Is that about singing in public or in your own private bathroom? ;0)
I think that article summarizes everything correctly, but too academic (which is definetly unfolky). Music has become a business and everything is aiming at a public performance. And much of the music presented won`t encourage people to sing on their own because it requires a musical infrastucture that most people don`t have (i.e. full set of instruments and equipment).
What we need is more of the simple but beautiful folksongs that everybody can do in a reasonable way. Most people don`t know anymore that there are songs they can do. One important issue is to find songs that suit your vocal abilities, not everyone can give a good interpretation of every song. We all know that even professional sngers can`t do every song equally good.
Regards
Ernest