Very interesting blogposts, Jeffrey, and a compelling dilemma. Starting with theory or phenomena, what’s best? It’s probably a mix of both and often some ideas may even work on the unconscious level, just to be unearthed at a suitable moment.

To me, the fascinating thing about blogging and microblogging in relation to research and evolving projects is the archiving aspects, the fact that we can trace the production and questioning of knowledge – and aspects of our own identity.

The research questions that spring to my mind – as a follower of your blog and student in a similar state but different area – are related to the following cornerstones:
– communities of practice (professional, personal, amateur/expert)
– individual / collective identity
– construction of i / c identity in light of social practices in online settings (which is rather a blended than a ‘purely’ online identity, it seems)
– methodology: auto-ethnographic approaches as well as survey or focus group interview
– theoretical framework: S Turkle, A Baker, D Boyd et al.’s work provide further references (much of it is online available) beyond what E Wenger’s work contributes to the rather educational angle of your project. I think that also E Goffman and M Foucault would be useful with regard to identity, knowledge production and interactional aspect.

Looking forward to seeing what you decide to investigate – it is a fascinating process to accompany in a way.