Networked Identities: Understanding Different Types of Social Organisation and Movements Between Strong and Weak Ties in Networked Environments

Thomas Ryberg (1) , Malene Charlotte Larsen (1)

1 Faculty of Humanities/Department of Communication/E-learning Lab

In this article we take up a critique of the concept of Communities of Practice voiced by several authors, who suggest that network may provide a better metaphor to understand social forms of organisation and learning. This critique we situate within a broader theoretical movement in socio-cultural learning theories. From this we identify some theoretical and analytical challenges to the network metaphor, which we explore and elaborate through an analysis of a Danish social networking site.

Keywords: networked identities; social forms of organization; weak and strong ties

Domains: Technology for Human Learning

Thomas Ryberg, Malene Charlotte Larsen. Networked Identities: Understanding Different Types of Social Organisation and Movements Between Strong and Weak Ties in Networked Environments. Fifth International Conference on Networked Learning, 2006, Lancaster, United Kingdom. ⟨hal-00190255⟩