I wanted to comment on how technology has helped genealogists in the last couple of years. Web 2.0 has opened a lot of doors in terms of sharing and learning about family history.
One of my favorite discoveries has been Root Television,www.rootstelevision.com, which is the brainchild of Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, a truly remarkable genealogist. Basically this is genealogy on demand 24/7. Just about everything is available. There are films from conferences, the PBS Ancestry series, special topics such as military records and digitizing photos, connections to various blogs, and RootsTube which is like a YouTube for genelaogists.
It's easy to use, just take a look at Megan's intro and you'll be able to navigate anywhere. I would caution you that it's addictive, so when you log on, plan to spend some time.
The other thing I wanted to mention was the use of social networking sites to help share family history data. I recently set up a Facebook account so I could join a group which helps coroners search for the families of individuals whose bodies had gone unclaimed. We search online sources for possible relatives and then report them to the group. Each case has an administrator who oversees the collection of the info and who then contacts the coroner with the results. A number of cases have been solved and it looks like more coroners and medical examiners are asking for help. Each member is emailed when a new case comes up. We're given what information the coroner was able to gather and we go from there.
This type of searching really sharpens your skills as a researcher and it's nice to know that even the 'unclaimed' have families who might be wondering where they are.
I also love the fact that some of my nieces and nephews have found me and asked to be my friend. It's be a great way to keep in touch and get updated pictures. Another plus was having an old schoolmate find me. We were able to catch up on several decades worth of news about ourselves and again, share pictures.
That's all for now.
Rayma
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6 comments:
I agree -- technology and computers have opened up the field of genealogy like nothing else. I look back at my genealogy efforts before the Internet and Ancestry.com came along and am amazed how much these resources have helped me. For example, a cousin of mine just sent CDs to every member of my family to share her life's research efforts. She prefaced her letter by saying, "I hope that you are all computer-savvy enough to view this ..." I am so thankful that I can say that I am! The treasure trove of information she had collected was wonderful -- and I have information that she does not, so the sharing continues via e-mail. Hooray for technology!
That sounds like a really interesting group in Facebook. Do you know what the official name of the group is?
Great post! I had no idea those resources were out there and look forward to checking them out.
Very interesting post! We are so happy to have you here with us.
WOW! All of the applications are just overwhelming -- thanks for the information.
Technology has really changed how you search for your family's history. I wouldn't have found near as much information as I have without technology. On the negative side, I've heard that some people/organizations are relucant to share information because of fear of identity theft.
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