Wednesday, August 12, 2009
We are going to Spokane--Are you coming too?
Miriam Midkiff posted a vendor spotlight about us on the Eastern Washington Genealogy Society Blog today. We are really looking forward to Spokane. Are you coming too? Be sure to bring your file so we can print it out for you.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Genealogy Companies on Twitter.
Just in case you haven't seen it, here is a great list by Tamura Jones on genealogy companies who are listed on twitter. Some of these companies are putting out really helpful stuff.
Genealogy Companies on Twitter
Genealogy Companies on Twitter
Monday, August 10, 2009
Is tweeting a conference lecture a copyright violation?
An interesting discussion has been going on the last couple of days over on the Association for Professional Genealogists list. Someone asked if tweeting a lecture was a violation of copyright. http://su.pr/19VzBH
As is common on the APG list, a great discussion ensued. As a lecturer who was "tweeted" by an audience member at the conference in question, and an audience member who "tweeted" another lecture, I have three ideas to share on the subject.
My lecture "Basic Research Practices in the age of New FamilySearch" was tweeted by Ancestry Insider and then posted to his blog. My tweets and those of Ancestry Insider concerning Mark Tucker's lecture were posted to my blog. (And I'm sure glad I asked AI if I could repost our tweets together--now *that* would have been copyright infringement :-)
Idea #1)
I believe it was Elizabeth Mills' comment on the APG list that mentioned that it is hard for a lecturer to respond sufficiently to a twitterer's comments in this fast paced world. There were some comments that I would have liked to have made about Ancestry Insider's review of my lecture. My concern is that I can not--in today's incredibly fast world--respond sufficiently. By the time I was even aware that AI had tweeted my lecture, the tweets had already come and gone in most people's readers. Those who have read his blog post about the lecture won't be returning to read the comments. In order to respond effectively, a lecturer would have to spend 24 hours a day tracking what had been said and be able to respond immediately. Likewise, different people read Ancestry Insider's work than read mine. So most likely, those people will not see my response here. And many of them would not know if I commented on twitter even if my response had been immediate because they may follow Ancestry Insider but not me.
I suppose I have more opportunity to respond than I do if a newspaper reporter published their take on my lecture. But what if the issue I wanted to comment on had been a major one?
Idea #2)
AI says in his tweets that the wifi went out in the conference center during the talk and he missed tweeting a good portion of the end of the talk. (It looks to me like he missed about the last 1/2 of the lecture.) In my humble opinion (take that for what it is worth), he missed tweeting some of the main points--A)Part way into the lecture, and especially at the end, I strongly asserted that the problems with sources that I was talking about in New FamilySearch were being addressed by the developers and that I believe the database will become a fantastic resource in the future. B)The whole point of the lecture was that we--the users--are responsible for how useful this database will become in how we deal with sources there. and C)I highly recommended using the certified software to keep track of your sources while we wait for sourcing issues to get better in New FamilySearch. I think those things came across in the lecture. I'm not so sure they did in the tweets. That's ok. I later talked with someone who had to leave after the first 20 minutes. He didn't get the main point either. But he wasn't broadcasting that to the world. And Ancestry Insider certainly wasn't treading on my Intellectual Property if he didn't get the main points. What he did was report his take on my lecture--not record what actually happened. And that would be true of another twitterer if they had missed those points, or misconstrued my points accidentally or intentionally.
I suppose I could get all worried or excited about what people think of me or my lecture based on those tweets. I might worry that future conference organizers may base an opinion about my lecturing skills on a twitter report. But couldn't they do that on word of mouth or a newspaper or blog report? I appreciate that AI liked my lecture. But I shouldn't be crushed if he didn't--I agree with the APG list that tweets should be seen as constructive criticism and used to produce a better lecture. Based on AI's tweets (and our conversations at the conference), there is a slide that slipped through my review process that I need to fix. He caught it and I appreciate that. Anyone who is going to be terribly worried about what everyone thinks should get out of the lecturing business all together and stay away from any kind of public life. People will always have opinions about what you do or say. Those opinions can be expressed alot of different ways, and twitter is just one of them.
