzingthree fashion blog posts created by Signe Siemsen.The analysis is based on theories regarding identity andself-staging in the network society. The work aims tohighlight the relatively fresh theme "Internet as anidentity-creating and identity-seeking platform" andexplores ways of using a blog in order to create a virtualidentity. The study calls for more in-depth research andfurther discussion.Material: The material consists of iMilk, a Swedish fashion blogwritten by a 21-year-old girl. The blog existed betweenSeptember 2007 and March 2010 and three posts,namely from September 2007, April 2008 and October32008, were analyzed based on theories regarding identityand internet by Manuel Castells and John Sulers.Method: The following thesis is based on a qualitative discourseanalysis and a semiotic image analysis.Main results: The thesis you are about to read shows clear signs ofhow the creator behind iMilk, Signe Siemsen, is using herblog to construct and highlight selected parts of herpersonality and to define the person she wants to be andbe seen as. Siemsen is using the choice of media, textcreation, photos, awareness of style and fashionreferences in order to create a carefully considered virtualidentity. You can also see how Siemsen, through herblog, highlights or hides different parts of her everydaylife and how iMilk is being used to live out dreams andvisions. It is also discussed whether individual fashionblogging can be seen as part of an unaware collectiveopposition movement, which non-consciously protestsagainst normative structures regarding everyday aridityand “regular” grown-up living.