Questions About Resources (#1)

Characterize and categorize your resources and links to related blogs.

In general, the resources and links to other blogs on my page comprise of whatever information I could find regarding my subject matter. Unfortunately, due to the fact that a large portion of the society that makes up the network of barbershop singers are senior citizens, very few websites are user friendly and even fewer contain a substantial amount of information.

Discuss what the resources have to offer.

Even though these sites might be difficult to navigate, there are not many other credible resources on the internet regarding this subject. The links that refer to a younger quartet and chorus' respective pages are great examples of how the society could update itself. By simply making more information accessible on the page, it would not overload your eyes with frivolous content such as buttons that lead to other pages with only more buttons. The blogs do have some insight to offer in their ability to connect the readers with moments and experiences the authors have had. One of the best aspects of singing barbershop are the experiences you have with other barbershoppers and the stories that are told at various meetings or while just hanging out with friends.

Discuss audiences and goals of the blogs.

The audiences for the blogs are intended to be the various networks and communities where the blogs are posted. Two blogs, for example were found on Myspace profiles by searching through friends, or by looking at people's profiles in a group dedicated specifically to Barbershop Singing. Other blogs were found through class resources and things such as google searches. These blogs were intended to be seen by almost anybody who would be interested in the subject as they were easily available through a quick Internet source. Although, it must also be brought to attention that even though these blogs were easy to fins, there were not very many others on the subject. It was very difficult to find meaningful or comprehensive blogs or articles on this subject whereas it is easy to find somebody who is either referencing goofy guys in straw hats singing barbershop or mistakenly categorizing all kinds of a cappella or doo-wop as barbershop music.

Are these bloggers tapping into the same online community?

When considering the answer to this question I cannot help but doubt that many people even search for this topic on the Internet. But for those that due they would most likely all come to the same limited results. Hopefully, as more young people are given the opportunity to share in this music-making endeavor the technology will begin to catch up with the network of its participants. This would help to bring the more experienced barbershoppers into the Internet world as well as make it more easily accessible and user-friendly for younger people. It would be amazing if somebody would search under the heading of a cappella, doo-wop or even singing in general and be able to come up with blogs, articles and other resources that would be barbershop related.


What is left out or omitted from their discussions?

The most glaring thing that is left out from most of these discussions is the sense that the subjects are truly routed in what can be viewed as definably factual material. There is not any one source that could be looked to for credible information should anybody become interested in the subject. Barbershops beginnings, for example, have a fairly well known history within the society. Its members know that men used to gather in barbershops and sing the popular songs of the era in a harmonic style that eventually developed into a genre. However, this is not information that one could easily find on the Internet and is not in a location that is ideal for either perspective members or even people who stumble across one of the various society websites.

Do the resources add something Internet-specific or replicate a print resource?

The resources that are available do add Internet-specific information to this subject, but they do not go far enough. Due to the fact that this hobby if so unique and relatively small in terms of percentage of population, there is no viable means of communication other than the internet. For somebody in California who wants to send out information about a show to people on the East Coast they simply need to send out an email to the proper parties that are involved with groups on the East Coast. However there are not enough sites that are informational about the history of the society, the best way to join a chapter, information on groups and when they are performing, etc… These sites and this information does exist, however many of them are not connected. There is a reason it is called the web. Because all of these things should be “woven” together. They are after all related.