If you need some help managing your time, there are many different options available.  From the hobbyist who only spends a few hours a week on research to the hard core genealogist who does the work full time, there is a solution out there that can help keep you on track- most of it you already own.

First, let me preface this whole thing by admitting that I am not a naturally organized or focused person, so I know how hard it can be.  I have a head full of dreams and a mind that wanders all over the place if it’s allowed to.  The biggest key to my success has been STRUCTURE- whether self imposed (which is usually the most difficult) or it comes from others’ expectations of me.  Usually other people’s expectations of me give me something to live up to and surpass since I generally expect myself to be disorganized and day-dreamy without a challenge of some sort….

Okay! Getting organized is the biggest thing you can do to help better manage your time once you’ve figured out what your priorities and goals really are, and made yourself a list of things that need to get done.  Clutter is one of the biggest passive time sucks there is, and believe it or not, your computer can help you alleviate this.

If you’re anything like me and a few other people I know (who will remain nameless), your desk is covered with little scraps of paper with important things (or not) on them, notebooks, a calendar, pens, calculator, phone, random items that don’t quite belong (like, what are these vice-grips doing on my desk anyways?), maybe some food or snack stuff, etc.   While this isn’t an ideal environment to get things done in, it is what most of us deal with on a day to day.  You probably spend at least a few minutes every day looking for things; trying to find passwords and user names, websites, blogs you wanted to read, etc.  It can be very frustrating!

The first thing I did for myself in this area was to gather up all my little scraps of paper and organize them by category.  Old to-do lists, websites, etc- and I created a special folder on my PC’s desktop and made a doc for each category- all my passwords and usernames, blog lists, research resources, list of relevant organizations to talk to, etc – all in a folder on my desktop.  Now I don’t have to rifle through anything to get them.  The key here is to make the file name something that makes sense to the contents.  Then you can simply run a search on the folder based on what you’re looking for and the computer will find it for you! The time I spent setting this up has already been gained back in the time it’s saved me- which means more time each week for genealogy!

The next thing I did was to translate my to-do lists into a scheduled task list on my computer’s calendar.  I became very familiar with MS Outlook at work and realized in that environment it was a necessary tool to getting things done- how can it help me elsewhere…  Now I have my time organized and tasks are scheduled in with enough of a gap in between to allow for breaks and any overages I might see in any task, the unexpected, etc.  I have reminders that pop up and let me know what’s next and I can move things around if I need more time, or don’t feel like doing a specific thing just then.  It helps me make sure things don’t get missed and it let’s me know where I am in my day.  It also helps keep my sense of purpose alive and keeps me on track; I don’t miss any important appointments I’ve made  for work or personal interest and things actually get done. (For the most part)

If you have a smart phone, you can connect your phone to your computer through the sharing software it came with and take your calendar with you.  I have a Google phone, so I use Gmail and Google Talk and all the other Google solutions out there (calendar, etc) – all tied together so I don’t miss much- even from the park or my back yard.  I’ve also tied my computer’s Outlook to my Google accounts so that I can access multiple email accounts from one program (you can also do this with yahoo, hotmail, etc- most hosted emails allow for pop3 access- it’s usually in the settings menu  ). 

There are also software solutions (both free and not) out there that can do this for you. Say you don’t like Google… there’s one solution that a friend of mine raves about called ReQall (reqall.com).  It does exactly what I’m describing and more and is (apparently) VERY easy to use.  The software ties allows you to call/text or IM yourself to add to your to-do list/ schedule and it adds it there automatically because of its amazing voice recognition and command abilities (among other things).  I was thinking this might be cool if you’re out and about and something pops into mind you can just text your ReQall the idea and it adds it where it needs to be automatically….I usually forget my best ideas by the time I get home, so I’ll probably try the free version just for kicks.

I was even thinking about getting one of those computer pens that remembers everything you write down so that I don’t have to type my lists into the computer anymore…I can just upload it all from my pen….That might be a little too techno-lusty, but hey- if it saves me time and keeps me organized, why not, right?

Most of us don’t need anything too fancy- just something that keeps everything together and is accessible, easy to use and has nice features like reminders and a clock.  (And an office door with a lock on it).  The bottom line here, is that time is easy to manage with a little self discipline and the right tools and some understanding from the people around you.  Every one of you has a unique style of working, so it might take you a few tries before you find the tools that work best for you- but giving them a real chance to sink in and work for you is a true show of your strength in commitment to squeezing every last drop out of the time you have for genealogy research.

Next Issue – New Series:  Back to Genealogy and research tips and techniques for creating that finished family tree!  Now that your time is managed, we’ll look at some ways to make what time you have effective!

My friends and family all had a good laugh when I told them I was writing a blog series on time management; they all know me as the ‘queen of procrastination.’  It’s true- sometimes my motto does seem to be ‘Why do today what can wait until I get around to it?’  I am successful only because I am able to acknowledge this tendency within myself and balance it between getting things done and having fun.  Usually…

With summer in full swing, managing the time you have available to dedicate to genealogy is even more difficult than ever; as you can see from the release gaps in this blog of late this is something I understand all too well, although I could claim it was research for this article!  Point is: kids are out of school, business picks up so your job needs you for more hours, it rains too much and your basement floods, other obligations take you away from your computer, the sun is finally shining so you’d better get out and have some fun while you can, etc…Life is FULL of distractions; but that doesn’t really get anything done.

