Browsing by Author "Bergset, Heli"

Research objectives: As the use of social media has increased, writing a blog has become more and more popular in the recent years. For the writer, a blog is a means of communication, a diary, or enabler of writing as a hobby. One blogger group consists of Finnish expatriates. Emigrating means a life change, that according to previous research causes a process of culture shock that can last for years. Integration of expatriates has been studied quite a lot. Blogs and blogging as a relatively new phenomenon has already been the object of an amount of research, but blogging while living abroad has not received much attention, yet. The purpose of this study was to find out, how blog-writing Finnish expatriates experience the significance of blogging in their current situation in life. The meanings given to the blog were viewed in relation to the writers' background. The starting point for the study was an assumption, that blog-writing Finnish expatriates possibly use the blog as an aid in adaptation. Methods: The study involved 39 blog-writing Finnish expatriates, who wrote a free-form text about their blogging, guided by some general questions around the focus of this study. In addition, they answered some questions concerning their background. The texts were analyzed using content analysis. The results of the content analysis and the background information were quantified and cross tabulated to find out factors that might be connected to the significances given. Results and conclusions: The majority of significances given to blogging were connected to living abroad, especially when taking into account the subjects of blog posts and the target audience. The reasons for starting a blog were pragmatic, like communication and writing a diary, whereas the current significances also included deeper level functions. The latter were e.g. receiving peer support, pondering issues and using the Finnish language. The significances given to the blog change as time passes and integration proceeds, but it does not become less important to the writer. Many respondents indicated that communication with friends and family in Finland through the blog is often unidirectional. Communication with new connections acquired through the blog, however, was told to be bidirectional. Therefore, writing a blog may in a way close the writer outside of her former social network, but instead it helps to build a totally new network, including members in a similar situation in life. The results suggest that Finnish expatriates use the blog as an aid in integration process. The blog has instrumental value even when integration has come to an advanced stage and the difficult phases of culture shock have been passed.