ABSTRACT
When Marcus coined the widely quoted term multi-sited ethnography (1995), he surely was not thinking of Internet research in the first place. Studies on computer-mediated cultures and social life, however, are hardly comprehensible without multi-siting strategies. This holds particularly true for the case study of Cibervalle, which deals not only with global communication technologies, but also with transnational practices of migration. The research design discussed in the next section combines premises from both multi-sited ethnography and ethnomethodology. It connects ethnomethodological with ethnographic aspects of ‘becoming a member’ for two reasons: Firstly, to gain access to the unique structures of meaning and orderliness of the studied field and, secondly, to understand the meaning of the techno-social relations from the perspective of the members as embedded in their lifeworld context. In the following I focus on the methodological challenges that arose while trying to develop an ethnographic project. I do this by examining a cultural formation that has been constantly moving within a global landscape of seemingly infinite interconnections and overlapping contexts. As a matter of fact, both researchers and users have to find ways of accessing and moving within such a confusing landscape. I therefore depart from the perspective of a user and follow the steps and practices by which she has explored Cibervalle. By doing so, I illuminate the different dimensions and places of Cibervalle as well as how they are interrelated. Furthermore, following a user’s pathway, I suggest a way of developing a uniquely adequate research design consisting of methods and choices that are geared to and reflect the idiosyncrasies of the studied culture. With reference to the questions raised earlier regarding the particularities of this field of research, I furthermore introduce a procedure freely adapted from Miller and Slater’s (2000) suggestion: If you want to get to the Internet start from there but don’t stop there.
