summ( )n

I am currently in Moscow in a large research project, aimed to better understand the new emerging patterns of communication, triggered and mediated by the plethora of various tools we usually refer as ‘digital’. This include not only the ‘classical’ Internet per se, but also mobile phones from one side, and so called Social Web services. In reality all these new tools and methods inter-tangled and – more importantly – interwoven and with a variety of communication practices of people.

Obviously, this is a very complex topic, and so we try to approach it from different angles – socio-cultural, linguistic, and psychological points of view, among others. It is also a huge topic, so our efforts are bound to be humble, scratching-the- surface an exercise. The nice thing it is a comparative research, and we will have a chance to see if these new practices are different in different countries cultures. To the extend possible, I will cover here at least the key methodologies we use, and perhaps certain insights we will gain.