Idea #3)
By no means do I feel like my tweets of Mark Tucker's lecture, or even my tweets and Ancestry Insider's together, would violate Mark's intellectual property. If/when he ever gives that lecture again, I would highly recommend that you go. It was a fantastic lecture. I didn't even begin to scratch the surface of his good examples, and great stories, and the readers on twitter certainly missed his fantastic visuals and engaging personality. In tweeting the lecture, I think Ancestry Insider and I were simply trying to spread the wealth--reporting on the fantastic opportunity of being in a good class. But really, you should try it yourself. And as you can see above, I don't feel like the tweets of my class began to scratch the surface of my class either. It was simply an audience member's review of my class. You really should come the next time I give it.
Overall, I'm flattered to have been tweeted by such an illustrious blogger as Ancestry Insider. It gives me a broader reach for a topic I care about. I think that only a person who wasn't there would feel like a tweeted lecture was copyright infringement. If you were there, you would know how much more comprehensive the lectures were. I think tweeters are just trying to share the experience they are having. And if that eventually entices more people to come to these great genealogy conferences or learn more from these great speakers then so much the better.
As is common on the APG list, a great discussion ensued. As a lecturer who was "tweeted" by an audience member at the conference in question, and an audience member who "tweeted" another lecture, I have three ideas to share on the subject.
My lecture "Basic Research Practices in the age of New FamilySearch" was tweeted by Ancestry Insider and then posted to his blog. My tweets and those of Ancestry Insider concerning Mark Tucker's lecture were posted to my blog. (And I'm sure glad I asked AI if I could repost our tweets together--now *that* would have been copyright infringement :-)
Idea #1)
I believe it was Elizabeth Mills' comment on the APG list that mentioned that it is hard for a lecturer to respond sufficiently to a twitterer's comments in this fast paced world. There were some comments that I would have liked to have made about Ancestry Insider's review of my lecture. My concern is that I can not--in today's incredibly fast world--respond sufficiently. By the time I was even aware that AI had tweeted my lecture, the tweets had already come and gone in most people's readers. Those who have read his blog post about the lecture won't be returning to read the comments. In order to respond effectively, a lecturer would have to spend 24 hours a day tracking what had been said and be able to respond immediately. Likewise, different people read Ancestry Insider's work than read mine. So most likely, those people will not see my response here. And many of them would not know if I commented on twitter even if my response had been immediate because they may follow Ancestry Insider but not me.
I suppose I have more opportunity to respond than I do if a newspaper reporter published their take on my lecture. But what if the issue I wanted to comment on had been a major one?
Idea #2)
AI says in his tweets that the wifi went out in the conference center during the talk and he missed tweeting a good portion of the end of the talk. (It looks to me like he missed about the last 1/2 of the lecture.) In my humble opinion (take that for what it is worth), he missed tweeting some of the main points--A)Part way into the lecture, and especially at the end, I strongly asserted that the problems with sources that I was talking about in New FamilySearch were being addressed by the developers and that I believe the database will become a fantastic resource in the future. B)The whole point of the lecture was that we--the users--are responsible for how useful this database will become in how we deal with sources there. and C)I highly recommended using the certified software to keep track of your sources while we wait for sourcing issues to get better in New FamilySearch. I think those things came across in the lecture. I'm not so sure they did in the tweets. That's ok. I later talked with someone who had to leave after the first 20 minutes. He didn't get the main point either. But he wasn't broadcasting that to the world. And Ancestry Insider certainly wasn't treading on my Intellectual Property if he didn't get the main points. What he did was report his take on my lecture--not record what actually happened. And that would be true of another twitterer if they had missed those points, or misconstrued my points accidentally or intentionally.
I suppose I could get all worried or excited about what people think of me or my lecture based on those tweets. I might worry that future conference organizers may base an opinion about my lecturing skills on a twitter report. But couldn't they do that on word of mouth or a newspaper or blog report? I appreciate that AI liked my lecture. But I shouldn't be crushed if he didn't--I agree with the APG list that tweets should be seen as constructive criticism and used to produce a better lecture. Based on AI's tweets (and our conversations at the conference), there is a slide that slipped through my review process that I need to fix. He caught it and I appreciate that. Anyone who is going to be terribly worried about what everyone thinks should get out of the lecturing business all together and stay away from any kind of public life. People will always have opinions about what you do or say. Those opinions can be expressed alot of different ways, and twitter is just one of them.
