Boston Online
City Cyber Corner
An interview with Henry Poydar
by Kerry Joyce
One of the best and most popular Web pages about the New England Music scene is Henry Poydar’s City Cyber Corner.
With a computer engineer father and a mother who writes children’s books, two souls, alas, do dwell within one breast. Fortunately, Henry has found, through the World Wide Web, an outlet for both his creative and technical sides. “The web is a great medium for both,” he says.
How did you get started on the web?
I play in a band [The Bassment] and when we started, there was really nothing much on the Web about the Boston music scene, so I decided to put up my own page. Eventually, I expanded it to include other local bands, college radio stations, ‘zines, indie record labels, and club listings with 232-CITY.
What distinguishes your web page from the others out there?
My page isn’t just a bunch of links. You’re interacting with a data base. The schedule information from 232-CITY is cross-linked with the band pages, so you can find out about more about the band. I’ve tried to create the best, quickest, and most technically advanced Web page I possibly could as a model to market my On-Line Multi-Media business, HGP Productions. So far it’s worked. I’m designing web pages for other people now and I’ve received a few referrals from the Web page I created for 232-CITY already.
What does this interacting with the data base do for the user?
Well, for example, if you’re interested in bands, you can type in the name of the band or the first few letters of the name and then choose from what comes up. You’re not constantly scrolling through lists of band names. You can also select bands by category, or completely at random.
What makes for a good home page?
The content, but also design. There’s a new bunch of college students out there and they’re all Net savvy. We’re living in the Information Age, and it’s about getting the information you want, that’s where interactivity comes in, and speed. Some of the pages might be really ambitious, but the medium demands efficiency. If it takes more than 30 seconds, I won’t download, and I think other people are the same way.
Can any local band get on your Web page for free?
Yes. Some of the bands don’t have very good pages, but I basically put up everything. If a band doesn’t have a Web page, I’ll make one for them at a nominal cost.
Are many people downloading sound clips?
Not really. Unless you’re accessing the Web from a college, it’s a real pain. Pretty soon it will become easier. People will be accessing through cable or a satellite, which is a lot faster than a telephone modem. But for right now, it’s no fun surfing the Net and waiting 5 minutes for a 30 second clip. Although the numbers are still small, I think bands should include them on their Web page.
Besides sound clips, what else do bands put on their Web pages?
Mostly photos, bios, a logo, and a schedule of their upcoming shows.
Do you think the Internet will rock the music world?
Yes. There’s a lot of talented people. And it will help them get exposure. The problem is that there are millions of Web pages out there and only about 5% are worth checking out.
