Digital Footprints

Hello digital world!

This will be the first of (I hope) many footprints I will begin to leave on the internet this semester as I explore the digital side of ethnographies. So, where to begin? I suppose a good first print should tell you who I am- and why I'm doing this.

My name is Natalie, and I'm working on my M.A. in Communication Studies. I study things like impression management, visual communication, and social networking. This semester I will finish my thesis that looks at Erving Goffman's concept of "saving the show" as it pertains to image management on Facebook. When I started looking for course's to take to fulfill my requirements to graduate, I stumbled upon a course from Michael Wesch in the Anthropology Department, Digital Ethnography. I find the study of people fascinating, and while I like the ability to use text to express the output of the data I've collected, there was a definite pull to study the communication of people from an entirely different (and far more visual) perspective. So that's where I'm at- school started last week, I'll finish my thesis in a month (fingers crossed!) and the only class I have is this one- I've got a lot to learn, and a lot of ideas, so hopefully they all come together, wish me luck!