Idea #3)
By no means do I feel like my tweets of Mark Tucker's lecture, or even my tweets and Ancestry Insider's together, would violate Mark's intellectual property. If/when he ever gives that lecture again, I would highly recommend that you go. It was a fantastic lecture. I didn't even begin to scratch the surface of his good examples, and great stories, and the readers on twitter certainly missed his fantastic visuals and engaging personality. In tweeting the lecture, I think Ancestry Insider and I were simply trying to spread the wealth--reporting on the fantastic opportunity of being in a good class. But really, you should try it yourself. And as you can see above, I don't feel like the tweets of my class began to scratch the surface of my class either. It was simply an audience member's review of my class. You really should come the next time I give it.
Overall, I'm flattered to have been tweeted by such an illustrious blogger as Ancestry Insider. It gives me a broader reach for a topic I care about. I think that only a person who wasn't there would feel like a tweeted lecture was copyright infringement. If you were there, you would know how much more comprehensive the lectures were. I think tweeters are just trying to share the experience they are having. And if that eventually entices more people to come to these great genealogy conferences or learn more from these great speakers then so much the better.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
My Genealogy Gems Podcast Interview
I had such a great talk with Lisa Louise Cooke at SCGS I just have to share it with you. Lisa is really easy to talk to and I felt like we had tons to talk about.
We talked about inheriting genealogy and my passion for keeping your genealogy information out where it can inspire you and give you perspective on life.
My interview (above) is a special excerpt version of the Genealogy Gems Podcast Premium Episode #28 currently available to Genealogy Gems subscribers. http://www.genealogygemspremium.com You can access the whole episode there for a small fee. She gave me the code "SAVE20" for my readers to be able to get 20% off any membership orders. Well worth it to hear all of Lisa's helps and great guests. Enjoy!
We talked about inheriting genealogy and my passion for keeping your genealogy information out where it can inspire you and give you perspective on life.
(Just click on save or open)
My interview (above) is a special excerpt version of the Genealogy Gems Podcast Premium Episode #28 currently available to Genealogy Gems subscribers. http://www.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The next conference... come join us.
Don’t Miss Generation Maps in Salt Lake City
Come join the party
Join Generation Maps at the Salt Lake Family History Expo for two days of family history, classes, exhibit halls and much, much more.
2009 Salt Lake Family History Expo
August 28-29, 2009
8 AM – 6 PM
South Towne Exposition Center, Sandy, Utah
Expo Classes - Expo registration required to attend
Register today to attend both days of Expo classes, which include more than 100 family history classes taught by 50 of the nation’s top family history experts and speakers.
I will be teaching:
- Serendipity and Other Miracles: Why You Need Family History
- Digitally Enhancing Your Photos
Register today to attend the expo and take advantage of the special pre-registration discount (pre-registration deadline is August 24).
Exhibit Hall – Free to the Public
Visit us at the Generation Maps booth in the Expo’s exhibit hall and experts will be on hand to print your Family History Charts onsite and answer questions about chart printing. Don’t miss special conference discounts on various Generation Maps products such as gift certificates and blank charts.
The Exhibit Hall also features family history vendors from across the world. The Exhibit Hall is free to the public and is open:
Win Door Prizes!
One of the more lively aspects of the Expo is the prize drawings. As a Sponsor of the Salt Lake Family History Expo, Generation Maps has donated the following gifts for the drawings.
Door Prizes Donated by Generation Maps:
Generation Maps Gift Certificate (Value $25.00)
Generation Maps Gift Certificate (Value $25.00)
BYU Genealogy conference
Even though Randy has already beat us to it...
http://www.geneamusings.com/2009/07/almost-as-good-as-being-there.html (Funny how he can be so on top of it when he wasn't even there. :-) I'm looking forward to when I get to retire and actually do genealogy and write for my blog. But I'm sure I'll never keep up with Randy.)
