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Elvis Fans On The Internet

By Lex, Nov 25, 2006
Elvis fans are very active on the internet, there’s no doubt about that. The EPE/ Impersonator news and my opinion about that got close to a hundred reactions so far. The discussion boards are all very active too, being it FECC, the German one or others and there are many fan sites. To pick one more recent example: Joe Pirzada’s Memphis Recording Service project has been discussed over and over again. The content of those discussions differed as usual from very factual to simple name calling. At the very moment ElvisNews.com gives the opportunity to ask Joe directly about the projects, only five questions popped up. Where are all those active fans? Okay, another example for those that don’t get the point yet. ElvisPedia, the interactive encyclopedia project we started, based upon our databases. Only a handful of people jumped in immediately and probably lost their interest already because they saw they were the only ones. Fans love to show their knowledge. As one of the people behind this site I saw many emails with corrections, supplements and so on. So why does ElvisPedia not work (yet)? In Holland we have a saying “The best steersmen are on land” and I guess everybody knows what it means. I can’t believe the Elvis community really works like this, seeing all the time that is put in fan sites, discussions and so on. There must be another reason. Is it the relative anonymity? A nick name on a discussion board is different from an email. Well, this goes for the questions for Joe Pirzada partly, but I think that everybody knows by now that ElvisNews doesn’t share email addresses, unless the user doesn’t bother. For the encyclopedia it doesn’t work that way at all, since everybody can decide themselves whatever name to use. For once I have no opinion and I am only puzzled about “the why” behind this behavior. Is it the little “Scrooge” (the knowledge is mine!) in everybody regarding the encyclopedia? Is it the anonymity of the discussion boards? I really DO want to know...
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Reactions

Lex (profile/ contact) wrote on Dec 10, 2006report abuse
The fact that I am involved in this site can't mean that I don't have the right to give my opinion. Anyone can submit an article with their opinion on something to ElvisNews, and it must be really bad (unreadable) should we decide not to publish it and probably we'll even advise what can be done to make it better, even if we completely disagree with the content.
The petition was a personal thing of mine and the other members of the staff decided to promote it since obviously a huge majority of the Elvisfans support the idea. If you think that it lowers the quality of this site, that's your problem. Oh, and you forgot the "Walk A Mile In My Shoes"-quote.
Narek (profile/ contact) wrote on Dec 10, 2006report abuse
Dear Lex, I always took the ElvisNews project as the best and most serious projectsabout Elvis in the net. can't even reemberwhen I started visiting this page...more than 5-6 years ago I think. Anyway, I most of all appreciated the fact that the site remained non partisan, tried to be more objective and neutral. Yet the recent "war campaign" against impersonators, the articles, open letters and insults make the best site about Elvis in the Net look ridiculous and amateurish. The banner I saw yesterday saying "stop impersonators" simply ruined my opinion about the project. I also voted FOR ignoring impersonators news in this web site, because I consider that to be a different specifics.But this "war" makes all the great people working on this project look childish and a bit "scroodge" as you said.Everyone has the right for an opinion, but no-one has a right to insult others, moreover the administration of the website, because others don't have equal opportunities with you. With great power comes great responsobility, as one uncle said to his nephew. And a great peson once said he'd like to keep his opinion about politics. Of course this ain't politics, but he also meant great power and responsibility. As a person that shares the passion to Elvis' music I ask you to stop that. It just doesn't look right
Paul Sweeney (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 28, 2006report abuse
Well Lex, after reading your article, I went on over to ElvisPedia and posted some info on Elvis' concerts in Canada in 1957. To be honest, I read about ElvisPedia when it was first launched, but then forgot all about it...thanks for the reminder.
joemin (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 27, 2006report abuse
I wanted to have a go at ElvisPedia, had a look, couldn't figure it out, and gave up. I suspect there were many like me. I am sure it is simple, but it ain't obvious.
EspenK (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
It was a general comment and didnt mean any site in particular. Let me try to explain my point in another way: There are different levels of involvement from a web user. The lowest level of involvement is the (more or less) open topic discussion forums. Click a button, type your opinion, send. Done. Easy, anyone can do that. On the next level you find "directed topic", like "ask person X about something". While we on the discussion forums can pretend like we know something, asking an insightful question require more work. I wont bother doing that unless there is a person Ive for a long time been dreaming of asking a certain question. I will think others will ask better questions than me anyways.

The next level is doing input that requires research and work on a text. A text to publish in a wikipedia clone is one example. To bother doing that you need to be particulary enthusiastic about a given topic, and (this is important) be convinced that your contribution is being read by enough people to make it worthwhile.

So - why havent people added to the Elvispedia? The short answer is simple: Either noone knows about it, or it's not good enough. As for me the requirement to register stopped me from bothering to have anything more to do with it. That made it "not good enough" for me. Not even the almighty wikipedia, with a majority of internet users as contributors, require that their users register to contribute. And I hate registrering myself wherever I go, the whole process itself is annoying, and the outcome is to unevitabely end up on even more spammers address lists. I got enough chaos with usr/pwds all over the world as it is.

