Personal blogs as online presences on the internet: Exploring self-presentation and self-disclosure in blogging

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the creation of a virtual presence in personal blogs through self‐presentation and self‐disclosure. Five elements of self‐presentation and self‐disclosure were examined: the way bloggers present themselves in their blogs; the degree and frequency of disclosure of personal information in the blogs; the feelings or reactions bloggers have when posting or receiving a comment; the significance blogs have in the bloggers' lives; and the subjects bloggers write about in their blogs.Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was designed for the study and 90 bloggers from six Latin American countries who maintain a personal blog participated in the study. In the first phase a statistical analysis yielded quantifiable demographic data about the participants, the personal information they disclose in their blogs, and statistical data on feelings involved in blogging. In the second phase a content analysis examined the bloggers' textual answers using open coding...