It has been my experience that once you have established a routine for yourself, things are easier to accomplish.  In my last article I talked about outlining your priorities and planning your week; determine what your main objectives and goals are, and create a roadmap to accomplishing them in order of importance.  Once you have all that in front of you, the next step is sticking with it! No matter how well organized your time looks on paper you have to make sure you’re actually spending your time on the things you set out to accomplish.

As we all know, having the intention to do something and the attention to do it are two completely different things.  For those of you who are not easily distracted- hooray for you! You’re already there!  But for the rest of us, we can still feel overwhelmed and unproductive because we let ourselves lose focus.  I believe the solution is still rooted in creating a schedule for yourself and spending the time you’ve allotted for certain tasks ON THOSE TASKS- the magic comes in knowing which distractions are OK and then shuffling your schedule to accommodate them.

The first step to recognizing the main distractions in your life requires taking a look at your average week and then making a list of all the things that draw you away from your work.  Be honest about it- don’t be afraid to fess up to watching soaps, facebooking or having that twitter obsession; you need to lay ALL of your distractions in front of you. (You can burn the paper once you’ve completed the exercise)

Once you have your list completed, separate them into categories- things you can control and things you cannot. 

The distractions you can control usually come from within yourself, or are allowed to become distractions because you find yourself participating in something unnecessary but enjoyable.  Things that fit into this category include personal facebooking (social networking) and twittering (micro-blogging), online gaming, TV, reading a book, phone or online chat that is not related to work and initiated by you or accepted by you when it can be ignored ‘til later…anything that you willingly participate in or construct for yourself in order to not do your ‘real’ work. 

Distractions that you cannot control are those that come solely from outside yourself.  Children or spouses bustling into your workspace and demanding attention, pets getting over-zealous, natural disasters and other emergencies, workplace demands, etc.

The next step is to ask yourself WHY you create so many internally originated distractions.  Are these things really your priority or is there a deep and fundamental reason why these things seem more immediately important than the work you’ve placed in front of yourself?  If so, there may be a deeper issue – if not than you simply need some self discipline.  My best advice about these kinds of distractions is to incorporate them into your rewards system.  Accomplish one of your goals or main objectives then allow yourself 15 minutes of Facebook or chuzzle or whatever floats your boat. This way, you get to have your cake and eat it too! But don’t get caught up in it- stick to the time you’re allowing yourself and don’t go over!  Set a timer if you need to.

Some of the distractions that are external are things you actually CAN control up to a point- especially when they involve other people.  Other people have the potential for negotiation.  Talk with your spouse about coming in and distracting you all the time.  Do it in a neutral fashion and offer something of yourself as concession; usually what they really are looking for is either time/ attention or some form of validation from you.  If you spend regular quality time with them and draw clear lines regarding your research time, they will have what they need, you will get what you need, and your relationship will be better for it (in theory).  Also- allow yourself that time when they call you out of your office to look at a beautiful rainbow or some other form of fleeting beauty, it’s something you should see and who better to share it with? Think hard about this and come up with a plan, and communicate your needs clearly while considering their needs too and you’ll be where you need to be.

Everything else can be managed.  If you are home alone with your children there’s a different set of rules for how you spend your time, obviously.  How you handle this is clearly up to you.  It’s easier when you have someone else there with you- a spouse or a babysitter, etc.  They can take that weight off you while you work.  If you work at home and your spouse works elsewhere and your kids are hanging on you by the ankles constantly you can always hire someone for a couple hours a day or enroll your children in some group activity that will give you some time to get things done….kids can only take so many naps!

 As for the other external distractions, feel them out.  Obviously emergencies require immediate and full attention, but most other things do not.  You do not HAVE to answer the phone or a chat request or whatever- you have voice mail and can answer IM’s/ emails anytime.  Caller ID is wonderful to help you determine whether a call is important or not, etc.  You should schedule a time every day to listen to voicemails and respond to emails, etc.  This allows you to address the items that need it and not bother with the telemarketers and political survey takers, other distractions out there.

 HAVE FUN!  Give yourself some time to have fun and don’t beat yourself too much for allowing some fun in.  All work and no play makes for one burnt out genealogist- but all play and no work gets you nowhere (figuratively or literally- take your pick).  You find your balance and have the discipline to keep things in check- the first step is recognizing the daily time imps that pull you away form your goals, and telling them who’s boss!

 Next Issue: Incorporating Technology to Stay on Track

Ask anyone who’s successful at what they do and they’ll tell you that having clear objectives and setting incremental achievable goals is the key to their success. This idea is also a fundamental step to more effectively managed time. It can mean the difference between making that deadline with time to spare, which can be used to hone and polish the product of your work, move on to the next thing relaxed knowing you have plenty of time, or it can even mean an afternoon off or NOT.

