Weblogging: Implementing Communities of Practice

Abstract:

This paper centers on the emergent phenomenon of weblogging. Even though the total number of weblogs is increasing at an exponential rate, little formal study has been done on this phenomenon. This paper provides two main contributions. First, it describes
the phenomenon of weblogging and conceptualizes it, discussing significant attributes of weblogs that set it apart from traditional
communication means. Second, it establishes a framework grounded in the theory of communities of practice that provides a
lens to study the potential role of weblogging in organizational communication. The research approach is qualitative and analysis
is done by interpreting the content of a weblog through a hermeneutic approach. Weblogging can be seen to foster social inclusion
based on its characteristics and nature. Our study shows that by its features of interaction and informality, weblogging cultivates
social inclusion, particularly that of employees working in a corporation. The paper concludes by reflecting on the potential
of weblogging for enabling informal means of communication in organizations.

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