Metaphors reflecting and shaping the reality of the Internet: tool, place, way of being

Abstract

This classic work by American researcher Annette Markham is committed to the analysis of metaphors used to conceptualize the internet in various discourses, ranging from user-oriented to media and technological ones. It explores the internet as a tool, a place, and a mode of existence. Despite the fact that the article was first published two decades ago, Markham’s idea that methaphorics not only helps describe and make sense of technology but also shapes our interaction with it remains relevant as we continue to describe the internet as a space of action, a channel of communication, a data repository, and a place of memory. This variability in the metaphorical framing of the internet and the associated political decisions and actions are especially important in constructing the internet as a research field and digital ethnography.