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Blogs, Posts, Apps, Tweets and Tools

Technology has given genealogists many new ways to connect with others and to find information. Genealogy friendly social networking sites have tools for keeping families and genealogists connected. Be warned, however, that not everything on the internet is true -- and that some of the "experts" out there might not know as much as you do. Beyond that, some of the information you need will only be found the old-fashioned way: Slogging through paper files, winding through microfilms, or chatting with relatives. Here are a dozen technological tools that are just perfect for genealogy: 1. Genealogy blogs (just a taste; there are thousands of them) These can be a great source of news about new resources, or about new discoveries, or just opinions about family history research. Browse at your leisure, or subscribe, or search many at one time using Google Reader. Family Tree Magazine's 40 Best Genealogy Blogs Genealogy Blog Finder Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter -- Dick Eastman Genealogy Canada -- Elizabeth Lapointe Brenda Dougall Merriman CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' -- M. Diane Rogers Olive Tree Genealogy Blog -- Lorine McGinnis Schulze Anglo-Celtic Connections -- John D. Reid Ancestral Notes -- EJ Bradt Janet the Researcher -- Janet Iles Community Heritage and Family History -- Calgary Public Library The AncestrySearch Insider -- Dealing with Ancestry and FamilySearch Genealogy blog -- Leland Meitzler Think Genealogy -- Mark Tucker Steve's Genealogy Blog -- Stephen Danko Dear Myrtle -- Pat Richley-Erickson GeneaBloggers -- Thomas MacEntee Librarians Helping Canadian Genealogists Climb Family Trees -- Elise C. Cole Ancestry.com blog -- Hosted by Ancestry Kimberly's genealogy blog -- Kimberly Powell Genetic Genealogist -- Blaine Bettinger Shades of the Departed -- online genealogy magazine A tool: Google Reader -- Aggregator helps you read all of your blogs of interest in one spot Another tool: FeedReader -- Another way to read blogs in one spot 2. Genealogy in the news Often, neat discoveries, new resources, conferences and the like will make the news, at least somewhere. These pages are based on an handy Google News aggregator. Newspaper reports from Canada Newspaper reports from the United Kingdom Newspaper reports from the United States 3. Social networking Find cousins, find people working on your areas, share gossip, find out that some relative you don't really care about enjoys her morning java. Facebook -- The most important social networking site LinkedIn -- Great place for making connections Twitter -- All the news that fits (in 140 characters or less) Genealogy Wise -- Similar to Facebook, but devoted to genealogy Story of My Life -- Free space to preserve the family story More about social networking sites Social networking on Cyndi's List Social media and genealogy Facebook page about social media and genealogy 4. Networking with a genealogical twist Several sites will help you share information and ideas with others. Check to see if other family members have posted something you can use. Ancestry.ca -- Along with thousands of resources, you can create a family tree Geni.com -- Create a family tree and invite others to get involved Family Link -- Part of World Vital Records; share your material with others MyHeritage -- With many powerful family-building features WeRelate -- Free public service genealogy Wiki, with collaboration by all Famiva -- Collaborative family tree GeneTree -- Sharing with a focus on DNA 5. Apps for mobile devices Watch for genealogy apps such as Ancestry and Find My Past. But don't be afraid to consider less obvious apps, such as Evernote (for taking notes) and even the ones that help you find where you parked your car. Mobile Genealogy Specific platforms on Mobile Genealogy: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad ¦ Google Android ¦ Windows Mobile Palm/PalmOS/Palm webOS ¦ Podcasts ¦ Kindle ¦ Other Platforms Mentioned in Dave's presentation: Ancestry, Fibndmypast, Gedview, Genealogy Gems, Skype, Weather Network, Google Maps, Germany atlas, Car Parked Where?, Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. Search the app store for these 6. Genealogy and geography You can't do proper research without knowing where places are. And you might need to go to some of these places as well. Google Maps -- Look for places, plot routes Top five navigation systems -- From CNET Via Michelin -- Maps, route planner, route finder and more 7. Tools for genealogy There are a variety of sources, but there is one site that you should alwasy check first. Google -- Use it for translations, for finding old books, for discovering about local areas, and much more Skype -- For cheap communication around the world 8. Genealogy in the cloud Strictly speaking, cloud computing is designed to help businesses by providing offsite computing power and storage space -- but genealogists can take advantage of the theory as well. "The cloud" can make it easy to share your work with others, and also to back up your research. Google -- It's much more than just a search engine! Use it for mail, for sharing documents, for sharing photographs, for storage and so on Skydrive -- Windows Live Skydrive Dropbox -- For easy backups and transfers 9. Searchin', searchin', gotta keep searchin' Google is the most popular search engine, but there are others. Ask (Teoma) ¦ Bing ¦ Gigablast ¦ Lycos ¦ Mocavo ¦ Snap ¦ Yahoo! 10. Genealogy podcasts Listen on your iPod, your MP3 player or your computer. Genealogy Guys -- Drew Smith and George Morgan Genealogy Gems -- Lisa Louse Cooke Family Tree Magazine -- monthly podcasts List of Podcasts -- on Cyndi's List List of Podcasts -- on About.com 11. Genealogy television Watch. Listen. Learn. YouTube -- Look for relatives, ancestral areas YouTube FamilySearch channel -- From FamilySearch, naturally Video highlights from Rootstech -- The major tech conference in Salt Lake City in February Who Do You Think You Are? -- Episodes from the NBC series Roots Television -- A variety of videos about genealogy Ancestry Learning Center -- videos, articles and more Legacy Family Tree video training -- Make better use of the software Legacy Family Tree webinars -- Check back often; many of these are live for only a short time 12. Gone, but not forgotten Ever wish you could find a site you used years ago? Internet Archive Wayback Machine -- To recover files from old sites And as an added bonus, some humour The Onion reveals the truth about Facebook! Updates? Corrections? Better examples? Send an e-mail to Dave Updated May 7, 2011