Social Media in Genealogy & Family History cannot be ignored. How can Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Blogs be used for Genealogy Groups & personal Family History Research ? What are the first steps in using these tools ?

1. Hitching a Ride
in Old& New Lands
in theGenealogy World -
on the Social Media Express
@SteelyGenes aka KerrieAnne Christian

2. Seeking Wisdom - in Ancient Greece, people came
to the Oracle at Delphi ....
However
the Oracle
often
seemed
to speak
Delphi
Greece
in
Riddles
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3. Stories & Information
From traditional Oral Story telling
->Rock art
-> Hieroglyphics on Stone & Papyrus
->Books, Newspapers & Magazines
-> Libraries
-> Microfiche -> Digital information on
Computers
->Web
-> iPads, Tablets & Smartphones
-> Social Media
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What about information located outside traditional
tools? Ignore social media tools & end up like the
Alexandrian Library ?
Part
of
another
Ancient
Library
in
Alexandria
Egypt

5. Trove – old newspapers digitised
You can
• search for old stories .. plus ...
• “tag” or “label” the stories
• create lists of stories on common topics
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7. Searching for “Dardanelles” in May 1915
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8. Can “tag” or “label” items eg WW1
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9. Examples of items in a “list” in Trove
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10. Family History Information Sources : So many changes !
Our Ideal : No Surprises – Our Reality = Tsunami Surfing

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12. Social Media Express – which carriage to hop in ?
“It’s all
Greek
to me”
-
Athens
Metro
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13. Social Media Express – which carriage to hop in ?
Facebook - LinkedIn like Facebook for Professionals –Google + - our new “Groups” ?
YouTube - Instagram – Flickr - Picasa we share video clips & photos
On-line Trees - Ancestry – Find My Past
Google Drive – OneDrive - DropBox – Box.net – files can be shared too
Trove Newspapers – search, read & tag
Blogs I share - you comment & we share
Twitter - microblogging
Wikis – Wikitree we contribute
Slideshare we share powerpoints on-line
Diigo – Delic.ious we share favourites- bookmarks
RSS
Cloud
Computing
Email, Email Lists, Web pages
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14. Baulking at hopping on the Social Media Express (SME) ...
Is to Decide ...
• more than just not keeping
with Genealogy information
trends
• others are opting to ride ahead
on the Genealogy Social Media
Express, with or without the
traditional Family History groups
• they become the “new experts”
via the new “social media” tools
• to risk losing membership in
traditional Family History groups
Or Not ...
The Fat Controller

15. Facebook & Google + :
Are they the new Genealogy-Family History Groups ?
Breaking-Rewriting the Rules & Conventions ?
Washing
in
Shanghai
Contrary
to sign on
power pole
prohibiting
it hanging
outside
Windows

16. So do you only stick with what you know?
Journals
Paper Documents
Books
Face to Face only
Email
Internet
Phone Calls
“Snail “Mail
Icecreams
at
Shanghai
McDonalds
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17. Or do you want to move outside your comfort zone?
Taking
Tea
at
Summer
Palace
Beijing
17

18. Social Media : Who to follow ?
You can’t take all roads – how to choose ?
Taking
a breather
from
Shanghai’s
Traffic
18

19. Social Media - Better to play it safe ?
Outside
Summer
Palace
Beijing
19

20. Should you follow “Brands” aka – Genea gurus ?
Jean
Paul
Gaultier -
Shanghai
20

21. It’s like choosing Turkish Delight in the Egyptian
Spice Bazaar, Istanbul –follow the experts !
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22. Follow Genea gurus via their Blogs ?
Are blogs useful ?
- self indulgent hot air … or helpful information ?
Many Experts are generously sharing
….. their knowledge & insights via their blogs
22

23. Why have a family history website ?
• Can’t you just connect up with people in
Ancestry, Find My Past etc or on-line family
history forums eg GENANZ ?
• Not everyone uses Ancestry or Find My Past
etc
• Not everyone belongs to or wants to join on-line
history forums
• Many people just want to “Google it”
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25. Should I set up a Family History Website – Blog (s) ?
• Kerrie Anne sets up a Hicks site (mother’s side) & a Waters
site (father’s side) for her families
• Nancy C finds Hicks site - Steve S, Alicia G & Michelle M find
Waters site – connect with Kerrie Anne – share stories-photos
• Nancy plans Last Post Ceremonies at AWM – Kerrie Anne
contacts Steve who lives near Bomana PNG & he photographs
military graves of Nancy’s uncles killed in Buna & Gona in WW2
• Alicia’s grandfather still lives in Collarenabri where her Waters
ancestors (also Kerrie’s, Michelle’s & Steve’s) came from
• Alicia offers to have her family in “Colly” look after Steve on
hearing he plans to visit there in October 2014
• Michelle M shares 19th C photos of Charles & Mary Waters with
Kerrie Anne – who posts them to Waters Family Web site
Giving & receiving !
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26. Photos shared - contact only able to be facilitated by Family Web sites
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So many
stories
like this
in my
families !
Hicks Family WWII Graves in Bomana PNG Waters family photos

27. What should I use for a family history website - blog?
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Blogspot – Blogger vs Wordpress
- two of the most common
I use both
Blogspot – Blogger is probably simpler
Wordpress has more “bells & whistles”
with more choices for photos eg slideshows
Both offer blog posts & “old style” web pages
I prefer Wordpress
for Family History Web sites

