Today, I went out to the internet
to make some observations. I learned the Beef Barn has their own website (http://www.thebeefbarn.com/). These
days, the internet can be one of the most helpful sources, so I was excited to
see what history, interesting facts, or contact information I could find on
their website. My first reaction was disappointment… you can tell that they
created it years ago, and haven’t kept up with it. Although it is surprising in
today’s technologically advanced society, it represents the Beef Barn. They are
a local family restaurant, and they probably don’t feel the need to have a
confusing and overwhelming website. There’s also no format to the pages. Maybe
it’s just my OCD, but one tab has different fonts from another, or on one page
all the pictures are centered going down the page but on another they’re 2 by 2
on the left and right. The nice thing about their website is that they do have
pictures! This is where I found the first picture I posted of the front of the
Beef Barn. They included pictures of the seating, as well, which is the best
part! You can tell from the few things they have, they want to show off their
unique dining. After going directly to their site, I wanted to find another
related website. I found one on Facebook. Who knew… they would have a Facebook
page? Here it is if you want to check it out, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beef-Barn/271246942919878?nr=115184751838221,
but it reminds me of their website but with no pictures! It is strictly
informative. It gives us the phone number, links to the website, and their
address. It’s cool to look at it from Facebook, because it tells me how many
people have “checked in” aka said they were at the Beef Barn, and some people
even take a picture and tag themselves as “at the Beef Barn” which comes up on
this page. Even though for both these sites, I’m judging their lack of a
website, I understand why. The Beef Barn isn’t a franchise that is all over the
web, people hear about it by word of mouth and they’ve been doing it like that
for years. It’s helpful to have their website and a page of Facebook so that
people can easily look up their menu, address, phone number, etc. but the
people who know about it probably wouldn’t need to look up their website. I can
observe a lot about their establishment, from a couple links. Their priority is
not networking their restaurant or trying to get “100 likes” on Facebook. They guarantee
to make good food in a small, local place that is almost like a “hole in the
wall” that people only really hear about from other people. I think the message
is clear from their website that they are not worried about followers or
attention from the web, because their focus is on the people coming into their
restaurant and getting them to come back. At first, I was surprised how little
of a website they had, but then I remembered what kind of restaurant it is. You
will just have to go there to experience what the Beef Barn is all about,
instead of just reading and looking online about it. More people should trust
the web less and just go out there and experience the new places, regardless of
what the web has to say!
This is cool! I had no idea they had a website OR a Facebook, and I think you may be on to something. I think you learn more about Beef Barn knowing that they don't really use social media than you might if they did; it says that they're built on community, which is, as you said, the way word gets out about them. I can see where that might be concerning, though, in a day where the digital world is growing and dominating rapidly.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that the beef barn website hasn't been updated in a while. I feel like that just gives the place so much more charm. It's a local, family own business which probably doesn't feel the need to advertise on the internet. My family owns their own buisness as well and they don't have a website because my mom knows she would never update it. I love that you have to go to beef barn in order to experience it. In todays age people have been experiencing things through the internet, which is great but you don't get the full experience. I really want to go to beef barn now. Great work!!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to compare our findings since our fieldsites are similar. I agree with what Ava said, and I think it is cute that their website is very outdated. It just goes to show that this is a small family owned business. I think my fieldsite Sullies is kind of rare that it is updated in multiple areas of the digital world. I also totally understand the "word of mouth" part you mentioned. I think most local gems are word of mouth. so if that is the case Beef Barn does not necessarily need too much digital landscape. Good findings and connections you make to them!!!
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job analyzing their lack of technology. It's defiantly true that a place like this you hear about by talking with people, but that is probably while its a more local place in the sense that probably most people there know each other and that's why people like to go there, because it is so down to earth and not franchised.
ReplyDeleteI think it does says a lot about the environment of the place, family friendly and good food for the locals, and the few lucky outsiders who have someone who recommend it. I can imagine most of the people who go to the beef barn know each other. It sound like a really nice cozy place to go eat with your best friend or family. I think its nice that Shannon and you can compare the similarities and differences of both restaurants. I know I will be visiting both before the end of the year!
ReplyDelete