%0 Journal Article %J New Media & Society %D 2008 %T Conceptualizing Personal Media %A Lüders, Marika %K CMC %K communication %K genre %K medium theory %K multimodality %X The digitalization and personal use of mediatechnologies have destabilized the traditional dichotomization between mass communication and interpersonal communication, and therefore between mass media and personal media (e.g. mobile phones, email, instant messenger, blogs and photo-sharing services). As private individuals use media technologies to create and share personal expressions through digital networks, previous characteristics of mass media as providers of generally accessible information are no longer accurate.This article may be situated within a medium-theoretical tradition, as it elucidates technical and social dimensions of personal media and revises the distinction between mass media and personal media. A two-dimensional model suggests locating personal media and mass media according to an interactional axis and an institutional/professional axis: personal media are de-institutionalized/de-professionalized and facilitate mediated interaction.The implementation of digital media technologies has important consequences for social networks and fits well within a theoretical discussion of the post-traditional self. %B New Media & Society %V 10 %P 683–702 %8 2008 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J New Media & Society %D 2010 %T Emerging Personal Media Genres %A Lüders, Marika %A Prøitz, Lin %A Rasmussen, Terje %K affordance %K blog %K camphone %K camphone self-portrait %K digital %K emerging genre %K genre %K innovation %K medium %K online diary %K personal media %K self-portrait %K social media %K stability %K text %X In this article we argue that the concept of genre has a valuable function within sociological theory, particularly for understanding emerging communicative practices within social and personal media. Genres span the whole range of recognizable forms of communication, play a crucial role in overcoming contingency and facilitate communication. Their function is to enhance composing and understanding of communication by offering interpretative, recognizable and flexible frames of reference. As such, genres generate a sense of stability in modern complex societies. Genres ought to be seen as an intermediary level between the levels of media and text, however influenced by both. They operate as interaction between two interdependent dimensions, conventions and expectations, both of which are afforded by media and specific texts. In this article these relationships are illustrated through two cases of emerging personal media genres: the online diary and the camphone self-portrait. %B New Media & Society %V 12 %P 947–963 %8 2010 %G eng