Netnographic inquiry and new translocal sites of the social

Abstract

Abstract As consumers' lives are increasingly gliding into online worlds and global information networks, researchers face a range of important methodological questions particular to the digital times. In prior research, online ethnographic methods or netnography has been suggested to address some of these challenges, especially when new forms of post‐modern and sub‐cultural consumer collectives and cultures have been the focus. Extending this work further, the article investigates the transnational nature of online cultural phenomena, and suggests a theoretical–methodological approach as a netnographic variant well suited for accessing its logics. In doing so, the article argues that a better understanding of the new ‘translocal sites’, such as transnational online communities and consumer networks, can open up new avenues for research on the ever globalizing and tribalizing consumer culture.