Researchers and journalists have highlighted radical transformations of identity in chat systems and anonymous e-mail, but the more subtle potential of the ‘personal homepage’ on the World-Wide Web tends to be overlooked. This new multi-media online genre can be defined as addressing the question ‘Who am I?’ Young people constitute the vast majority of those who have such pages on the Web, and exploring this same question is central to the identity work of adolescence. Websites are frequently signposted as ‘under construction’, but the construction involved is at least in part that of their makers’ identities. The medium and the genre have particular features which may play a part in phenomenological shifts in the sense of self, leading some webpage authors to experience the Web as possessing particular potency as a means of self-presentation. This is related to the involvement of the medium in changing relations between public and private. Writing which is ‘personal’ is at the same time automatically published for a worldwide readership, and it is not uncommon to encounter intimate diaries and journals within publicly-accessible homepages.

Researchers and journalists have highlighted radical transformations of identity in chat systems and anonymous e-mail, but the more subtle potential of the ‘personal homepage’ on the World-Wide Web tends to be overlooked. This new multi-media online genre can be defined as addressing the question ‘Who am I?’ Young people constitute the vast majority of those who have such pages on the Web, and exploring this same question is central to the identity work of adolescence. Websites are frequently signposted as ‘under construction’, but the construction involved is at least in part that of their makers’ identities. The medium and the genre have particular features which may play a part in phenomenological shifts in the sense of self, leading some webpage authors to experience the Web as possessing particular potency as a means of self-presentation. This is related to the involvement of the medium in changing relations between public and private. Writing which is ‘personal’ is at the same time automatically published for a worldwide readership, and it is not uncommon to encounter intimate diaries and journals within publicly-accessible homepages.

Identity is socially mediated (Gilligan, 1982), and much of that mediation is through language (Harre, 1989). It follows that as new social processes and new ways of using language emerge, it may be possible to develop new aspects of identity. It has been suggested, for instance by Gergen (1991, 1992), that the developing communication technologies of the last twenty years have had profound implication for our sense of self.

Identity is socially mediated (Gilligan, 1982), and much of that mediation is through language (Harre, 1989). It follows that as new social processes and new ways of using language emerge, it may be possible to develop new aspects of identity. It has been suggested, for instance by Gergen (1991, 1992), that the developing communication technologies of the last twenty years have had profound implication for our sense of self.

The aim of this work is to understand the sociopsychological and cultural realities of virtual communities as live spaces of meeting and high interaction framed within the Latin American context. The study will consist of a comparative ethnographic study of several Latin communities, using the tools of participant observation and focused interviews.

YouTube is a public video-sharing website where people can experience varying degrees of engagement with videos, ranging from casual viewing to sharing videos in order to maintain social relationships. Based on a one-year ethnographic project, this article analyzes how YouTube participants developed and maintained social networks by manipulating physical and interpretive access to their videos. The analysis reveals how circulating and sharing videos reflects different social relationships among youth. It also identifies varying degrees of "publicness" in video sharing. Some participants exhibited "publicly private" behavior, in which video makers' identities were revealed, but content was relatively private because it was not widely accessed. In contrast, "privately public" behavior involved sharing widely accessible content with many viewers, while limiting access to detailed information about video producers' identities.

Combine phenomenal increases in buying power, a growing population, and rising Internet penetration, and find a valuable demographic market. The African-American community is becoming a strong online presence, and creating its own unique identity.