Moroccan Diaspora in France: Web 2.0 and Identity Narratives (Yabiladi Portal As a Case Study)

Abstract

The present article tries to offer an empirical explanation of how members of the Moroccan community in
France use social networking sites as a reference for their diasporic collective feelings as well as a space
to negotiate and express their diasporic identity narratives. Identity is considered in this article as an
ongoing process for self-understanding as well as how the ‘Other’ defines it. Hence, identities are created
at the cross-over of the ever-changing boundaries between ‘We’ and ‘They’. It is on the level of these
boundaries that identities are negotiated, created and re-created.Some media scholars pin down that the
Internet indisputably provides diasporic communities with the fundamental tools for information and
communication essentials. Therefore, it has become a structural element for many ethnic communities.
The present research endeavours to further investigate the intricate meaning as well as the function of
virtual diasporic spheres in the process of circulating the diasporic narratives of identity.This
ethnographic research sheds ligh on the online forum of the Moroccan Yabiladi portal in France. This
forum provides a suitable research landscape chiefly because it represents an active discussion platform.
The research offers an analysis of data which were collected in eight-month period in the forum archives.
Keywords: Moroccan diaspora, Identity, Internet, Ethnography.