“We have perceptions, thoughts and personalities (already shaped by other communications technologies) that are affected by the way we use the medium and the way it uses us.” (Rheingold, 1993)

The Tumblog platform encourages use of and experimentation in a wide range of modalities. This platform menu opens the gateway to imagination and creativity. Personal experience has shown that oftentimes the use of non-textual terrain helps to understand a topic / subject confused by the black and white offered by the parole. Stepping outside of text has at times felt that it carried with it a risk but a risk mimimized through the presence of community.

The experimental nature that the Tumblog has offered to me has had an impact on what I have learned and also how that learning has been shaped, content and form. Crucially, it has removed the fear of the multimodal, instilling a sense of adventure and curiosity as companions for future learning.

• Rheingold, H. (1993) The virtual community: Homesteading on the electronic frontier. available: http://rheingold.com/books/ [accessed 06.04.2013]

Since the beginning of this module I knew that this blog was providing a radically different experience than the blog I used in IDEL. Having watched it take shape over the last few months, ebbing and flowing against the tides of offline life, the end is nearing, finality beckoning. On reflection, time itself was instrumental in shaping this difference, created through interaction and the establishment of community.

The blog interaction nourished through feedback and comment has helped to establish our EDC community. Totally aware that all posts are available in the mainstream the intimacy of our group number provided the feeling of being present within a safe, secure environment. Confidence gained through posting within this social network resulted in more confident posting as time progressed.

The community element played a role in how and what I posted. The social aspect embedded as core within the EDC blog meant that feedback and comment were anticipated and readily welcomed. Knowledge sharing was an underlying byproduct of interaction resulting in constant learning and awareness of new topics and technologies. This would not have been as achievable outside of a community based framework.

I have completed oodles of these Captcha boxes in the past, paying them little or no attention. Seeing them as a stepping stone to getting onto my destination webpage.

Having dabbled my toes into this week’s readings they strike me as dividers  – seperating the realms of the human and non-human.

I’ve never done anything like this before. It brought the readings of the section to like by gently nudging questions over the definitions of community and  subculture. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to live the ethnographer’s role from start to finish. Truely an immersive experience!

Time spent this week looking at the studies of my peers only re-emphasised the diversive approaches of the group…no two studies look or feel the same. I found it interesting that although I had used the same platform and ethnographic environment as two of my classmates all of the results differed dramatically. This is something that I find reassuring and refreshing. The MSc has opened my eyes [and mind] to the realm of the multimodal and I found the ethnography gave me another chance to dabble in the unknown, to experiment and explore.

I wasn’t sure how this theory would transfer onto the group I was looking at – YouTube Nirvana / Grunge Rock Group.  I still feel uncertain [and a little uncomfortable] about how much of a ‘community’ this group are. The definition of community is rife with debate, shifting frontiers and not always stable.

I do feel as though the element of RL culture could have a level of impact on the sahpe of an online community, through the provision of an underbelly upon which the virtual might sit.  The level of cultural support required to make this feasible is questionable and something I would like to read more on in the future…

Using the same components or looking at the same platform may result in an experience poles apart.

This week my tumblog post has highlighted the role of history/historicism plays in shaping the present and the future. I thought that this was apt given the current activity. This week has felt like a continuation of week six like how sections of a caterpillar link together. In this way considerations of community and culture in the previous week are still very raw in my mind and shape my reflections over these days.

Although I haven’t had time to put to print I am questioning how I could / should approach my ethnographic study. Although I have pinpointed the group I would like to explore as Grunge related I still need to clarify in my mind exactly how I’m going to approach it. This is a normal process for me before approaching any activity so I’m currently curious but comfortable.

A comment from Jen suggested that I might use my fieldwork to explore an idea that I had been mulling over from one of the posts from the  previous week.

How far can the common interest be stretched to encompass the imagining of online community.

I’m excited about the avenues this ethnographic exploration is going to lead me down…

For my micro-ethnography I decided to study a Nirvana/Grunge Rock You Tube community. Access to the ethnography is available here and EDC comments are listed below.

I love this quote [above]. Thought it fitting given the ethnographic course content that we are currently covering. Highlighting the value of  the reflexive methodological approach.

History repeats itself / coiling down into the future…

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Johnnydeeps (2008) History repeats itself A.O.S. available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIL-uFB7cIc [accessed 01.03.2013]
• Foucault, M. (2007) Space, power and knowledge. I: During, S. The Cultural Studies Reader. London: Routledge pp. 164 – 171

It has been a heavy week in terms of teasing out  ideas on what kind of community to look at, how to approach the task and how to represent the ethnographic findings.

Grid A

Tumblog Week Six postings reflect these tentative steps toward deciphering between community and subculture, what community could be and / or is.  I have felt a little torn about this distinction. I think that the Subculture post has forced me to give time to considering that the location / source hosting a community in itself could contribute to how participants form interactions and subsequently identification with/in the community.

Grid B

The idea of conducting an ethnographic study with non-human subjects is intriguing and an area that is sure to contribute to my bedside locker collection of the future!

The Tumblog is serving a clearer purpose for me these days. Not only as a visual / textual log of what I thought at a particular moment in time  but is pushing my process of thinking, of connecting wider. I have begun to think of my Tumblog as a tram navigating unknown territory, expanding the route system along the way, charting a map of exploration from the basic [Grid  A] to the downright weighty! [Grid B!] It might feel like it’s a long way from Bury to Edge Lane but the engine is picking up speed and the journey enjoyable.