Cyber events: Ethnographic reflections on the extraordinary in the on-line world

Abstract

Due to the emergence of the so called “cyberspace” through the popularization of communication mediated by computers (Internet) on a global scale, a fertile field for the conduction of investigations in Anthropology arose. As a consequence, new theoretical and methodological issues are made necessary. Aiming at this circumstance, we want to contribute with a reflective approach to some of the dilemmas imposed to the métier of ethnography in the cyberspace by evaluating the analytical potential of some types of cyberspace events. This evaluation is done through the analysis of an “extraordinary happening”, ethnographically monitored by the author.