Without effective time management, deadlines get missed, tasks are sloppily or only partially completed, work gets neglected or shoved off onto someone else which creates resentment, you’re always rushed to get things done, you get passed up for promotions, and it feels like you have too much on your plate, you get overwhelmed and eventually you suffer from burnout (something we’ll discuss later in the series)- if you don’t get fired first!

Whichever the scenario, whatever your occupation, success is largely attributable to a wise use of your time. Genealogists have it doubly hard since genealogy research is often juggled into an otherwise already busy life, complete with a job and a family and friends to keep up with. Even for the professional genealogist, it’s difficult because they are generally self employed and probably working from home. In this instance, time management is not only fundamental, but it’s necessary! Ask anyone- there just aren’t enough hours in the day! This is where having clear objectives and setting incremental achievable goals comes in.

First, I usually set aside about an hour or so a week to loosely plan out my time. This might seem crazy at first (I mean, who has the time?!), but once you get hang of it you’ll find that you actually do have enough time to get everything done- sometimes MORE. For me, it’s the perfect thing to do while having that first cup of wake-up on Monday morning and it helps to prime me for the week ahead, organize the thoughts, bring me back to work reality, etc.

The first question I ask myself when I’m trying to manage my time is “What do I hope to accomplish?” What are the things you need to get done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, etc? What do you want your final result to be? In other words, what are your MAIN OBJECTIVES? I tend to write myself a to-do list, which is a great tool for knowing what you need to do and knowing what you’ve already accomplished.

Decide what your PRIORITIES are. What needs to be done NOW and what can you slowly work on to complete next week and so on. The next step will be to break down each of your main objectives into the smaller tasks that it will take you to accomplish your end. These smaller tasks are your goals, and they should be things that are necessary to accomplishing the main objective while significantly moving the project forward. Obviously turning your computer on or getting a cuppa coffee isn’t really a goal, but researching that surname or census file is (even though it usually requires your computer to be on and your coffee cup to be full)! I look at it like eating a pie; you can’t stuff the whole thing in your mouth all at once without choking, but if you cut it into manageable slices you can get through it in no time!

Once you have set your priorities and outlined all your main objectives and the incremental goals and listed it all in a logical order (since some things depend on the completion of others), your next step will be to estimate the amount of time each goal will take to accomplish. The most important thing to remember here is to BE REALISTIC! Of course we usually view ourselves in the best possible light and deny any shortcomings but PLEASE! It takes time to get things done- more than we realize.

It’s also important to remember here to add in some extra time for getting that coffee, taking a break, as well as those tiny little interruptions that always happen, phone, family, etc. In other words, schedule for the unforeseen/ unforeseeable. This last trick will save you a LOT of trouble at the end of your allowed time, since you will have scheduled more than what you needed to accomplish your goal. It’s all about scheduling your time wisely and setting your own expectations to be reasonable as to what you can accomplish and in what time frame.

Breaking down your objectives and figuring the time your work will probably take before-hand will also help you in other ways. It can give you a good idea what to expect out of your day. It can help you juggle multiple tasks by allowing you to see ahead of time things that can be done simultaneously without conflict or mistake. It can help you set a reasonable expectation in others as to when you’ll be finished. It can help you feel a sense of accomplishment throughout the day and it allows you to see your progress. It is also helpful when estimating the cost of your services to a potential client, or conversely helps you to understand why things cost what they do.

One final thought here — don’t forget to reward yourself! Once you’ve completed enough goals to be satisfied for a moment, pat yourself on the back! Take a break, step outside into the sun, go get that snack your tummies been begging for for over an hour! Having goals is certainly important, but rewarding yourself with the little things along the way helps to further reduce stress and elevate mood- another huge factor when you want to be productive!

 

Next Issue: Managing Distractions and Recognizing Procrastination

If you are anything like me (God help you) then you know how difficult it can be to manage your time.  Regardless your occupation, finding those extra few minutes a day is like the quest for the Holy Grail; there are always a million different things to do and a million other things that pull your attention away.  Though this problem is certainly not unique to our arena, for the genealogist, this can be doubly difficult since genealogy research is often juggled into an otherwise already busy life, complete with a job and a family and friends to keep up with.  This blog series will attempt to help you understand at least some of the reasons behind the apparent chaos, and provide some insightful ways to work through the distractions, balance life and work and create a more peaceful working situation for yourself while increasing your productivity and decreasing your stress.

In this series I will explore the different problems that we face when managing our time, diving into each issue specifically and then providing tips as well as exercises for working through them to help hone your time managing skills.

Issues the blog will address:

• Objectives and Goals
• Using a schedule
• Integrating your PDA or PC
• Work Space Organization
• Setting Priorities
• Saying NO
• Dealing with interruptions – in their many forms
• Periods of inactivity
• Multitasking
• Stress and fatigue (Burn-out)
• Procrastination
• DOWN-TIME and taking breaks
• Self Discipline 

What are some of the issues YOU face when it comes to getting things done?  What techniques have you used to overcome these obstacles?