I have finally unburied at work enough to post a little about the BYU Genealogy conference last week. Fabulous conference. It has a little different layout for the vendors than the rest of the conferences we do. Most of the vendors are out in the hallway and I usually get to sit at the end of the hall with two chairs right next to our table. I should really set up a video camera next time, because I get to sit and visit with all the best people. (Of course then they might not dish as much.) At the BYU conference, it gets really quiet between classes so we have lots of time to talk. I really LOVE that.
I actually tried hard to pop in and out of a few classes this time too. Some of them I got to stay for more than others. I tried to catch some of Karen Clifford's and Peggy Ryskamp's classes on getting accredited. I bought Karen's book, Becoming an Accredited Genealogist. You can get it directly from her at tamiwgra@aol.com. With my Master's in Library Science I haven't worried about getting accredited much, but it is something I'd just like to do for myself. Now if I could just find 2 minutes to rub together to work on it. Don't hold your breath, but I'll let you know when I get serious.
My classes "Certified Genealogy Software that makes New FamilySearch Easier" and "Basic Research Practices in the Age of New FamilySearch" went well. I was nervous about the second one because it was a brand new lecture and usually I like to try them out in a smaller venue a few times before I hit a bigger conference with them. I basically go through the GPS standard and apply it to New FamilySearch. The comparison isn't great right now because they are still working on creating better source citations at FamilySearch, but they *are* working on it and I have full confidence that New FamilySearch will eventually become the resource we all hope it will be. I have a few things I need to tweak on the lecture, but I had tons of people stop at the booth and say they appreciated both lectures. I don't usually get that kind of response so I must have done something right. Or struck some kind of nerve...
But then Mark Tucker gave a lecture on Friday focused just on the GPS standard and hit the ball out of the park. He is a master at graphics and that is such a usefull skill when trying to explain something as complicated as genealogy research practices. He posted his slides at: http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2009/07/28/navigating-research-with-the-gps-july-2009-update/ They are fabulous. I talked to Mark afterward and he said he had followed the book Slideology in creating those great slides. I have a copy of that coming in the mail--can't wait--but then I'll need to redo all my slides I'm sure.
Ancestry Insider and I both tweeted Mark's class: AI gave me permission to post both sets of tweets together. Here they are:
JanetHovorka: Going to actually twitter Mark Tucker's lecture. We'll see what Ancestry Insider and I duplicate.
JanetHovorka: Genealogy Proof Standard--by Mark Tucker at BYU "How many people own evidence explained? How many people understand it? laughs
AncestryInsider: Mark Tucker, "Navigating Research with the Genealogical Proof Standard."
AncestryInsider: His slides are posted on his blog: http://www.ThinkGenealogy.com/map/ Go ahead and follow along!
JanetHovorka: Good thing AI is sitting in front of me. Reminding me to use the #byugen
AncestryInsider: Hi, Chart Chick!
JanetHovorka: Professionalism only came to Genealogy in mid 1960s, Citation article by Mills in late 1979 Cite your Sources by Richard Lackey 1980
JanetHovorka: 1997 Evidence by Mills 2000 BCG standards Manual Evidence Explained 2007
AncestryInsider: Implied step in GPS: Define research goals (slides 10-14). Illustrate the process with a case study: Worth Tucker's birth info.
JanetHovorka: The best way to not get lost is to always know where you are GPS proof standard and Geographical Positioning systems
AncestryInsider: Where do I start my research? What record to start with? He teaches boy scouts that knowing where you are prevents getting lost.
JanetHovorka: Define: Statement, Question, Hypothesis. Research plan and research log Start with Known Information
JanetHovorka: Known Information: give source, information found, and Informant/relationship. That is where you start.
JanetHovorka: How do you come up with Research Strategy? Familysearch, research guidance, genealogy software, personal experience, society, FHC
AncestryInsider: GPS: #Genealogical Proof Standard
JanetHovorka: FamilySearch Research guidance is a great way to get started on your research strategy. Follow that plan, find source, update log
AncestryInsider: Covering through slides 22, research plan.
