Att förmedla en berättelse : Bilden av uppdragsarkeologi på sociala medier

Communicating archaeological findings to the public has become increasingly important in contract archeology in recent years and is now a legal requirement. Public contacts earlier meant that it was the experts, the archaeologists, who would communicate the knowledge to the public. Today, social media offers new opportunities to reach new groups and to communicate. Simultaneously the archaeologists, employed by different firms, find themselves in a new competitive situation. It may therefore be important to present the own activities in a way that strengthens the brand and to legitimize the business for the County Administration that shares the commissions, as well as for those providing the funding, the taxpayers. This paper is based on a case study on how archaeologists produce narratives on themselves, their profession and archaeology as a science on a Facebook page and on blog posts, connected to an archaeological project in the county of Östergötland in Sweden. The Facebook posts and snapshots from the blog have been reviewed and classified in an analysis of the narrative the archaeologists mediates. The study shows how building a brand is as prominent a reason for using social media as presenting the scientific findings. It is also evident that as an information source with great potential, social media could be utilized much more structured and focused