Social Media and Building Your Genealogy Network
Reviewing Social Media Options
There are are variety of social media networks, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
My favorite is Facebook. It seems people either love it or hate it. Well, I’m one who loves it. I admit, I don’t post often, nor do I put out a lot of information about myself, but I have a morning routine to check my email and Facebook. I look to see what’s happening with my friends and family. It’s interesting to see what they are doing and get pictures I would have missed otherwise.
Over the last couple of years, I have used Facebook for genealogy. I read the posts and try to contribute when I can. I have learned a lot through these groups and in fact this is where I learned about Thomas MacEntee’s Genealogy Do-Over.
Thomas provided us with a list of resources, including over 4500 links to various pages and groups on Facebook covering almost every aspect of genealogy and family history. I’ve placed these in my Research Toolbox under Social Media. Thank You, Thomas!
Building a Research Network
I guess I have a ‘baby network’ since I have a few family members I’ve reached out to that are interested in Genealogy. But I think here, Thomas is talking about reaching out to other genealogists…not just to get help but to also to give.
I have set up this blog in order to share my family stories and share what I’ve learned doing the research. I guess that is a good first step. Thomas mentioned using LinkedIn to seek out other genealogists and people with similar interests. You can add skills, publications and even articles and then make connections with other users. My LinkedIn network is pretty old, mostly people from my old Corporate America days. After reviewing Thomas’ tips, I resurrected my old LinkedIn account and updated it.
The Genealogy Do-Over journey is a 13 week challenge from Thomas MacEntee, of GeneaBloggers.