This site is about the life of a great American, Benjamin Franklin. It is produced courtesy of the PBS Organization, and it aims at giving the various contributions that the individual made to the modern day America, and why he is so famous. It also aims at showing the inspirational quotes that are believed to have come from the man. The main focus of the site is inspiration. As seen in through the various sections of the site, there is no single part that does not have something that is quite inspiring. It starts with the introduction, making the audience aware of who is being discussed in the site. The second section then shows the wit and wisdom that the man had been endowed with. Third, it shows how Ben Franklin had an inquiring min, and lastly concludes by giving his influence to the world. These are the major sections of the site, though it has other links that can help an interested reader to learn more about the life and influence of Ben Franklin.
On accuracy, the information in the site can be well verified as pertains to its validity. This is because the site gives much reference as to where the information was got. It also gives the dates of the quotes used and whoever said them. Under the resources section, the site offers a comprehensive list of the resources used, which proves the accuracy of the information therein. The information on the site is similarly very objective. Right from the major sections, a reader can positively identify that the site aims at fanning the great minds in the audience. It shows the success that Franklin achieved, despite coming from a humble background. This would challenge the mind of the reader and spark his mind to doing something constructive.
In terms of validity, the information has been gathered from the old days, given that the man being discussed lived in the 1700s. Therefore, there is some information that has been drawn from as back as 1776. This is however permissible given that the man in question lived in that era. However, there is something that is quite striking about the site. It was last updated in 2002, that is, 10 years ago. In as much as the events in question took place ages ago, there is a possibility that something new may have come up in the last ten years. The site is therefore not well updated. In terms of scope, the site has covered so little about so much. That is, there are a lot of subsections dealing with different aspects of Franklin’s life. However, the information is so brief that the reader feels that more research should have been done in order to come up with a more comprehensive site.
I would not recommend this site, especially for scholarly work; at least not as the primary source of information, but it can be used as a catalogue to get resources related to history. This is due to various reasons, some of which are explained above: the site is not up to date and there is so little information available. However, if the web developers put some more effort into it, it has the prospects to become one of the most resourceful sites. There are other links in the site that are worth visiting, but this would be more meaningful if the site is further developed. These include links such as the teacher’s guide and the resources section. These can be good for someone engaging in research.
Work Cited
PBS, Benjamin Franklin, 2002. Web, 17th Jan 2012, http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/