Next Issue:  Having Clear Objectives and Setting Incremental Achievable Goals

As I have stated repeatedly throughout this series, your quality of family tree is directly proportional to your quality of data.  Everything you learn in a chat or forum or online group environment must be researched and validated, just as with anything else you get online (unless, of course, you are getting your data from a state or county office or agent as is the case with many official records these days).

That being said, online genealogy communities and forums can be a very useful tool when researching your family history- provided that you are using them correctly.  Online genealogy communities and forums provide their members, both hobbyist and professional researcher alike, with a vehicle for discussing their experiences and findings, asking for assistance, providing services, reaching out and helping one another both through perspective sharing as well as through data sharing- all in an informal, conversational environment.  You can use these communities to find solidarity, leads, family members, research aid and services, resources and other pertinent information including relevant blogs and other items of interest.

There are literally thousands of online genealogy communities and forums to choose from.  For example, if you are a member of Facebook, you can search the term genealogy and find over 500 groups and nearly 250 people and pages specifically related to the subject.  You can also do this with most other social media sites like twitter and myspace.   In fact, twitter has quite a burgeoning online genealogy community.  If you would like to see it for yourself, search #genealogy or #familyhistory or #familytree and you’ll see what people are talking about today in real time. 

You can also take your twitter account and put it into twibes.com to join groups that way.   The genealogy twibe has 152 members to date, and it’s growing as public awareness builds.  This service allows you to see what’s going on specifically in the community without getting all the non-related tweets to shuffle through.

Of course, there are other online genea-forums and communities.  You could go to GenForum.com, or MyHeritage.com, or Ancestry.com or any number of the other giant (and some of the smaller ones, too probably) family tree/ genealogy service sites and find a forum or message board or discussion group.  GenealogyFlow.com is another one.  You may find what you’re looking for at topix.com, an online resource for information and discussion on just about anything you can imagine….Yahoo! has a fantastic amount of genealogy groups and discussions- over 20,000 different groups to choose from.

The main thing to remember when using this resource is patience and persistence.  Your query may not get addressed for a LONG time, if ever- especially in the larger, faster paced groups.  Your best bet with these might be to run a topic search related to what you’re looking for and see who else is asking similar questions (if they don’t offer a search, you can use CONTROL F and have your PC scan the pages that way)…You may find that there are others looking for the same or similar things to what you seek, and use the answers they get for your own research or start a conversation with them to find out more.

You can also gather information simply by reading through the postings.  Interesting blogs, relevant media and so on are often shared in these discussions and it can be a great way for you to break the monotony of your everyday research.

If you have experience with forums or are a member of an online genealogy community that you have found helpful- feel free to share that experience here in the comments!

NEXT ISSUE-   POSTING JUNE 3, 2009- Happy Memorial Day

 There are those out there that would have you believe personal websites are of no use to the ‘real’ researcher.  While I would never consider them to be the cornerstone of quality research, personal genealogy websites can be a valuable tool to use when researching your own family tree.  They can provide all sorts of information from names and dates to various background information and insight into the person you’re looking up.  They can also provide you with a whole new piece of your tree you weren’t even aware of!  There are of course caveats to using a personal website for your research, but there are also rewards when used properly.

There are several different kinds of personal genealogy site.  Most of the ones that I’ve seen offer the webmaster’s family tree and accompanying media- scanned photos and documentation, realated data, and so on.  Some of these will also include a running commentary (like a blog) on the subject sharing insight and methodology, experience, etc.  Others might include links to other resources, or they may be affiliated with geneaweb communities like USGenweb or RootsWeb or any of the other such sites/ services.  The point to this paragraph is that personal genealogy sites are as unique and diverse as the people who created them.

Perceived caveats to using personal websites:

1)  The data in these sites is largely unsubstantiated.  Many personal genealogy sites do not offer much by way of obvious source citations.  Source citations are an important piece of research and are necessary to create a completely valid family tree; they serve as evidence that the data used within is real. 

One way around this data quality issue is to read the related data they’ve included on their site, surf the site for a source page (like a bibliography) and simply examine the offering more closely. 

Another way around this is to reach out to the site’s administrator and simply ask them where they got their info.  All you have to do is tell them who you are and why you’re asking and most people will offer help of some kind- especially if you’re nice about it (albeit maybe not right away).  Besides- you may even discover a new cousin and friend!

2)  When you use a personal genealogy site for your own research, you are at the mercy of the site administrator’s research acumen.  Even WITH source citations and lengthy explanation, you run the risk of pulling information that is not correct for YOUR tree.  Not only this, but people are not infallible- and even if you DO have a branch of your tree in front of you, the person who did the research might have picked up some bad info along the way, which would have a domino effect on all the data that came after on that line.

I’ve already said this in this blog series (several times), but I’ll say it again here – DOUBLE CHECK THE DATA!!!  Cross reference what you are finding to what you’ve already found to make sure it fits.  Go to the source yourself and validate the data and the source- yourself!  Don’t just take the word of a stranger (even if they ARE a cousin), follow through on your findings and be sure you’re getting the real deal.

Some added benefits to using personal genealogy sites as part of your genealogy research:

1) The site administrator might have some original documentation that the family has kept and passed on throughout the years.    Family photos, heirloom bibles, papers that have been in the attic of the family estate for several generations, and what not- these are the things you will not be able to find in the county clerk’s or historical society’s archive. 