28. Getting started with Blogspot - Blogger
28

29. Getting Started with Wordpress
29

30. How do I get started on setting up a family history website ?
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•Have a look at some other blogs on the same topic
•Decide the title of your blog- is it available
Choose what sort you will use – ie
Blogspot – Blogger , Wordpress – you will need an email
account, password, logon name
• Choose the template or theme & features or widgets
•Select the layout and theme images for your blog
•Decide on the settings – eg can others comment and will you
moderate comments before they appear
•Think about the structure of your blog – decide on what will
be your home page - look at other blogs to get some ideas
•Learn how to do hyperlinks if you don’t already know how
•Make sure you have some good images for your blog
•Try to avoid too much text – break it up with white space &
images
•Have a go & experiment

31. Hicks – My First Family Website
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32. Can Google + be used for Family History ?
• Yes – Australian Genealogical gurus like retired
librarian Jill Ball regularly do Google+ Hangouts
• What are Google + “Circles” & “Communities “?
• Google + Circles & Communities are both groups
• What are Google + Hangouts ?
• On line chat sessions where you can hear and see
each other
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33. Example : Stream on Google +
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34. How do I set up Google + ?
• Set up a Google account if you don’t already
have one ie go to Google Account setup site &
fill in the details
• You can use your Google account for Gmail,
Google +, Blogspot, Google Drive & lots more
• Once your Google account is set up & you are
logged in you can go to Google Plus (Google +) –
and there is your Google + account ready to go
• Learn more about Google + - photos, circles,
hangouts, communities
• Start experimenting
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37. Manage Google + Circles
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38. Facebook can work for you
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39. Facebook – a huge no. of Genealogy & History Groups
• Australian Family History & Genealogy
• Australian History Research
• Bega Pioneers Museum
• Black Diamond Heritage Centre Bulli
• Cairns & District Family History Society
• Cairns Historical Society
• Early Colonial History NSW Norfolk
Island Tasmania
• Family History Month Australia
• First and Second Fleet Memorial
Gardens – Wallabadah near Tamworth
• First Fleet – Peter Hibbs Mary Pardoe
– Norfolk Hawkesbury
• First Fleet – John Small Mary Parker
Descendants
• First Fleet 1788 Researchers
• First Fleeters
• Fromelles Descendants Database
• Gallipoli Association
• Genealogy – My Ancestors Came to
Australia
• Hawkesbury Family History Group
• Illawarra Family History Group
• Irish Genealogy – Genealogical Soc of
Ireland
• Ireland Genealogy Projects
• Ku-ring-gai Historical Society
• Lismore Heritage Centre
• McCosker Families
• Moruya and District Historical Society
• Murwillumbah Historical Society
• Richmond River Historical Society
• Richmond Tweed Family History
Society
• Singleton Museum
• Wollongong Pioneer Families
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40. Setting up a Facebook History – Genealogy group ?
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1. You need Facebook account
2. Choose a Group Name & Group Administrators
3. Decide if it will be a Closed Group or Open Group
4. Think about how the Group will operate – what is acceptable & not
acceptable in the Group – how will you manage this – eg Spammers ?
5. You will need photos and stories for posts – will there be photo albums ?
6. Go to Groups on Facebook & Click on Create a Group – complete the
form and follow the prompts

41. Lost Wollongong Group on FB has 12,000 members
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42. Twitter : Seeking “WISDOM” from 140 character messages?
Do you think Twitter will last ?
I don’t know
– I’m using it now
because it connects me
with Family History – Genealogy gurus
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43. How do I set up a Twitter account ?
Go to Twitter and create an account – you need an email address first - create
a logon name & password
Go to Twitter Help Page for info on writing tweets & hashtags, favourites, re-tweeting,
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shortening hyperlinks, etc – remember you have only 140 characters

44. What a Tweet looks like
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45. What your Twitter feed looks like
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46. Your own Tweets Stream looks like
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47. Finding the Genea Gurus-Word of mouth....
• Jill Ball
• Shauna Hicks
• Trove
• Cyndi’s List
• Inside History
• QS Archives – State Records NSW
• Illawarra Family History Group
• Liz Pidgeon
• Thomas MacEntee
• Royal Australian Historical Society
• State Library of NSW
• Alona Tester
• Helen V Smith
• Kiama Family History Centre
• Ku-ring-gai Historical Society
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48. Twitter-who are you really connecting with ?
Making up
before the
Peking
Opera
48

49. Social Media Overload -
Sometimes you can get too much of a good thing ...
June 2007
deluge
- breaks
the drought …
Lake Macquarie
Newcastle
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50. Overloaded on social media express
– need to capture the whole &/or tag the details?
Terracotta Warriors
Xian - China
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Keep focused on your research goals

51. Unexpected distractions in social media keep coming ...
Still trying to get to the Pyramids – trying to escape Cairo traffic
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Keep
focused on
your
research
goals

52. Persist with your research goals - it’s worthwhile
Finally - the Pyramids by Camel – Cairo in the distance
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Keep
focused on
your family
history
research
goals

53. Sometimes you still need to ride on that old steam
train – even in the Social Media Express Era !
The Fat Controller
We still need to respect & utilise
the old sources of print
information & hard copy records -
even if they are not on-line

54. there are risks in using paper & social media for Genealogy research
– it’s how we manage it that matters
- have a back up plan
Paper records can burn
Social media sites can disappear (Posterous, Googlereader)
Computer records can be corrupted

55. Utilise social media Genealogy tools to reach your research goals
& may be even achieve more than you ever expected
Achieving
Something
Undreamt of
-Walking
On the
Great Wall
Of China
Near
Beijing
or finding
photos & stories
of your great
grandparents
or even
your great great
grandparents
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56. Stories & Information
From traditional Oral Story telling
->Books, Newspapers & Magazines
-> Libraries
-> Microfiche -> Digital information on
Computers
->Web
-> Social Media
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