Geoffrey Rockwell propose « Web Mining for Research », un white paper / manifeste pour statuer sur l’intérêt du web comme objet de recherche. Révélateur que le geste soit nécessaire… encore aujourd’hui…
Il reprend des exemples tirés du Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication pour montrer où se situe l’intérêt:
Studying Popular Culture is possible using the Web. You can track the controversy around the Dixie Chicks and their comments about George W. Bush through the news stories and blogs about them.
Studying the Epidemiology of Ideas is possible using the Web. You can look at how « postmodernism » appears in academic discourse – how it is taught and how it discussed outside the academy.
Studying Everyday Language Use is possible with the Web. You can gather examples of usage of words or patterns in blogs or discussion lists.
Studying a Brand like « Nike » is possible by gathering examples of how the brand is discussed by a target population in their blogs or web sites.
Studying a Community like Hamilton teens is possible if you can identify teen web sites and blogs from Hamilton. What are they interested in? How are their concerns different from Toronto teens?
Est-il étonnant ou indicatif que l’usage du web pour étudier de nouvelles formes littéraires ne soit pas dans cette liste ? que Rockwell lui-même n’en fasse pas mention ? Il faut dire que son environnement, à ce que je sache, est davantage celui du text analysis…
Petite ouverture néanmoins, en conclusion de son article :
Research in the digital age will not simply be a matter of using online facsimiles of print resources, or creating ever larger textbases of the same stuff we studied before. Digital research has to consider the Web as evidence of human behaviour, art and commerce. Our research practices have to evolve to not just use the web but to think through it.