2) When you have hit the wall with your research- when you can’t seem to find a thread to latch onto and pull yourself forward- personal genealogy sites offer an oasis of information.  Transcending the afore mentioned caveats, personal genealogy sites can provide you new hope, new leads to follow, new perspective into the act of researching your family history.

3) Personal genealogy websites can provide you with resources you’ve yet to tap in your own research.  Even if you are looking at the site for a family not your own, you can gleen some insight and helpful info to keep you on your way. 

The thing you need to remember is that personal websites are generally created for the maker’s own edification, or the edification of the family. It’s a way to say- ‘Hey- we exist! We have existed for hundreds of years! This is where we’ve been! This is what we’ve done! This is our story!’  Maybe it helps you, maybe it doesn’t.  What you need to do as a user, is respect the work that went into what you’re seeing and take it for what it is:  the site administrator’s choice of window into their heritage, for better or worse. Our history is our biggest keepsake, and in the digital age, the personal genealogy website is a great way to keep that story alive and accessible!

NEXT ISSUE:  Online Genealogy Communities and Forums

For those of you fairly new to the technology world, or just discovering blogs for the first time:  the word ‘blog’ is the popularized short form of “web log” and can be either a noun or a verb.  You can read or write a blog and the act of creating or adding fresh content to your blog is called ‘blogging.’ I’m blogging right now in writing this, etc…

There are many different kinds of blogs,  from subject matter to the types of content and then how that content is delivered.  Subject matter is literally as infinite as our own imaginations but there are only 4 basic types of content: text, images (pictures), video and audio.  A blog can integrate any combination of these data types.

There are also basic categories of blog, including personal blogs (the most common form) that amount to a daily personal commentary on the blogger’s daily life and experiences (like a diary, journal or scrapbook).  Another type of blog is known as a corporate blog.  Corporate blogs were created for some business purpose such as marketing, extending a brand or increasing public relations.  This blog can be considered a corporate blog since it is “the official blog of GenWed.com.”  Of course, we don’t really see it that way since we are a two person operation and not some giant corporation- but if we must be categorized within a genre, then that is where we fit.

Other types of blogs include video (vlog) and photo blogs, or can be categorized by their specific subjects (this is more where ‘Tracing Your Routes’ fits in, I think) or genre such as politics, news, travel, genealogy, etc.  The blog can be a very powerful tool for conveying information, and can contain anything from the daily ramblings of the average Joe or more educational type of content, such as news articles, how-to’s and so on. 

Anyone can create a blog.  This has both it’s ups and downs from the audience perspective.  As a member of the general audience, diversity of material can be a great thing because it means multiple resources and perspectives and a wide pool of insight into any given subject.  In my mind, this is priceless.

In the recent debate over the viabiliy of blogs as a tool for genealogy research, the main argument against blogs is (basically) that blogs are a source of unreliable information simply because anyone can make one  regardless their credentials.  Of course I find this absolutely ludicrous!  Of course, there are those out there that pull content from the blogs of others just to entice you to their site so they can try to sell you something on ebay or whatever and to me THOSE are the sites that give us all a bad name. 

You don’t have to be a doctor of history to create a meaningful blog; any blog that respects it’s subject matter, takes it and it’s audience seriously is a valid creation and worthwhile resource.  

3 Types of info you can take away from a blog:

1) Preliminary genealogical data about individuals.  This can be marriage, relational, military, census, etc – anything.  Source citations (see the first installment of this blog series for more on that) are a good place to start with when going to find this data yourself.  If there are no visible source citations, you can always contact the blogger and ask them where they got their info.  If nothing else, this data can be a flicker at the end of the tunnel- if they found it, so can you!

IT IS IMPORTANT TO VALIDATE AND CORROBORATE AS MUCH OF THIS DATA AS YOU CAN!!!  Information you get in a blog- especially genealogical data as outlined above should ALWAYS be vetted for accuracy before you consider it as valid.  Blogs are not official archives, but a way to find leads. (for more on quality data, see Issue#1 in this series).

2)  Experience, insight and perspective.  These things can be a tremendous help to both the seasoned pro and the newcomer to genealogy research.  For the experienced genealogist, the blogs of others can provide inspiration for new ideas, remind  of things forgotten, show new avenues to traverse.  For the newcomer, blogs can be an educational guide – how to, if you will.  It can also convey the community (you’re not the only one who hits a wall in research, you’re not strange for undertaking the genealogy endeavor), provide a springboard for launching research and provide some sense of direction to get you started.

3) RESOURCES!  Blogs generally contain resource links as well as some review of the blogger’s experience with them- this can be very helpful- especially when you think you’ve exhausted every avenue!
For more information on where to find genealogy blogs, see Issue # 2 in this series  about social networking

Next Issue will be posted by MAY 8  due to vacation: Using Personal Websites for Genealogical Research

Many of you are familiar with the idea of social networking; and most people these days participate in some fashion whether personal or professional. But what exactly IS a social network?  In general terms, a social network is a group of people and/or organizations tied by one or more specific types of interdependency – like ideas, friendships, financial exchange/ trade, etc.  Traditionally this concept has applied to physical relationships; the social network consisted of an individual’s group of family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances as they exist in the ‘real’ world; people we’ve met and have some form of regular face to face exchange with.  But as with everything else, the internet has allowed us to VIRTUALIZE our social network and increase our reach into the world.

