Under the headline "Caramoor Hops Aboard World Wide Web" the article
appears on page 17. (Other than front page, it was good placement because
it appeared under the perennial Dining Out coloum, a much visited 'site' in
the tabloid.)
Before reading the piece, I already had some opinions about the site,
having recently needed of its service. At first blush it is easy to
mentally 'ooh' and 'ah' at the tasteful graphics. As a not infrequent
patron of Caramoor events, I was pleased by the look and feel. As a
net-user, I was annoyed. There were no text choices: one must download the
graphical buttons for the top-level menu. While each is small, there are
many. Not everyone has a high-speed modem; there is a large embedded base
of what were ONCE high-speed modems. Nor was it instantly clear which
button would fulfill my needs. (Maybe I'm slow.) Of course when I got to
where I needed to be, it said "Site Under Construction. The Spring schedule
will be posted here April 20." That was on April 21, but then I realized
it did not say what year.
A few days later the info was there; it was a simple list of dates and
artists. What I needed was a capsule description of the program offered at
each performance. I suppose that information might be found browsing
around the site, but the prospect of waiting for graphics did not fit the
info-search mode I was in as a consumer.
One gets the feeling that to find the useful information at the site, a
virtual tour of Caramoor is necessary. After reading the Times piece, that
was confirmed. Interestingly, Caramoor's general manager notes that he
opposed spending his budget on the Web, an unproven medium. He became a
beleiver when a Director cum benefactor provided the 'seed money.'
And I guess that sums it up for Caramoor's site. When money doesn't
matter, nor does the cost of high-speed modems that potential users must
buy to adequately enjoy the site. From a public access perpsective, the
budget-minded need not browse comfortably. (I really dislike sites with
only graphics to navigate.) From a supporter of the arts perspective, I am
a patron and supporter of artists and the arts, I greatly appreciate
Caramoor and its programs, and my comments are only made with the deisre
for a more accessible site.
In a bit of interesting reporting, it is twice noted that Caramoor's is an
'award winning' site; but it never says what award. On a final note,
WATPA's story is a completely different perspective on the WWW in
Westchester. That's a different 'angle' or 'slant' in news parlance, which
is a msut when covering similar ground...
Regards,
warren