Blogging Practices: An Analytical Framework

This article proposes a general model to analyze and compare different uses of theblog format. Based on ideas from sociological structuration theory, as well as on
existing blog research, it argues that individual usage episodes are framed by three
structural dimensions of rules, relations, and code, which in turn are constantly
(re)produced in social action. As a result, ‘‘communities of blogging practices’’
emerge-that is, groups of people who share certain routines and expectations about
the use of blogs as a tool for information, identity, and relationship management.
This analytical framework can be the basis for systematic comparative and longitudinal
studies that will further understanding of similarities and differences in blogging
practices.