 

 

Online social networking is exciting because it provides an outlet for exchange between people who might otherwise never meet and share ideas .  This provides an opportunity for enrichment, not only to those involved at the time, but through the record of that exchange, it can also allow others to be enriched by it.  It  also allows for a kind of evolution to occur in the subject itself as new ideas, techniques and methods are infused into it- it can become a better thing and grow as well.

 

Social networking goes way beyond your traditional social networking sites/ services.  Since 2000 and even more recently (like in the last 4 or 5 years, from what I have seen) the idea of social networking has EXPLODED onto the scene with hundreds of different sites available to use, with hundreds of different ways to use them, depending on what you’re looking to do.  From the more recognizable general use sites like Friendster, MySpace and Facebook to the more topic specific sites like Geni.com (genealogy), imeem.com (music) as well as StumbleUpon.com, FriendFeed.com and Digg.com (online communities for rating and sharing online content and websites)- even Shutter Fly or Flickr (online photo sharing/commenting communities) and now Twitter and other micro-blogging sites like identi.ca.  There are literally 100’s of ways to get information.  I have listed here some of the sites I’ve actually used, but there are definitely a LOT more out there.

 

In my mind, there are 2 types of social networking experiences. 

 

There’s the  ACTIVE/ACTIVE kind where we  participate by providing updates and posting our own personal content, interacting with the content of others, engaging in discussions, etc (like the Facebooks and Twitters of the world).  The active experience consists of claiming an affiliation with people and/or groups and then interacting with it on a regular basis.

 

Then there is the 2nd type, which is the more ACTIVE/PASSIVE type of social networking, as with blogs, or sites like Topix.  I call blogs a social networking experience because you can interact with them or not and identity and common interests are involved at least to a certain degree.  A community is also created who shares in the common interest and experience with the item (audience).  There is also the possibility to interact directly with other members of the community either by engaging in a comments discussion or directly contacting via email.  The creator of the blog has put themselves out there, and the reader is a passive user who can garner all the info that user has to offer with or without interacting with it on a deeper level, with or without profile type information (by commenting or asking questions).

 

Furthermore, these passive sites are generally non-exclusive in the way that Facebook and Twitter are (you have to be a member to see or interact with the content).  For example…You can go to topix.com and look up any topic you want and narrow it down by region- even comment on it without being a member, including the forums (I actually DID this just now) – OR you can register as a member of the site, create a profile and turn this into a much more active experience.

  

OK- now that I have given you a really good idea about what a social networking site is- HOW DO WE USE THEM TO GET GOOD GENEALOGY INFO??

 

I think of social networking the same way I think of attending a convention (common interest groups) or going to a cafe (blogs, etc). [Only, it's virtual which allows for a couple key differences].  I also think similar rules of conduct apply as well: When you’re at a convention, you behave with a certain professionalism – when you’re at a cafe, you conduct yourself with a certain level of maturity, etc.  You overhear discussions, ’bump’ into people, you have a conversation, etc.  What you take away from it is entirely up to you- maybe you become friends, maybe you don’t! (Of course there are going to be unprofessional, immature or just plain creepy people out there as is the case no matter where you go- just use your common sense).

 

There are 2 major differences about the virtual world created by social networking (besides the obvious fact that it’s not ‘real’). One is that you can check out the people you’re interacting with by visiting their profile, seeing what others have to say, etc.  Of course people can falsify their profile data which is why I would never recommend online dating, etc- but still…I believe I’m not unique in my honest approach to life and my interactions with others.   The second, and in my opinion the greatest difference, is that there is a record of past conversations and you can get what you’re looking for there too!  When you’re talking to someone face to face, your conversation is only recorded in your head and then the words dissipate in the air.  Conversations, discussions, comments, etc on the public forum leave behind a record (unless you exchange private direct messages (DMs)).  Something someone said 2 years ago can be just as helpful and relevant today.    An additional benefit here, is that you can pursue the conversations and exchanges at your own pace, in your own time, and you can see the recommendations of others and revisit these things over an over again.

 

 

 

 

 

The best way I have found to get a rich online social networking experience as it applies to everything (including genealogy, of course) is to PARTICIPATE- even just a little bit, but the more you interact the more you can get from it.  Join multiple sites and multiple groups- ENGAGE in the discussion, ADD to the conversation, ASK your questions and GIVE your point of view in a POSITIVE manner.  This will allow you to get noticed, gain information and build your network of like minded people.  This will allow you to stay on top of current events as they apply to your area of interest as well as become engaged with the community at large- and it doesn’t require more technical savvy that what it takes to check email or surf the ‘net. PLUS, it can be fun!

