Iberian local online media as a space of sociability in the network society

Abstract

The evolution of the “network society” over the past five years has resulted in the proliferation of the proximity of online media in the communications ecosystem of the Iberian Peninsula. Portuguese and Spanish hyperlocal media has created a local supply of initiatives involving communities which are promoted with the intention of being present in the network society and, at the same time, existing in the spheres of communication of leading social networks. Although most hyperlocal online media is not part of media groups or cross-border organizations, the fact is they apply fairly similar criteria when designing their strategies for social networks. The analysis of a web-native and hyperlocal media outlet in Portugal and two in Spain (one in Galicia and another in Madrid) shows how proximity is an incentive for renewed forms of technologically mediated communication in local communities.