Paper short abstract:

In the presentation I will analyze the community blog, which I consider a part of grass roots level of collective creativity more closely. It provides a platform for the inhabitanst of Ruhnu for further collective cohesion, participation in local life, and communication on behalf of the island.

Paper long abstract:

The research question of my presentation is centered on the information- and communication technologies (ICT) usage practices of a little community situated in what can be considered as the periphery of Estonian society. The island of Ruhnu is a community which can be considered peripheral on the basis of historical, cultural and geographical aspects. This has had a great influence on the communication between Ruhnu and the mainland.

The presentation is based on materials from a master's thesis, in which the examination of ICT usage practices and its influence for the island of Ruhnu is covered much more broadly than in the presentation at-hand. The research is based on ethnological fieldwork started in 2009.

In the presentation I will analyze the community blog (http://ruhnlane.blogspot.com/), which I consider a part of grass roots level of collective creativity more closely. It provides a platform for the inhabitanst of Ruhnu for further collective cohesion, participation in local life, and communication on behalf of the island with the outside world. One of the questions raised is the so called new public sphere aspect: how a community blog has become a tool to overcome the periphery situation. However, the community members don't always act in accordance with the norms of the public sphere. Therefore I examine how the community tests the boundaries of publicity in the blog and what kind of self-examination the community applies in order to insure that the members act in accordance with the communal identity.