AncestryInsider: Slide 32, picture of his sweetheart (which we all assume is his wife).
JanetHovorka: Do I really need to do anymore? Step 1 of GPS Reasonably exhaustive search in reliable sources that may be pertinent
JanetHovorka: Just because we are tired does that make it an exhaustive search? Oh yeah!
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 1: Reasonably exhaustive search of reliable sources for pertinent info.
JanetHovorka: Source Provenance: Tracking the derivative source back to the original. Why do we care? Helps decide which is the better source?
JanetHovorka: Would you go so far to see a hard copy rather than an electronic version? If I could, yes.
AncestryInsider: Source Provenance: The issue is, what are the better sources? Original source is better than derivative.
JanetHovorka: Great slide graphics for Mark Tucker's lecture at www.thinkgenealogy.com Mark is great at graphics.
AncestryInsider: A derivative is better than the sources derived from it. Independent origin strengthens confidence.
AncestryInsider: Slide 39 introduces another important form. Research Analysis.
JanetHovorka: Every time there is a derivative, there is a chance for a mistake to be made, a chance for something to be lost.
JanetHovorka: Research Analysis document list every source and analyze whether derivative or not
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 2: Collect a complete and accurate citation to each source of information that is used.
JanetHovorka: Legacy, RootsMagic and FamilyTreeMaker all use Mills templates for sources.
JanetHovorka: Step 3 GPS Cite each source- Complete Accurate Citation. Mills. You need both Evidence and Evidence Explained. if only 1, get EE
AncestryInsider: Recommends Mills' _Evidence Explained_. All the latest genealogy software supports templates matching this book.
JanetHovorka: Why citation guidelines? The sources that we consult are different than others. Like a silver set engraved with a wedding date.
AncestryInsider: Aside: EE is necessary because genealogists use a wide range of sources well beyond those in Chicago or Turabian.
JanetHovorka: Mills can help you cite derivatives. Ancestry Insider: Assume the URL is going to change.
JanetHovorka: Different databases cite sources differently, familysearch, ancestry, different than evidence explained. We need to stick to one.
JanetHovorka: Mark envisions a world where an image on the internet is downloaded with a complete and accurate citation. I wish
AncestryInsider: (Thanks @JanetHovorka) Should there be one set of common citation guidelines? (slide 49)
JanetHovorka: Step 3 Analyze, correlate, information, evidence. Primary and Secondary information. Great graphics/slides.
AncestryInsider: Slide 54: Sources can be original, derivative (goes into types of derivatives). Slide 55: Information can be primary or secondary.
JanetHovorka: Sources: Original (image copy, record copy, duplicate original) Derivative (transcript, extract, abstract)
JanetHovorka: Information: (primary, secondary) Evidence: (Direct, indirect, negative)
AncestryInsider: Sometimes derivatives can be treated as an original, such as photographic copies such as micofilm or digitized.
JanetHovorka: Census original, census fed copy, microfilm copy, digital, printout. Derivatives. Skipping back helps. What errors could happen?
JanetHovorka: Can the baby have first hand knowledge of the birth event? :-) Only primary sources are people who were there.
AncestryInsider: Primary information comes from those with first-hand knowledge. Review your sources, information, and evidence for types they are.
JanetHovorka: Spiritual evidence has not been accepted as evidence since 1965. --Ancestry Insider. #byugen :-) I'm remembering to quote you on that.
JanetHovorka: recommending findagrave.com
JanetHovorka: Have to keep track of whether you are talking about sources, information or evidence. Picture of gravestone perfect example.
JanetHovorka: Don't take things as truth because they are carved in stone :-)
JanetHovorka: Death certificates perfect example of primary and secondary information.Does the bereaved ever really remember the right birthdate?
JanetHovorka: Counting up the sources, you can completely count how the sources prove something by what kind of source, information, and evidence
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 4: Resolve any conflicts/contradictions in the information.
AncestryInsider: See the excellent example of slide 79 showing conflicts in our case study of Worth Tucker's birth info.
JanetHovorka: "Bad news guys we have to resolve the consequence" #byugen No "I'm going with that one."