Take Facebook for example (since it’s very popular and well established  and I already know it very well ! ).  Signup is very easy- you simply click the ’sign up’ link, enter your info and follow the prompts and WHAMMO you’re a member.  You can upload photos, add friends etc- all with easy to use interfaces.  Then you can import your email contacts and add friends that you already know that way, provided they too are on Facebook – or you can invite them to join you there.  There’s a search bar at the upper right hand corner of the site- here you can enter someone’s name, a subject or keyword etc and it will take you to your search results, from which you can pick and choose what groups you join, what pages you become a fan of, who you add as friend and so on.  I just ran a keyword search on genealogy and there are over 500 results for genealogy groups, over 300 separate events, and thousands of people either attending or joined, all participating and contributing in some way.  This is just ONE social network.  MySpace had nearly 60,000 results for genealogy- so you see how easy it can be to get started! 

 

Some help:

Find Genealogy Blogs

Geneabloggers: vetted by site administrator

Directory of 1341 active genealogy blogs

Progenealogist’s top 25 Geneablog List– Someday We’ll be on this list!

 

Noteworthy Social Networking Sites

 

Facebook

Geni

Bebo

Twitter

Identi.ca

Friend Feed

Yahoo! 360

MySpace

Digg

StumbleUpon

 

Please read my last blog post Leveraging Online Resources for Meaningful Genealogy Research Issue #1 – Quality Data  to better understand how to use the data and info you get through social networking. 

I must admit that when endeavoring to write this first installment of my new genea-blog series I was, in the beginning, a bit overwhelmed!  I mean, there are so many different angles and aspects and sub-topics that I wasn’t sure where to start.  A good friend of mine calls this ‘analysis paralysis’ and rightly so! So the best thing I can think to do is break it down into the smallest portions and work from there- so here are the facts as I see them:

 1) As all genealogists (and researchers of any kind, really) know, the quality of the final product (family tree) is directly proportional to the quality of the data used. (Notice here I did not say ‘compiled.’)

 2) There are multiple research tools at our disposal – both with and without technology.

 3) There are varying degrees of quality when it comes to data- regardless the source. Unlike science, genealogists don’t have a lab in which to test their findings, so ALL data should be subject to scrutiny of some sort.

 4) There is a rift between the schools of thought regarding internet research and the more organic, grass-roots (purist) approach which includes studying various archival data (e.g. historical society and libraries, county, state and various other institutional archives such as universities, churches, museums, and so on).

 5) There are caveats to everything.

 As you probably know by now, there is a debate (and quite a lively one at that) regarding the validity of data compiled through various internet resources.  One side believes the internet is a hotbed of misdirection and misinformation; the other side values the information that can be accumulated via internet research.  You get the picture; it’s been a fireworks show all month over it. 

In the argument, the biggest culprits of the data-debauchery (allegedly) are personal genealogy sites, blogs, chat forums and special interest groups via social networks, wiki sites, historical novels and movies, etc.   Now- and hold on to your pants genea-world this is gonna shake you up a bit: some of this is actually true…at least to some [small] extent.  Of course to say some blanket statement calling ALL of these items BAD is just stupid and short sighted (we do all have our rights to our opinions), and completely disregards the actual VALUE that these resources hold.  AND it is also completely insulting to all of us out here who have worked so hard to create whatever resources we have put forth. So shame on you (you know who you are) for not thinking your statements through before you kicked the hornet’s nest that is the genealogy sphere. (Or maybe you knew exactly what you were saying when you said it, I mean, look at all this buzz!)

The fact remains, though, that there IS some measure of truth to the arguments made by the other side.  It is irresponsible to your project to simply take the data as gospel (wherever you find it) without corroborating it with other data that supports it.  Every smart researcher knows this.  Would you buy a million shares of stock just because you overheard that the company was on the verge of a major breakthrough that would revolutionize the world without at least looking the company up first?  It’s a weird analogy, but the idea is right.  No matter where you get your data from, fact checking and supporting evidence is essential to creating a completely validated and thorough product – whether that is a family tree or a dissertation on the effects of death metal music on today’s youth.  

 The only completely valid 100% undeniably credible data we can ever hope to amass would be the original documents straight from the source.  There is no denying that, at least when you discount the possibility of reproduction or false documentation, etc…I’m sure those are rare cases.

 That all being said, there is absolutely value to the resources available online- INCLUDING personal genealogy sites, blogs, chat forums and special interest groups via social networks, wiki sites, even historical novels and movies, etc.  These things can point us in the right direction, give us perspective and insight, put us in touch with living relatives we knew nothing about as well as entire branches of possibility we were completely unaware of.  They can inspire, educate, provide leads and threads of hope; these can help us tear down the walls we’ve hit in our search. 

 While as a practice it is not the only qualifying factor for data, one of the biggest things we can do as publishers is to provide source citations.   To learn how best to do this, you can go to your local library or bookstore and select a related item to study- OR you can use one of the multiple online resources for such things.  A good one from a source I trust is: http://www.geneabloggers.com/Citations_Quick_Reference.pdf.   Another one that offers multiple styles is: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html

If you are not happy with the look of your documentation with a bunch of source citations all over the place, you can do something similar to what Wikipedia does and use footnotes or a bibliography page.  This is a great way to post your source citations without having them muck up your content visually- something is certainly better than nothing at all.

