As per the request of one of the DanceNet readers, here are copies of the past ramblings of the DanceNet Webmaster.
Good luck to the band on their upcoming European tour
Many months ago, there was an interesting article written by some Boston Globe writer about getting tech support for those writers who work at home. These people are cut off from help when their computer "just doesn't work". The writer strongly suggests finding some friend who is "always" available for help, even if it's over the phone, when something (always) goes wrong.
What was the point? In spite of the computer age and the wide and easy availability of computers and the Internet, there are(surprisingly) huge numbers of people who are still "computer-illiterate". These people consider it a major feat to be able to get and send email, much less install some anti-virus software. Some such people will even go to the extent of getting a laptop so that they can fold it up, put it away, and not have to *see* technology on their desk.
And there are many such people in the dance community. These people might be able to win dance competitions or even be qualified to judge such competitions. However, when it comes to understanding computers, they're at a total loss (such as the person who drove up from the NYC area so I could upgrade a computer from Windows 95 to Windows 98 *this month*).
These computer-illiterate must depend on the kindness of others for help because they don't know what to do when they get their blue-screen-of-death. They get others to manage their website, run their weekly mailings, even manage their emailing list, and/or create all the promotional material. And many of these "helpful" people don't get paid for their efforts.
The dance promoters who count on others for their "technical" support need to make sure that they take good care of the people who make it possible for the promoters to take care of the business, whether it be teaching or running a dance. These dance promoters should make sure their "hired" help is happy and appreciated. After all, where would the business be without these people who are the ones who control the content of the webpage or manage the mailing list?
Why am I writing this? Well, it's come to my attention that there are many dance promoters in this very situation. From what I'm hearing, they're not taking care of the people who are helping them for free. I imagine that these dance promoters don't understand that there are many people who would be glad to run the promoter's webpages for money or in exchange for lessons. And a dance teacher who exchanges lessons for computer help is going to end up owing lessons to their hired help *forever*.
If you have someone around to take care of your computer problems, take care of them. Otherwise, you're going to learn to appreciate them after they leave.
Oh, why do I bother preaching to the choir?
I finally got down to Providence for a Swingin' 88's dance. They had been holding an all-day event to raise money for the Hope Center for Cancer Support, an organization that they support every year with a funraiser. The non-profit group had 3 bands in the afternoon with dancing until 11 at night and they raised over $6000 for the center, almost double last year's total.
I think that the local Boston people might want to consider going down there once in a while. Last night in the rain, it still only took an hour to drive back home. The energy of the music played made it feel more like a 50s sockhop, though they did play WCS and neo-swing music, too.
While it was an all-day event and they could certainly afford to be magnamimous, I was impressed when the DJ made an announcement that Eight To The Bar was playing over at Sal's Rhythm & Blues Club at that very moment in case anyone wanted to go over there. They support the local venues.
I was there for the last couple of hours of dancing, but I had a great time.