JanetHovorka: List conflicts and record the analysis and resolution
JanetHovorka: Darn I have to quit while we are still resolving conflicts. Have to go back to the booth. I leave the rest to you with a salute AI
AncestryInsider: No conclusion is ever completely final.
marktucker: My presentation went great! Wonderful group of people in the class.
You can look at other tweets on the conference by looking for the hashtags #byugen at Twitter.
These are two fabulous thinkers--especially in the realm of how to use sources. Sources is really THE all important thing in Genealogy. Go check out other work they have done in the area at: http://www.thinkgenealogy.com and http://www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com.
Looking forward to the next conference...
I have finally unburied at work enough to post a little about the BYU Genealogy conference last week. Fabulous conference. It has a little different layout for the vendors than the rest of the conferences we do. Most of the vendors are out in the hallway and I usually get to sit at the end of the hall with two chairs right next to our table. I should really set up a video camera next time, because I get to sit and visit with all the best people. (Of course then they might not dish as much.) At the BYU conference, it gets really quiet between classes so we have lots of time to talk. I really LOVE that.
I actually tried hard to pop in and out of a few classes this time too. Some of them I got to stay for more than others. I tried to catch some of Karen Clifford's and Peggy Ryskamp's classes on getting accredited. I bought Karen's book, Becoming an Accredited Genealogist. You can get it directly from her at tamiwgra@aol.com. With my Master's in Library Science I haven't worried about getting accredited much, but it is something I'd just like to do for myself. Now if I could just find 2 minutes to rub together to work on it. Don't hold your breath, but I'll let you know when I get serious.
My classes "Certified Genealogy Software that makes New FamilySearch Easier" and "Basic Research Practices in the Age of New FamilySearch" went well. I was nervous about the second one because it was a brand new lecture and usually I like to try them out in a smaller venue a few times before I hit a bigger conference with them. I basically go through the GPS standard and apply it to New FamilySearch. The comparison isn't great right now because they are still working on creating better source citations at FamilySearch, but they *are* working on it and I have full confidence that New FamilySearch will eventually become the resource we all hope it will be. I have a few things I need to tweak on the lecture, but I had tons of people stop at the booth and say they appreciated both lectures. I don't usually get that kind of response so I must have done something right. Or struck some kind of nerve...
But then Mark Tucker gave a lecture on Friday focused just on the GPS standard and hit the ball out of the park. He is a master at graphics and that is such a usefull skill when trying to explain something as complicated as genealogy research practices. He posted his slides at: http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2009/07/28/navigating-research-with-the-gps-july-2009-update/ They are fabulous. I talked to Mark afterward and he said he had followed the book Slideology in creating those great slides. I have a copy of that coming in the mail--can't wait--but then I'll need to redo all my slides I'm sure.
Ancestry Insider and I both tweeted Mark's class: AI gave me permission to post both sets of tweets together. Here they are:
JanetHovorka: Going to actually twitter Mark Tucker's lecture. We'll see what Ancestry Insider and I duplicate.
JanetHovorka: Genealogy Proof Standard--by Mark Tucker at BYU "How many people own evidence explained? How many people understand it? laughs
AncestryInsider: Mark Tucker, "Navigating Research with the Genealogical Proof Standard."
AncestryInsider: His slides are posted on his blog: http://www.ThinkGenealogy.com/map/ Go ahead and follow along!
JanetHovorka: Good thing AI is sitting in front of me. Reminding me to use the #byugen
AncestryInsider: Hi, Chart Chick!
JanetHovorka: Professionalism only came to Genealogy in mid 1960s, Citation article by Mills in late 1979 Cite your Sources by Richard Lackey 1980
JanetHovorka: 1997 Evidence by Mills 2000 BCG standards Manual Evidence Explained 2007
AncestryInsider: Implied step in GPS: Define research goals (slides 10-14). Illustrate the process with a case study: Worth Tucker's birth info.
JanetHovorka: The best way to not get lost is to always know where you are GPS proof standard and Geographical Positioning systems
AncestryInsider: Where do I start my research? What record to start with? He teaches boy scouts that knowing where you are prevents getting lost.