From the researcher perspective, it’s important to remember: many personal websites include data that has been transcribed in part which includes church records of baptism, marriage, and death, county marriage books, census transcriptions, copies of family bibles, wills, and deeds, newspaper announcements and obituaries, and almost anything else you can think of. While these records and indexes may not be of the reliable quality of actual certified copies they do give a researcher a starting point to acquiring these records from the source.  Not only that, but people are generally honest and they post their work because they are proud of it- not because they want to dupe you somehow. 

If you do not see a source citation that does not mean the data is useless.  In fact, quite the contrary…While you may not want to use it specifically to base your entire heritage on, you can absolutely use that information as a springboard for finding more elsewhere.  Not only that, but you can ASK the researcher where they found that piece of info and possibly get a nice lead out of it as well as a new connection.  If you overhear a great stock tip, you look up the company and learn what you can about it – maybe make a call or two- then decide whether to invest, right?  It’s the same with data you come across in genealogy research….it all leads to something else- some other rock to turn over. 

Regardless of whether a source is cited for the data or not- EVERYTHING you get should be corroborated by some form of supporting evidence where possible, otherwise there will always be a question mark next to it.  I’m not saying that you should leverage several resources for the same piece of data and if the whole crowd says the same thing that it must be true; that’s faulty thinking since a lot of the resources out there have largely the same data (history doesn’t change that much over time).  I’m saying that more than one type of record is necessary to fully represent someone.  We are more than our medical records, the census, our marriage licenses, our army service, our death certificate.  We are everything that happened in between these documents and the documents are the breadcrumbs we leave behind; we are more than a single moment in our lives. These documents can corroborate each other, validate each other…OR they can sometimes serve to debunk each other and ultimately help us get to the real truth, whatever that is.  This is accomplished either way by the data within that overlaps.  Census data holds marriage and offspring info, as well as some location and occupational data.  Marriage records contain some parentage info as well as location.  Death Certificates and obits list survivors, some location data, possibly occupational, cause of death, etc…all of these things are dated, so you can get a sense of the time span.   If you know your uncle Henry Thompson married Selma Smith on Oct 22, 1823 in New Orleans, then you can bet it’s not the same Henry Thompson, husband to Selma [Smith] that died in a fire on July 18, 1814 in any town.

The biggest thing about online research is this:  travelling to every archive office and poring through hundreds of records takes a LOT of time and a LOT of money- both in travel AND in the actual poring.  Doing your preliminary research online can save you a lot of both and help you to pinpoint the right offices to visit for your specific needs. It is so much easier to order a copy of the record from the county to verify the data when you know the names and dates and I’ll bet the county personnel appreciate it too!

Most people out there have occupations, kids, social lives, etc- and can’t afford to go traipsing around the country (or world for that matter) on a wild goose chase for information.  Online research helps to justify that travel, to make it worth while and efficient.  It’s a lot easier to find what you’re looking for when you already know what it is.

 NEXT ISSUE: LEVERAGING SOCIAL NETWORKING AS A VIABLE RESOURCE

Some great resources for online research:

Free Genealogy Marriage Records; US, UK, CA www.genwed.com

National Archives http://www.archives.gov/

LDS Records Search www.FamilySearch.org

Census Records http://www.censusfinder.com

More Resources http://www.genwed.com/links_page.htm 

 

 

In light of the recent ‘debate’ regarding the legitimacy of various web resources for genealogy research (especially blogs and personal genea-sites, but I won’t name names), and my own ponderings as to how one would ascertain whether that Sally Wilkins you’ve been chasing is actually the SAME Sally Wilkins that married your great great uncle Henry Jones in Chicago back in 1910 (or even whether that Henry and Sally are the CORRECT Henry and Sally in the first place) …I thought that it was time I added my contribution of thought to the topic.

As someone who has a stake in the success of a free online resource for genealogy research (who offers user contributed records), one who blogs, participates in online groups and discussions and leverages social media to this end, I certainly have a bias toward utilizing those types of services. As someone who studied science and journalism (yes, it’s an odd combo I know) in college I also understand how important it is to corrobrate evidence with multiple sources if any certainty is to be acheived, if any REAL progress is to be made. Because of this and other experience I have ammassed over this varied and strange life so far, I believe I am uniquely positioned to offer something of value to this discussion. And so I offer you the upcoming Series: GeneaWEB2.0: Leveraging Online Resources For Meaningful Genealogy Research.

Topics of this series will include things like source citations, expectations and pitfalls, social media as a potential tool, and so on. My hope with this is (as always) to provide you a springboard from which to dive in to your research- with fresh perspective, ivigoration, and possibly even some wisdom (whether completely new or simply reminded). As always, your perspective is helpful and wanted, so please add your comments questions and suggestions as well.

The first issue of this series will be posted soon. If you would like notification you can subscribe to our RSS feed, follow our twitterings or various other micro-blogs, or any number of the other options in the sidebar to the right of this blog.

Happy Hunting!

Kat