[Search] I want to solve the mystery of 'Where did this information come from?' [Source]
How I search for articles and sources
Previously, I received the following question via Marshmallow (an anonymous messaging service).
How do you find articles on the internet?
When I received this question, the only answer that came to mind was 'I search for them!', and I was also a bit preoccupied with the Hobbycon, Jin's comeback, and Namjoon's new song, so I let it sit for a while. Sorry lol
However, after thinking about it for a while, I realized that I could break down what 'searching' actually entails.
Is my self-perception that 'I'm not doing anything particularly unusual' correct?
I love the internet and PCs, and I live a life where my home/office desktop PC or smartphone is on as long as I'm awake. I love the browser & keyboard environment the most!
However, since the number of people who only use smartphones or tablets has increased recently, I think the way they collect information is different. What is normal for me might not be normal for others.
Actually, if I think about it calmly, there should be more people like that. Calm down, me.
I search as naturally as I breathe, so I had never looked back on it, but because of the language barrier with BTS information, there is an overwhelming amount of content that doesn't appear even if you type it into the Google search bar.
So, this time, I've summarized my 'search methods'.
It's exciting to think about how much of the search common sense of an internet-old-generation geek still applies in the Reiwa era!
If you don't do things like this, please let me know in the comments section. I'll use that to measure how much of a 'beast path' I'm on ( ;∀;)
How to find the source of internet articles
There is a lot of information I want to search for, but the most common trigger is
'Information with an unknown source has been circulating, and I want to verify the source.'
Since we live in an era where smartphones and short-form social media are at their peak, I feel like I'll be dealing with this 'source hunting' for a long time.
1. Long-term observation is difficult because fans and platforms change.
2. The big picture is hard to grasp because summary videos and clips are widely shared.
3. Especially on short-form social media (like X), there is often no source next to the information.
・Screenshots of translations are often circulated, which don't serve as sources.
・I feel like the very concept of a 'source' has faded.
4. Because translations are involved, secondary information containing someone's interpretation is more likely to remain.
The volume of information in the BTS community is immense, so a variety of new and old information flows in every day. This is the key to a door that leads to worlds you don't know! (Though the door is hard to find.)
Since someone thought it was worth sharing, there is a high probability that you will find good articles or videos if you look for the original source. Let's search!
First, follow the links
First, I follow the links as much as I can to see where they lead. I usually hit a dead end in two or three steps, but in the process, I look for images or keywords.
In some cases, they don't use quotes but instead repost and then post their thoughts separately, so in that case, I go to read that person's post.
If there is an image, I perform an image search to find other articles that mention it. I often find them on Ameblo, so I consider that and Yahoo! Chiebukuro to be the two major strata of BTS information.
If there is a logo in the image that can identify a channel, I'm lucky. I just go to that channel and search for '방탄소년단' or 'BTS' within the channel.
If there are keywords, I use them to search. In the case of Bangtan, the languages are usually mixed, so it takes a little bit of effort.
An example of the steps to reach a source through searching and links
For example, there was this information in a post I saw recently.
Taehyung was listed on the Wiki's "List of baritones in non-classical music"
I searched for things related to the "List of baritones in non-classical music" and also looked for pages related to vocal music, but I couldn't find the corresponding article on the Japanese version of Wikipedia.
That means the source is a different language version of Wikipedia, and there is an article that hasn't been translated into other languages.
In that case, you need to find out what language it originated in. It's usually English.
In my experience, news articles are the most common source for Korean information (because the number of articles is on a different level), followed bynamu.wikior bulletin boards, and I have never seen an article from the Korean version of Wikipedia. Korea's own platforms are incredibly strong.
I follow the link in the post that came across my feed to check the language of the sender. The source of the information I traced was indeed English.
When I searched using the phrase "List of Baritones in Non-Classical Music" from the post, the corresponding page appeared. Yay!
Since Wikipedia tables can be sorted, let's sort by country. There are 7 people from Korea on the list, and Taehyung and Namjoon from BTS are listed ( *´艸｀)
Once you've enjoyed the data, scroll to the bottom to check the references and related items. For me, this is the main goal!!
Enjoying the source is the real deal
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia compiled by users and has a high level of public interest, so when adding information, evidence (sources) is required.
The fact that Taehyung is on the list means that links and mentions to sources have also been added. There might be articles about the singing and voices of BTS members, so let's go read them!
I was able to verify all the linked sources. It's helpful that there are archived versions!
I'll post the articles that I found interesting. In particular, "K-POP: Everything you need to know about BTS" is a major work and I recommend it.
When I come across articles with this much passion, I want to translate and introduce them. You don't really come across them within the scope of what Japanese people find on Google searches.
V:
He is one of the members with a particularly low voice, and his vocal range is a baritone-leaning tenor (baritenor). He can reach the high register of a tenor, but his resonance and power have unique characteristics.
The V in baritone tends to make frequent use of low notes, growls, and falsetto, which fits R&B songs very well.
If you find a reporter you like, it's a good idea to search the site using their name. Sometimes you can find Bangtan articles one after another like pulling on a vine. Working ARMYs, fighting!
Kim Young-dae is a Korean music critic whose name I often see. When I searched for this title, book images came up.
I remembered seeing this, so I searched for 'Kim Young-dae BTS' on Amazon and found the same book. I think I might just click 'buy'.
Footnote links are a treasure trove: Academic papers are also recommended
Basically, Wikipedia and academic papers contain source information. If you find interesting information, be sure to dig into those sources. Happy discoveries await!
