Writing to the unknown: blogging and the presence of backpackers

In this paper, we aim to study virtual presence in blogging communities. We argue that though some conceptualization of virtual presence has been made, this only took account of one’s presence among a community of ‘known’ others. Increasingly, however, in blogging and other online communities, users do not necessarily know ‘the others’ but yet they interact with them and develop friendships and lasting relationships. The empirical data is taken from a specific blogging site, its members and audience. We find that the invisible and unknown audience has an important role to play in bloggers’ presence online. In particular, the study highlights the role played by the audience in shaping the blogging experience and the sense of presence that this experience develops.