JanetHovorka: Define: Statement, Question, Hypothesis. Research plan and research log Start with Known Information
JanetHovorka: Known Information: give source, information found, and Informant/relationship. That is where you start.
JanetHovorka: How do you come up with Research Strategy? Familysearch, research guidance, genealogy software, personal experience, society, FHC
AncestryInsider: GPS: #Genealogical Proof Standard
JanetHovorka: FamilySearch Research guidance is a great way to get started on your research strategy. Follow that plan, find source, update log
AncestryInsider: Covering through slides 22, research plan.
AncestryInsider: Slide 32, picture of his sweetheart (which we all assume is his wife).
JanetHovorka: Do I really need to do anymore? Step 1 of GPS Reasonably exhaustive search in reliable sources that may be pertinent
JanetHovorka: Just because we are tired does that make it an exhaustive search? Oh yeah!
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 1: Reasonably exhaustive search of reliable sources for pertinent info.
JanetHovorka: Source Provenance: Tracking the derivative source back to the original. Why do we care? Helps decide which is the better source?
JanetHovorka: Would you go so far to see a hard copy rather than an electronic version? If I could, yes.
AncestryInsider: Source Provenance: The issue is, what are the better sources? Original source is better than derivative.
JanetHovorka: Great slide graphics for Mark Tucker's lecture at www.thinkgenealogy.com Mark is great at graphics.
AncestryInsider: A derivative is better than the sources derived from it. Independent origin strengthens confidence.
AncestryInsider: Slide 39 introduces another important form. Research Analysis.
JanetHovorka: Every time there is a derivative, there is a chance for a mistake to be made, a chance for something to be lost.
JanetHovorka: Research Analysis document list every source and analyze whether derivative or not
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 2: Collect a complete and accurate citation to each source of information that is used.
JanetHovorka: Legacy, RootsMagic and FamilyTreeMaker all use Mills templates for sources.
JanetHovorka: Step 3 GPS Cite each source- Complete Accurate Citation. Mills. You need both Evidence and Evidence Explained. if only 1, get EE
AncestryInsider: Recommends Mills' _Evidence Explained_. All the latest genealogy software supports templates matching this book.
JanetHovorka: Why citation guidelines? The sources that we consult are different than others. Like a silver set engraved with a wedding date.
AncestryInsider: Aside: EE is necessary because genealogists use a wide range of sources well beyond those in Chicago or Turabian.
JanetHovorka: Mills can help you cite derivatives. Ancestry Insider: Assume the URL is going to change.
JanetHovorka: Different databases cite sources differently, familysearch, ancestry, different than evidence explained. We need to stick to one.
JanetHovorka: Mark envisions a world where an image on the internet is downloaded with a complete and accurate citation. I wish
AncestryInsider: (Thanks @JanetHovorka) Should there be one set of common citation guidelines? (slide 49)
JanetHovorka: Step 3 Analyze, correlate, information, evidence. Primary and Secondary information. Great graphics/slides.
AncestryInsider: Slide 54: Sources can be original, derivative (goes into types of derivatives). Slide 55: Information can be primary or secondary.
JanetHovorka: Sources: Original (image copy, record copy, duplicate original) Derivative (transcript, extract, abstract)
JanetHovorka: Information: (primary, secondary) Evidence: (Direct, indirect, negative)
AncestryInsider: Sometimes derivatives can be treated as an original, such as photographic copies such as micofilm or digitized.
JanetHovorka: Census original, census fed copy, microfilm copy, digital, printout. Derivatives. Skipping back helps. What errors could happen?
JanetHovorka: Can the baby have first hand knowledge of the birth event? :-) Only primary sources are people who were there.
AncestryInsider: Primary information comes from those with first-hand knowledge. Review your sources, information, and evidence for types they are.
JanetHovorka: Spiritual evidence has not been accepted as evidence since 1965. --Ancestry Insider. #byugen :-) I'm remembering to quote you on that.
JanetHovorka: recommending findagrave.com
JanetHovorka: Have to keep track of whether you are talking about sources, information or evidence. Picture of gravestone perfect example.
