Diigo Entry and Profiling and Evaluating a Blog (#2)

Heroes and Legends « Droo’s Clues (drooellis Droo's Clues 21 Dec. 2006)

• This blog talks about some of the old quartets that were influential to the author. It also mentions how he is going to be competing in a quartet with a few people that he looks up to.
  - post by floydbarbershop

Below, one of the best trend-setting champion quartets; the Confederates of 956. 2 Rebels and 2 Yankees, the Confederates used this image as simply a vehicle. Unlike today, there was no agenda, political statement, or anything BUT a great costume and songlist that went along with songs about the South.

• The Confederates truly were a trendsetting quartet that in many ways helped to shape barbershop as a style.
  - post by floydbarbershop

What is its name and subject?

Heroes and Legends

This Blog is about various quartets that have influenced the author and how they have taken over, in his mind, the places of famous athletes for example. Instead of looking up to sports stars he now looks up to trendsetting quartets in the barbershop genre.

Who writes it?

drooellis

What is their relation to the field?

This person is a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and is also an active participant in the world of competitive barbershop. In the Blog he not only mentions some of the quartets that were influential to his experience in the society, but also the fact that he will be competing with some barbershop "legends" in a "throwback" contest. The legends he refers to are members of champion quartets and the contest is more like the old style of barbershop that was judged under different categories and standards than in current contests.

Where are they located in the field?

This person is not only a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society., but is also the Assistant Director of Membership to the society. His job consists of devising new ways of bringing in new members to the society as well as keeping older members current on their dues and continuing to be involved.
How frequently do they post?

How popular is the blog (by activity and/or technorati rank)

The blog has had over 1000 hits. If you think of this only in terms of percentage of society members, it is less than 3%.

Evaluate:

How well does this blog relate to your work?

It relates to my work in terms of subject matter, but it does not take the same approach in terms of attempting to reach a broader audience by beginning to define barbershop. In detailing some of his heroes, the blog does reference older quartets, but falls short in explaining their historical importance to the genre.

To what extent is it scholarly, academic, professional?

This blog is not necessarily scholarly at all, Even when some information is presented in a somewhat historic sense, it is more for personal reasons to merely set up other bits of information such as how this person is excited to be singing in a contest with people he looks up to.

How rich or detailed are its posts?

The posts are more detailed than others that I have found, but there are only two related to the subject, and in terms of what I am looking for as far as useful information or thoughtful insight, this blog falls short.

Who is its audience? How relevant to the field are they?

The audience seems to be whoever stumbles across this blog because it is not something that would be searched for otherwise.

How might this blog feed your work?

If this author continues to write blogs on this subject matter, and perhaps delves deeper into barbershop's past then it would become a useful tool in any search that I would make related to this subject.

How will your site differ?

My site will differ because I am going to be the first person to write a blog detailing a way to incorporate the rich history of the society while hopefully beginning discussions on methods that would update the society's use of the Internet in a manner that would include more people. The intention would be to eventually create a central location, or even an easily connected web of locations, that would allow interested parties to have a place to come to for information. This would also be a place where people could easily communicate with one another. In short, a large barbershop meeting on the Internet.