The early days of SD

Back in late 1999, the idea of StringDancer was born. After months of research and development by a relatively inexperienced webmaster, unschooled in the ways of Perl or PHP, StringDancer.com launched as an online guitar community on January 13, 2000 (see original About info, archived below). The brainchild of co-founders Jeff Foster and Barry Ginsbarg and based in Bakersfield, California, SD entered the emerging social media fray as a promising upstart, one of the very first interactive online communities for guitarists in existence.

Over the years, several different CMS infrastructures were utilized to present the content and support online interaction within the community, beginning with a Build-A-Community.com package, then through several other software solutions including a long stint with Web-App, culminating with a WordPress installation for articles combined with a Facebook page for interactivity.

While the StringDancer Guitar Community held some promise early on with over 1000 enthusiastic, guitar-playing members and a handful of talented contributing writers, eventually the onslaught of MySpace, Facebook, WholeNote, and a slew of other, better-financed social media sites (combined with the untimely death of Barry Ginsbarg and the increasingly busy lives of its contributors) eroded SD’s momentum. In the final years of its existence as an online community, SD exhibited little of the vitality enjoyed during its heyday. The StringDancer Guitar Community was officially mothballed in early 2012, and the StringDancer domains became the online hub for the professional activities of its surviving co-founder and webmaster, Jeff Foster.

And then came the blog

First, let’s clarify what the relaunch of StringDancer (and projected future development) is not. It’s no longer an “online community” in the sense of a social media site for guitar players. Gone are the customizable member profiles, the chat rooms, the forums, the webpage building tools and all that. Facebook and a legion of other Big Tech social media sites dominate the market in those areas. And the content presented is no longer just about stringed instruments and the peculiar lifestyles of guitar players… although they will necessarily be a large part of the equation, simply because that’s pretty much ‘life as we know it’ around here.

This incarnation of StringDancer, in addition to being the hub of Foster’s various and sundry activities online and in real life, has been opened up as a blog for his writings and musings, and includes many of his articles from the old SD archives plus new material. It is also a sort of log of his late-night surfs.

Now based in the very heart of Indiana, in the famous artist colony of Nashville in Brown County, Jeff continues his guitar obsession, but is increasingly inclined to widen the scope to include topics such as current affairs, world trends, political commentary with a tilt towards libertarian and voluntarist ideas, spiritual matters, homesteading and preparedness, attempts at humor, or whatever else that might interest him… including the occasional nod to canine companions, the volatility of the silver market and bragging about his grandkids. Consider yourself alerted to the possibility of bombast.

It is hoped that StringDancer, besides being a repository of useful and entertaining guitar-centric information, will also become one man’s expression of (and for) personal responsibility, liberty and freedom… precious commodities that are becoming, unfortunately, increasingly rare.

ARCHIVE: Original About SD Text (2000-2012)

StringDancer is a unique community portal and network of websites created for and by guitarists, bassists, and other stringed instrument players. Whether you are just beginning your musical adventure, or are a seasoned, experienced professional player, you will find many articles, lessons, images, sound files, and other useful features in SD to help inform, inspire, and uplift your day.

In SD, musicians come together to share their experiences and knowledge, and develop real, human relationships and interaction online. This is a site where the focus remains on the guitar, on music, and on the unique sub-culture of the modern musician. So… how did it all begin?

There once was an AOL guitar forum called GTR-Guitar Online, conceived and created in AOL’s early days by David Conley (composer, guitarist, and present-day SD Member). David eventually left AOL, and in 1995 GTR came under the leadership of your tireless SD webmaster Jeff Foster, who along with several other like-minded musicians and guitar freaks developed original content for “keyword: GUITAR”, radically expanding the feature set. For his part, Jeff was named AOL Community Leader of the Month in January, 1999.

The dedicated GTR crew subsequently had an parting of ways with AOL in late 1999, resulting in their migration to the internet at large. Putting his efforts into a new website, Jeff and good friend Barry Ginsbarg (along with the GTR posse) officially launched StringDancer.com on January 13, 2000. StringDancer.net, .org, and related domains followed in due course.

Since the turn of the millennium, the same core group of ex-AOL Community Leaders/musicians (and many others who have subsequently joined the jam) have continued to build StringDancer and take pleasure in the camaraderie and evolution of the site.

 

Member Testimonials

“Great site, by the way. I’ve been in many a guitar forum, but none of them really did it for me, as something was always missing. Hmmm…..what was missing……..oh, INTELLIGENCE.” ~ Ian

“I just thought I should tell you that I have used the StringDancer site for some time now. I think it is one of the best designed sites on the net, and fulfills it’s function very well. Thanks for taking the time to create and run it.” ~ James

“I was finally able to get some of my newer music on the ol’ web. Thanks to you and StringDancer, it is all so easy, and any success which eventually may come my way will be attributable in part to the services of my StringDancer website.” ~ Bruce

“Jeff, you always manage to keep StringDancer looking beautiful—you keep your eye on everything, plus you have set a standard of excellence in your writing, to which all the members aspire. I think this is the most amazing site! There are so many fascinating stories and discussions, it is like hanging around the kitchen table—it feels like home to me. Sometimes in the middle of the night I am wandering around SD with time on my hands, read the different threads, and the articles posted—and not only do I learn an awful lot, but I get the feeling I am also getting to know people better. Thank you, sir.” ~ Heather