Wiki-style sites are compiled by various people, so some articles lack sources and are marked with 'citation needed,' but academic papers are reliable and convenient because they have sources and have undergone prior peer review. 💜
And the reason I even bought an academic paper is because I wanted to see the references, footnotes, and attached materials, which are the fun part! In short, for an ARMY, it's a collection of links to Bangtan information—a treasure trove! ( *´艸｀)
Things essential for searching
As you can see, I am someone who searches constantly and digs through Bangtan articles night after night, and for that, 'conversion dictionaries' and 'page translation' are indispensable.
Conversion dictionary (dictionary registration)
I put words I often use for searches into my conversion dictionary in Japanese, English, and Korean.
Especially since early Bangtan articles are basically in Korean, it's good to add terms you search for often in Hangul, such as '인터뷰 (interview),' in addition to proper nouns like member names or company names.
It's also easy to use if you include not just words, but also commands for searching X, etc. Because I can't remember them on the spot.
For example, if you want to find official Bangtan tweets from 6/13/2013 to 6/30/2013, it looks like this.
from:BTS_twt since:2013-06-13 until:2013-06-30As an aside, conversion dictionaries can be used for more than just searching and are perfect for saving time.
In my case, I also have 'KOMCA registration IDs for each member for copyright checks' and 'emojis for when I write articles (🐹🐱🐿️🐨🐥🐻🐰)' included.
When I was taking notes on Hobi's comments, I couldn't keep up if I typed normally, so I registered a huge number of words he was likely to say in advance...
Hosu: 'Hope on the Stage'
Noise: 'Make Some Noise!'
Hansan: '항상 / HANGSANG'
Page translation (browser extension)
Since Bangtan articles are often not in Japanese, you need translation measures not just for inputting, but also for reading.
In particular, I skim articles to pick out only what I need or to decide whether I should read them properly, so screen-wide translation support is essential.
When reading text, it seems that eyes often repeat vertical or horizontal movements following the flow of sentences, but I usually take in the whole thing at once. I grasp it as a surface rather than line by line, and I read while focusing and adjusting my focus to the necessary parts.
This is what I currently have in my browser. It's convenient because turning it on and off is just one click, and it translates the entire content displayed in the browser.
I repeat the process of taking a quick look with this, then turning it off to check the original text.
Otherwise, sometimes sentences are skipped or the dependency relationships are reversed, so checking is essential.
Can conversational AI be used for treasure hunting?
When I don't understand the language, I used to useDeepLorPapagoa lot, but recently conversational AI is faster. It has a high ability to read the context of the entire conversation.
Sometimes it boldly omits or makes things up, so it's just a rough translation, but...
Conversational AI is a bit subtle for finding sources.
I sometimes ask it to 'find news related to this from Korean articles' and go to check out the ones that look good from the sources it gathered, but it doesn't really produce things I like.
Maybe the tendency of articles the AI likes is different from mine. It picks up a mix of good and bad, after all.
For example, when something happens related to Bangtan, a huge number of similar articles appear, right?
I want it to compare the content and pick out only the one with the best content... but it's difficult to give instructions on what 'good content' is ( ;∀;)
I can judge an article at a glance, but I don't know how to teach that to an AI. I'd like to pass this on to my children if possible, so I want to put it into words eventually.
Oh, it can sometimes be useful when I want to find the source of a clipped, translated text. Occasionally.
In this case, it's usually hard to find the source because I don't know the original text or the situation, but AI doesn't care about language barriers and is good at connecting contexts, so even with vague information like 'find information with this kind of content,' it sometimes picks up the correct answer. Good job, well done, you're great!
Well, humans learn first and start thinking things like 'this font and color is Threads,' though. Watching AI, I am once again impressed by human flexibility and the high-level cognitive ability called 'intuition'.
Currently, I don't have expectations for conversational AI in the 'finding good articles' direction, and I like using it just as support because it's convenient.
Recently, sources are often YouTube videos, so I hope the search for those improves too!
May sources always be at hand
Even though I thought it was just 'searching' and there wasn't much to say about it... it's an otaku's habit that once I start talking about things I like, I can't stop. It became a longer text than I expected, and I'm embarrassed (*ﾉωﾉ)
In the K-POP community, clipped information is widely circulated.
I search aggressively using a PC + browser + monitor environment, but I think it might be hard to search if you're a smartphone user. It's super inconvenient when I'm visiting my parents' home and don't have a PC, but how do you all overcome this, ARMY?
Just like with Yahoo Chiebukuro, I get the impression that new and old generations of ARMY are helping each other overcome this, given that there are group chats and threads for finding sources on various platforms. Hmm, does it return to human power in the end...
Based on these experiences, when I want to attach a Japanese translation text as an image, I make sure to include some information that might help find the source, on the assumption that the image will just drift away. It's a countermeasure for the new era.
Summary of search tips
To summarize the search tips roughly, they are as follows.
Follow all links and footnotes
Look for searchable clues such as images and keywords
Utilize conversion dictionaries, page translation, AI, etc.
What is needed most is perhaps the curiosity of wanting to "know!" Thankfully, there are many ARMYs in the world who have been accumulating information. What you are looking for right now is not "non-existent"; it just hasn't been found yet, and it is somewhere out there. It is Yet To Come!!
Believing in that, I am searching like crazy again today.
Dear ARMYs, have a fun search life! If you find any good material, please do share it ( *´艸｀)
Related Articles
いいなと思ったら応援しよう！
もしこの記事が気に入ったり、役に立ったりしたら、コーヒー1杯奢ってください。やる気が出ます！( *´艸｀)