Applying content analysis to Web based content

This paper discusses the potential opportunities and challenges of applying content analysis to Web based content, in particular the content available on Web 2.0 sites. The relative strengths and limitations of the method are described. To illustrate how content analysis may be applied to web-based content we provide a brief overview of a case study that investigates cultural impacts on the use of design features with regards to self-disclosure on the blogs of South Korean and United Kingdom´s users. In this study we followed the steps proposed by Neuendorf for conducting the content analysis. Based on our experience in using content analysis in that study we made several suggestions on how content analysis of the Web based content can be improved.