I will begin this post with a confession: when I started my research, I didn´t have a clear plan laid out, no solid hypothesis to guide me and no neatly packed set of theories in my backpack. I figured I would stumble upon what I need along the way, and kind of adapt my research to what I find. (I hope my professor doesn´t read this.)

However, I am all along driven by the idea that blogging and the concept of identity are closely linked, my little private theory being that blogging is a process of generating collective identity. (Not the 'big' identities that most research on identity focuses on, such as 'being black' or 'being Christian', but rather small, fluctuating identity groups that form and disintegrate as needed)

I´m thinking of...

... collective identities that may begin with the postulation of an identity by and individual (the blog author) which in itself would be a construct of individual identity and cyberidentity

... or with a group of authors who have already for themselves constructed a small collectivity which they wish to stabilize/extend in the blogosphere

... and participating readers who adapt, transform and reproduce this identity through their comments, links and reactions...

... this in the end wil result in a set of shared symbols, memories and thus shared meaning that still has to do with, but is much more than the initial identity the author(s) proposed...

... which CAN have the power to result in shared action, be it online or in 'real space'...

... but could also be the RESULT of a shared action...

... which would bring me to the text by D. Snow which I was going to discuss here in first place! Since it is already late, this wil have to wait until tomorrow.