The positioning theory as tool for the analysis of virtual environments

Abstract

It is very frequent to argue that in Internet, and in particular in its multiple microspaces (intranets, forums, chats...), new and interesting dimensions of interaction and communication are defined. In the same way, a lot of authors put forward that in the Net appears novel ways to manage identities and social bonds. This paper displays the positioning theory (Davies and Harré, 1990; Harré and Langenhove, 1999) like a theoretical and methodological mechanism specially adapted for the analysis of the interaction and the production of sociability in virtual spaces. It shows the analysis of interaction in a very specific virtual space: a forum in the Univesitat Oberta de Catalunya (a virtual university). With positioning theory we will explain the processes of management and production of meaning and sociability that emerge in virtual interaction.