photographist

“A journalist by training, I have always wanted to understand human exchanges better. After my thesis, I wanted to learn more about these exchanges through technology. I am interested in political communication in blogs, more specifically in their psychology of use. As such, I have analyzed the reasons and methods through which Romanian and French politicians use blogs. My focus was on the constants in their relationship to technology. Through this specific self-publishing tool, I am interested in the self-publishing eco-system at large. Certain politicians use blogs themselves, but more often than not there is an entire production team behind them. Based on my analysis, the result was that we cannot compare their individual use, because it is all about a unique process. Drawing a parallel between the use trajectories of these politicians, I identified three types of logic usage: transmission logic, participation logic and organization logic.

We live in participatory times. Even if the transmission logic of large media channels still dominates, we live under the pressure of participation, where this, just like the dialogue between politicians and citizens, is difficult to observe and never constant. With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, a retroactive blog is more difficult to perceive. Responses to online comments and notes circulate and are no longer happening in the same time frame. If politicians would rather serve the informational purpose; citizens, in their turn, should check that information more thoroughly, and then write, reproof, and hold them accountable. If used correctly, blogs can be very important for politicians. Fundamentally it is an issue of representation, behavior and identity which pervades users nolens volens. As for academic research, I would say it is all about patience and, most of all, conscience. It is a unique positive experience that happens in a lifetime, a journey with no return.”

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