Even though I don't send any questions to this Pirzada person (whom I have no idea who is) it doesn't mean I will find the interview uninteresting. The interview itself may be an interesting read, like most other interviews published on this site I am sure there will be something fun to read. I just am not involved enough in this particular issue to bother doing any research beforehand. Yeah I am lazy - like most others. :)
Loesje (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
EspenK, it has been filled already. There are more than 2800 articles now, so you hardly can say "here's the tool - now fill it up".
EspenK (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
As a web user there is a huge difference between "doing someone elses work" and "adding to others contribution". Just launching a web service and expect others to fill it with content never worked, never will. Only when the service has enough content to be of use to others, others will bother to contribute further. There are one hundred thousand million deserted websites out there, with nothing but the technical framework ticking. They all have one thing in common: Creators who said "here's the tool - now fill it up for us. Now."
Lex (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
Although pictures often say it all... they aren't the most important "thing" on the encyclopedia. Roughly you can say that cover art is public domain, and with movie stills there are no problems too, I think. For myself I always handle the "rule" to name the source if possible. The photographers I spoke to mainly have no problems using small samples of their work, as long as it is credited. The small sizes on the internet are hardly usable elsewhere.

The language is important, but hey, I am no English speaker either... and I like it if people correct my failures in the encyclopedia (or elsewhere). One's never too old to learn.

Copying and pasting from wikipedia or other sites can be an option sometimes, but I don't think it really works. E.g. Las Vegas, Nevada... Wikipedia is a great source to learn anything more or less general, but in ElvisPedia I want to see all the Elvis-relations, eventually with a link to Wikipedia for the more general info.

And Kenneth, if it really was that simple... I woudn't have written the article, besides that I have no clue what you're meaning with the first part of your reaction.

In general I'm happy with the reactions so far, but to me they are all pretty "self-defensive"... an explanation for those few individuals, but it doesn't answer my general question.
Natha (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
Being an Elvis fan for some 40 years now, I appreciate all those who are behind the news sites, those wonderful fan clubs etc. As many others I do not know all the ins and outs of the record sessions, the movies, the shows, and so on and so forth. Whenever I talk to boardmembers of the different Elvis Fanclubs I always feel they know vastly more than I. So I really cannot conceive a fitful question. And the ones I do have are mostly answered on your esteemed web site (like: is it really a better sounding version of the recording). Another point is the language. Setting up a valuable encyclopedia about Elvis requires a high standard English, in order to be appreciated as an information-tank. Due to these two factors I don't feel fit and am reluctant to contribute to your well wrought idea of ElvisPedia. Furthermore I do agree with the last sentences of Jth about the copyrights.
Kenneth (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
i have to say that i 99% agree with jth, with that said i also see a trend on this site that happened a couple of yrs. ago. elvis people don't laugh at elvis and i think lex that if you read again what you wrote, you already have your answers.
nrbl (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 26, 2006report abuse
When i first came to site about a year 1/2 or so ago i use to go to the encyclopedia section on a regular basis when ever i had some free time, when the Elvispedia open i went to it and checked it out, but i for one would never think of adding anything to the site even though i know lots about him and read lots about him i wouldn't feel write about posting anything on the site. giving an opinion like, here, i have no problems, but the other just doesn't seem right to me to add anything. and as for Joe Firzada i've no clue as to who he is, so hence to questions to ask.
see see rider (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 25, 2006report abuse
(Laughs) I know sooner posted my last posting and seen on the very same page up at the top "Encyclopedia"..and over to the left.."Ask Joe Pirzada"..Duhhh. I don't know Lex why I haven't used them?? that's a very good question.
see see rider (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 25, 2006report abuse
Well I can honestly say, I never knew Elvispedia ever existed (sounds good though). But my guess is by reading this artical, that for alot of people who claim they know all there is to know about Elvis, no one is adding any input to..Elvispedia. And as far as Joeseph Pirzada goes..I've never heard of him or the CD "Memphis Recording Service"...You got me on those!!
Loesje (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 25, 2006report abuse
Well, I think there is a difference between male and female fans :-) and a difference between American and European fans. Let's start with the female fans: most women are more interested in Elvis' looks, than in facts about his life or music. And for the European fans the music in general is more important than the Icon Presley (american fans).
Because of this I think that European men are the most interested in an Encyclopedia about Elvis, especially because women are still less on the internet than men. So where are those serious European males? I think they are too lazy to do some serious work on the internet.
When I surf through this site, I see a lot of reviews, but they are all written by the same few persons. So men like to complain a lot, they like to surf a lot, but to contribute... no way!
Jth (profile/ contact) wrote on Nov 25, 2006report abuse
Well, I for one haven't sent in any questions to Joseph Pirzada simply because I don't know who he is, but I'm guessing that he has something to do with a cd release called "Memphis Recording Service" (if I would use the search I would probably find more info - hey, how about a section of "Upcoming releases"? Be it cd's, dvd's, or books - and catagorized by dates), and since I'm not that familiar with bootleg releases I have no questions to ask him.
And with the ElvisPedia site which was a wonderful idea, I jumped in the pool as soon as I found out about it, but since I'm not even close of being an ocean of knowledge about Elvis I haven't contributed that much - just two or three mini-articles, but simply due to lack of time I haven't been able to do long articles, even though I would love to - and then there's always the desire to simply copy articles that have already been written on Wikipedia and paste it on the ElvisPedia site, but have never looked into who to ask for permission at that site I've never done anything extensive on the ElvisPedia site - and never posted images since there's always the question of copyrights and all that, and that's just way too much legal hazzle for me.

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