Posted by The Geocities page https://geocities.restorativland.org/Augusta/Links/2711/ is a community intended for lefthanded golfers in the Houston area. The site is advertised as “A place where lefties can list their clubs for sale or swap” and is simply a middleman between buyers and sellers in the niche market of left-handed golf clubs in the Houston area. Since this site is catered toward golfers in Houston, I would expect the majority of traffic to be from golfers in Houston. While the website does not advertise its creator, I was able to find a little information about who runs the site when I clicked on the “Remove Your Clubs” icon. This icon is a shortcut to the email ljwhite@swbell.net. Although this is all that I was able to find out about the founder of Lefties Club Search, I found it interesting that the creator simply put his contact information on the website. There isn’t a way for viewers to interact directly with the site like a guest book, however, through the use of the site creator as a middleman, visitors can communicate with the creator directly and see their products posted on the site that way.
The overall aesthetic of the page is very basic which aids in a welcoming feel because the page is not overwhelming, free of flashy graphics and colors that seem to be a staple of many other Geocities sites. Along with the title and subheading (For Greater Huston), there is a small passage of friendly text, describing the intention of the site, along with some friendly quips about the struggles of golfing on the “wrong side”. While the site is graphically sparse, there is one image of Phil Mickelson in the top right corner. Conveniently nicknamed “Lefty”, Mickelson is the poster child for left handed golfers and is a loved image within the community. Additional graphics show a few golf ball images, along with text that serves as hyperlinks to other parts of the sites, including the actual club catalog.
The actual catalog of clubs and sellers is the epitome of basic and consists exclusively of sellers’ contact information and the products being sold. Overall, the graphics are very successful additions to the Geocities sites, providing a welcoming and user-friendly site, without detracting from the intended purpose of the site, to connect golfers with sellors.
Identity, one of the five central tenets in the circuit of culture, examines how cultural artifacts like products or practices influence how people view themselves and their place within society. With over 90% of people being right-hand dominant, left-handed golfing is not only unique but poses many unique problems. The Geocities site “Leftys Club Search” is advertised as a place where left-handed golfers can find solace with other left-handed golfers. The site jokes that it allows lefties to “try before you buy” your clubs just like the “other gofers”. In a world catered toward right-handed dominant people, it is easy to feel like left-handed people get the metaphorical “Short end of the stick”, however, “Lefty’s Club Search” embraces the left-handed identity and creates an environment where other lefties can feel comfortable with their identity as well, a haven specifically catered to embrace being left-handed as part of one’s identity. The five aspects of the circuit of culture are all closely intertwined. Similar to identity, consumption maintains an important role in “Leftys Club Search”. The consumption stage explores how people interpret cultural artifacts, the meanings they derive from them, and how they incorporate them into their lives. Similar to newer sites like Craigslist or eBay, “Lefty’s Club Search” is simply a medium where sellers can post products and buyers can access a catalog of products. This exemplifies the consumption aspect of the circuit of culture because viewers of this website are using it to incorporate artifacts into their lives, through the exchange of golf clubs.