Blogs as sources of folklore information

I am in the process of researching information for creating a graphic novel based on Rio Cobre and Flat bridge. (I should be preparing for my exams). Nevertheless, I am learning a lot in the process, a lot of it coming back to my proposed thesis about blogs as information sources. This is because I am finding that apart from newspaper sources (as well as the few books, journals, magazines and Websites), another source of information about the legends of say the River Mumma, or the Jamaican mermaid or River Maiden can be discovered in blogs. While I was hoping to find people relating personal experience of seeing the Jamaican mermaid, I have uncovered as many informative pieces on the legends via blogs. These blogs are as informative as the more officially published and documented sources.

To illustrate the informative nature, just see the following blogs:


Curran, B. (2012, July 26). Creature of the month - Duppies. New Page Books [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://newpagebooks.blogspot.ca/2012/07/creature-of-month-duppies-by-dr-bob_26.html


Morris, K. (2010, December 14). Have You Ever Seen a Rivah Mumma? Jamaican Echoes! [Blog post] Retrieved from http://jamaicanechoes.com/2010/12/14/have-you-ever-seen-a-rivah-mumma/

Phantoms & Monsters. (2010, December 2). Mermaids of the Caribbean [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://naturalplane.blogspot.ca/2010/12/mermaids-of-caribbean.html


I am finding that blogs function as a source for finding even information on Jamaican folk stories that may be useful to literary writers and artists seeking to create works of fiction or art. Hence, while contemplating and working on a graphic novel based on Rio Cobre and Flat Bridge, without being able to access Jamaicans in the area for their own stories, I am still able to find actual stories gathered via either blogs or newspaper articles that blogs may also point to.

On a matter of opinion, I am totally convinced that the Caribbean region needs to convert more of our stories including those in our National Pantomime into graphic novels, books or publications so that the world can access our stories about them, and not just our people. Billions of dollars await those who can tell stories, as Hollywood, Disney, and other movie making and animation industries are looking for story ideas and fresh stories to tell. As the animation and movie industries seek fresh materials for storytelling, I have all confidence that the Caribbean possess fresh material that these industries might consider. (See more of what I have written on this matter in the past).

Folklore as an information source for businesses

For this summer, I am investigating the feasiblity of folklore and storytelling being applied to modern online delivery of business information. So far, my hunch that guides my thesis is that folklore and storytelling, prior to the invention of writing, as oral art forms, were the means employed for communicating, providing or sharing information and as ancient techniques for information delivery. Since today’s online culture of information provision borders on a combination of print and oral traditions in information provision, the quest is to discover how folklore and storytelling can feasibly be applied in the modern online environment to delivery of serious or non-fiction information, and specifically apply these to communicating and providing business information, to entrepreneurs and micro-enterprise owners. 

As I have begun the readings on folklore, I see 3 main ideas emerging:

1. The theme of folklore as an economic resource for exploitation by business and capital, and how current developments in information technology and legislation have now positioned a new area for the exploration of folklore as a resource for commercial exploitation

2. The importance of a folklore collection as a source of information, not only for folklore academic researchers and humanists, but for a wide group of potential and enterprising business groups in the creative enterprises and industries such as game development, authors and creative writers, film, animation, graphics design, advertising, theatre, publishing, leisure, tourism and travel, landscapers, architects, fashion and other industry players involved in providing entertainment.

3. Folklore as an information source for businesses seeking to go global - having understanding of customs, characters, motifs and other folkloric content can help an entrepreneur from one nation create/develop appropriate services and marketing campaigns for customers in another nation.

As such, I see there is already a connection between folklore and business/enterprises. I also see a justified place for folklore collection in libraries for entrepreneurs. I am excited by what I have been finding so far, though I have not yet started to explore the use of folklore in actual information provision.

Musings on my readings: Approaches of the humanities needed for designing online library services

The new summer term has begun, and so has my readings on the folkloric aspects of my thesis idea. Generally, I expect my readings now to furnish theoretical perspectives to inform my research. Hence, for the rest of the summer I immerse myself in readings about folklore and storytelling to discover theories that can apply to online information provision.


With this, I've come across a website that I like that has given me various definitions of folklore over the centuries: University of Missouri's Department of English's Folklore, Oral Tradition and Cultural Studies course website: http://folklore.missouri.edu/whatis.html. The site contains a sampling of definitions of folklore from 1884 to 2007.

Part of the readings I've done also have informed me include Brenda Laurel's Computers as Theatre and Theodore Roszak's (1986) The Cult of  Information: The Folklore of Computers and the True Art of Thinking. Both authors are instructive of discussing the need for a more humanistic approach to information. Laurel discusses that engineers designing human computer interaction do not produce good humanistic design that will please human beings. Roszak discusses how information as defined by mathematicians and telecommunication engineers which help to spark the development of the computing industry separate it from humanistic and everyday meaning. As such, both writers have helped me to see that a mechanistic approach dominates computer human interaction and design, rather than the approaches of the humanities.

As such, I see as part of my mission in the thesis to discuss the need for online library services to be designed for human beings using the approaches of the humanities. For my particular thesis, my emphasis will be on discussing the approaches of folklore and storytelling to informing such designs of online library services. I look forward to this challenge. Stay tuned for more.

Trickster folkloric characters and my evolving thesis idea

I read an excerpt that I find interesting especially as I consider folkloric characters such as Anansi, Sly Mongoose and Doctorbird as possible options for the AI conversational agent.

"Trickster has particular purposes within cultural stories as educator and teacher. The trickster typically teaches by making mistakes so listeners can hear the stories and learn from the mistakes so they do not have to make them themselves. Trickster typically has some human and some superhuman characteristics and possibly some animal characteristics as well that allow him to get into situations that otherwise would not be possible thus allowing stories to consider complex cultural, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual domains." (Iseke-Barnes 2009)

Interesting ideas. I never saw it that way. I saw Anasi stories as teaching us the qualities of deception and deceiving other people which I felt ingrained corruption and 'conmanship' in the African diaspora.

My discovery that Native Canadians (or the Indigenous people of Canada) also have trickster stories also makes my thesis idea more relevant to not only Jamaica, but to Canada as well. Hopefully I can establish that AI conversational agents based on one's cultural stories may be effective in the online world in transferring knowledge and information, and in helping people make sense of their activities or world.



Reference:

Iseke-Barnes, J. (2009). Unsettling fictions: Disrupting popular discourses and trickster tales in books for children. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies,

Brief update on my immature thesis idea

Just providing a brief update on my messy thesis concept. Right now it has evolved into the idea of using folkloric artificial intelligent conversational agents for transmitting business information for micro-enterprise owners.

 For the summer, I am hoping to look at literature on folklore being used to convey business information and/or use in online information services. By folklore - I am narrowing down to the use of folkloric storytelling and proverbs as well as the role of natural conversation in using these methods to convey information to micro-enterprise owners.

Also looking for theory to support this perspective. Thoughts, suggestions, or literature welcomed.