183 BUILDING DIGITIZED SPACES ON FACEBOOK: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF THE IRISH DIASPORA COMMUNITY IN MUNICH CHRISTIAN RITTER University of Ulster In this paper, I examine the impact the use of Facebook has on network forma- tion among Irish migrants in Munich. The main aim of the investigation is to un- derstand how social media, defined as ways of electronic communication that enable users to share information online, changed the course of the development of Irish community in Munich. Anthropo- logical research into digital culture has widely studied Facebook as a new means of nurturing and maintaining social ties (e. g. Miller, 2011, Horst, 2012). In contrast to these previous contributions, my case study illuminates how Facebook became a vital asset to a diaspora community that enhances the diffusion of informa- tion among its members. In this way, my paper provides much-needed insights into the relationship between digital literacy and community development. Based on ethnographic fieldwork online and offline, life story interviews (Wengraf, 2001), ob- servation records of real world and digital interactions (Angrosino & de Pérez, 2003) were explored in depth to trace patterns of digital network building within the Irish community in Munich. Following an extensive data analysis, I iden- tified a relationship between digital literacy and personal access to resources within the networks of Irish immigrants in Mu- nich. The case study about Irish immigrants in Munich indicates that a high degree of familiarity with digital media significantly enhanced participation in local commu- nity life. Irish immigrants who were well integrated into the local Irish subnetworks, such as cultural or sporting clubs, often showed a higher degree of digital aware- ness than Irish immigrants who were lesser involved in communal activities. For that reason, I suggest that social me- dia can considerably enhance local com- munity development since new arrivals could be included in local support net- works while they enriched the local com- munity with new skills and expertise. keywords: Facebook, mobility, social media, Irish diapora, digital community