52 Weeks to Better Genealogy - Week 18 Social Media

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy

Social Media for Genealogists and Genealogy Societies

Last week I was introduced to BLOGTALKRADIO, my friend and mentor Thomas MacEntee has put together several genealogy programs that are available via Blog Talk Radio, and GoToMeeting Webinars.  Available programs are listed on the calendar available through the GeneaWebinars site.

Thomas is literally changing the way genealogy societies and family history researchers do business!  Genealogy has some very ‘cool’ techie tools that are making genealogy appeal more to the technology driven younger generation. FACEBOOK, TWITTER, BLOGS, LINKEDIN, Blog Talk Radio, GoTo Meeting Webinars, Dropbox, WEEBLY,and NOOK just to name a few, are changing the ways genealogists and genealogy societies do research and interact with each other.  There is even a SECOND LIFE Chapter for the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), as well as an entire area of SECOND LIFE known as ‘Just Genealogy’.

While Thomas applied this lesson to genealogy societies, look at these ideas in terms of your family.  Have you thought about a Facebook page for your Family Reunion Association?  My family has a “Harry Ketchem Smith Family” Facebook Page, we are posting old family pictures, updating a family members spread sheet, providing links to our family trees on Ancestry, etc. There are many ways to convert this information from the society level to the individual level.

The availability of Social Media and Social Networking is quickly changing the landscape of what we have always known as being traditional genealogy interactions.  The advancement of social networking and social media within the genealogy setting is opening up  lots of new doors, to a new generation of genealogy enthusiasts. 

Start networking with other local genealogists on the Brown County Genealogical Society Facebook page, and look for new ways to connect with others who share your passion for genealogy and family history.