Online 'Tells' with Cultural Bindings: Understanding Connectivity in the Absence of Cultural Participants

The paper explores the explanatory value of digital traces, especially for gaining insight to ‘cultural' settings in the absence of cultural participants. We consider digital traces as the ‘matter' of online social phenomena which can be revealed through transformation, re-alignment or re-configuration of data. In this vein, the notion of ‘imbrication' is used to provide a conceptual lens for organizing inquiries in which digital traces should be re-arranged so as to act interdependently with other digital representations to provide posterior insights into designated virtual settlements. Empirical insight is sought by two case studies addressing different digital settings and different social accomplishments in the absence of ‘cultural' participants.