Social Networking and Genealogy

Marian PressBIFHSGO March 12, 2011

What is Social Networking?

• “Interaction between a group of people who share a common interest.” (Wictionary)

• Different kinds of social networking online, some using new web technologies– some non-genealogical but used by genealogists– some developed specifically with genealogists in

mind

Why Social Network?

• Anything that helps build more family history contacts good

• Genealogists “do” collaboration well• Social networking isn’t new– Earlier form – mailing lists and message boards• Rootsweb mailing lists; Ancestry message boards

– Still active, still useful– Have been enhanced by modern technology: e.g.,

Google searches posts on message boards

What Will Be Discussed Today

• Blogs and wikis• Social networking sites genealogists can take

advantage of– Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious

• Traditional genealogy sites that have added social networking features– Ancestry, Footnote, Genes Reunited, Lost Cousins,

FamilyRelatives.com, FamilySearch.org• Social Networking Sites Designed for Genealogists– GenealogyWise, Geni.com, WikiTree

The Technology Around Social Networking

• Web 2.0: Second generation of the web • Collaborative, dynamic, open, social, content

created by users• Tags - keyword(s) describing photos, etc.• RSS - lets you know when a web page is

updated

Flickr – Photo Sharinghttp://www.flickr.com/

• Photosharing - just what it sounds like• Individuals and organizations share photos– e.g, National Library of Scotland

• Photos can be made public or private• Can add “tags” to help others find your

content and contact you• Find pictures of ancestral villages, churches,

etc.• Very effective photo back-up system

Social Bookmarking

• Delicious (www.delicious.com)– store & share your favourite web bookmarks– find others bookmarking similar sites

• GenealoGee.com (www.genealogee.com)– share blog posts, articles and news– genealogy and family history specific

Blogs

• Probably the most well known and most used by genealogists

• Chronologically-arranged web pages• Genealogists use for news/updates and

sharing family research• Easy to read: Google Reader, iGoogle,

Bloglines• Easy to build: Blogger• Easy to find: Genealogy Blog Finder

Building Your Own Family Blog

• Very easy to do using a site like Blogger– www.blogger.com

• Think of a blog as possible substitute for web site

• Don’t have to wait till your family research is complete to build it

• Very useful way to keep family up-to-date on what you are doing

Twitter: www.twitter.com

• A free social networking and micro-blogging service • Exchange quick, frequent messages called “tweets” • 140 characters maximum• “Tweet” can be used to advertise and lead to a blog

posting, archives’ activities, etc.• Can search for a word being tweeted –use a hash

tag (#) for real relevance• Genealogists, archives, and libraries are here– Recently much tweeting from Rootstech 2011

Wikis

• A web site that allows users to add and edit content collectively

• Wiki is the Hawaiian word for “fast”• Can create you own wiki or contribute to an

established wiki• If you don’t like anyone changing/editing your

work, maybe not for you!

Types of Wikis

• Informational wikis– general subject wikis – like Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org

– general genealogical wikis– subject/society wikis

• GEDCOM wikis• Personal family wikis

Genealogy Wikis

• wiki.familysearch.org• yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk

WeRelate Wiki:www.werelate.org

• Sponsored by Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc. and Allen County Public Library

• Uses wiki technology to build collaborative family trees

• Can build a page for each ancestor• Can create profile, upload GEDCOMs• A wiki page built for each family member and a

family page for each family• Need an account to Edit pages

Wikitree: www.wikitree.com

• Begun in 2008 by Chris Whitten (creator of WikiAnswers)

• Very similar to WeRelate• Wiki page created for each person• Need to get permission from “profile

manager” for each person to make changes• Theory is to have one wiki profile page for

each ancestor in the world

“Hard-Core” Social Networking

• Facebook (www.facebook.com)• Genealogywise (www.genealogywise.com)– new specialized genealogy social networking site,

recently purchased by National Institute for Genealogical Studies

Facebookwww. facebook.com

• A social networking site – 585 million users• High rate of Canadian participation• U.K. second highest users after U.S.• Genealogy really taking off in Facebook– family tree applications– genealogy society and interest groups– library groups and catalogue applications– can look for unusual surnames

Social/Collaborative Tree Building

• Allow groups to build trees together• Searchable so others can find you• Some emphasize tree building; some

collaboration and networking• Have privacy controls• Numbers of different sites growing fast• Advertise huge numbers of trees/individuals• Most still in “beta” – many have shut down• Very U.S. centric to date

Collaborative Tree Sites

• www.geni.com• www.treex.com• www.genetree.com• www.arcalife.com

Traditional Genealogy Sites with Social Networking Features

• Most successful so far are the “hubs” or “magnets” for genealogists

• Databases and other records provide added value

• Are rapidly adding networking features for family trees and for records

• Ancestry, Footnote, GenesReunited, etc.

Finding Out More