Self-representation of social sphere organizations on VKontakte: routinization and loss of authenticity

The article presents a study of communicative practices of social sphere organisations in VKontakte after the adoption of the law on state publics. On the material of a qualitative study of communities in the city of Pechory (Pskov region) the key trends of changes in the self-representation of local communities in the digital space are revealed. The study was conducted in the paradigm of digital anthropology with the support of D.Miller and M.Madiana's theory of polymedia and K.Tagg and A.Lyons' concept of polymedia repertoire. For the empirical study, three communities in a small regional city were selected, their posts were chronologically analysed, and a series of semi-structured interviews with the administrators of these communities were conducted. Particular attention was paid to the influence of unified centralised, top-down requirements on content creation practices and the consequences of this standardisation. The contradiction between the declared goal of creating publics as open communication channels and the actual result in the form of formal fulfilment of requirements through the publication of standardised, emasculated texts that broadcast the daily routine inside and outside the organisation, which often does not resonate with the audience, has been revealed. At the same time, authentic ways of creating original content based on the creativity of administrators are being displaced, despite their greater effectiveness in engaging audiences. There are consequences of the tendency to involve ordinary employees without special skills in administration, which increases their workload while reducing user engagement, as well as accelerating the processes of algorithmicisation and formalisation of content.

digitalization, digital anthropology, polymedia, gospablik, local online communities, digital communication