JanetHovorka: Don't take things as truth because they are carved in stone :-)
JanetHovorka: Death certificates perfect example of primary and secondary information.Does the bereaved ever really remember the right birthdate?
JanetHovorka: Counting up the sources, you can completely count how the sources prove something by what kind of source, information, and evidence
AncestryInsider: GPS Step 4: Resolve any conflicts/contradictions in the information.
AncestryInsider: See the excellent example of slide 79 showing conflicts in our case study of Worth Tucker's birth info.
JanetHovorka: "Bad news guys we have to resolve the consequence" #byugen No "I'm going with that one."
JanetHovorka: List conflicts and record the analysis and resolution
JanetHovorka: Darn I have to quit while we are still resolving conflicts. Have to go back to the booth. I leave the rest to you with a salute AI
AncestryInsider: No conclusion is ever completely final.
marktucker: My presentation went great! Wonderful group of people in the class.
You can look at other tweets on the conference by looking for the hashtags #byugen at Twitter.
These are two fabulous thinkers--especially in the realm of how to use sources. Sources is really THE all important thing in Genealogy. Go check out other work they have done in the area at: http://www.thinkgenealogy.com and http://www.ancestryinsider.blogspot.com.
Looking forward to the next conference...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Great post on getting children involved in genealogy
Elyse Doerflinger has written a great article on involving children. She mentioned some of the ideas we have talked about here. Take a look. Elyse's Blog.
Friday, July 17, 2009
And the winner is....
My daughter and I had a great time this afternoon. Wish you could have been here.
We wanted to be transparent and fair. I was worried about that because there are so many people on these lists that I know and love--those that I have actually met and those who I only know online. I'd have loved to swing this contest for any of you. We had to do it right and cut up all the names and put them in a hat. My daughter helped and she drew the names (note the 4th of July fingernail decor.) We used her Easter bonnet. She made quite a show of it--making sure they were all stirred up well in between drawings.
If you saw my twitter posts this afternoon, you saw that there is no good way to get a list of fans out of facebook. GenealogyWise did something right on that account--I just printed the list there. But for Facebook I ended up transcribing them to be able to make the slips. I learned a couple of things again
$25 gift certificate from GenealogyWise Generation Maps group: Kathryn Doyle
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Diana Wilkes
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Fran Jensen
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Debbie Starr Jackson
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Tami Glatz
and the winner of the $100 gift certificate from both groups is: Dae Powell. He writes the ShoeString Genealogy Blog. I can't wait to get to know him better.
Congratulations.
I've alerted each of these people on their respective pages. Go congratulate them as well.
And we are going to do some more fun offers in these groups so stay tuned. In fact lets start with one now. (I was telling my best friend the week before we decided to start this company that I could never run my own company, because if I didn't believe in what we were doing, I couldn't promote it, and if I did, I would want to give it away.)
So...The first 2 people to email me at janetgenerationmaps.com with their mailing address will win a free blank genealogy chart.
Just doing our part to help the genealogy community.
Thanks to all our friends for the great summer we have had. Let us know if we can print you any other charts.
We wanted to be transparent and fair. I was worried about that because there are so many people on these lists that I know and love--those that I have actually met and those who I only know online. I'd have loved to swing this contest for any of you. We had to do it right and cut up all the names and put them in a hat. My daughter helped and she drew the names (note the 4th of July fingernail decor.) We used her Easter bonnet.
If you saw my twitter posts this afternoon, you saw that there is no good way to get a list of fans out of facebook. GenealogyWise did something right on that account--I just printed the list there. But for Facebook I ended up transcribing them to be able to make the slips. I learned a couple of things again
- I was overwhelmed at the number of supportive people we have for this company. Thank you all so much for appreciating what we do.
- I was overwhelmed at the good friends we have made. Again--we so love genealogists.
- Reflecting back, I was overwhelmed at how many people we have helped print and display their genealogy research already. I am so passionate about that, and grateful to be doing something every day that I believe is so important.
- And finally--My Mom-though my friend on facebook,isn't a fan :-) Ok. She just got back from a month in Europe Tuesday, and really it wouldn't have looked very good if she had won, but we'll have to rectify that. She is a genealogist, and she certainly has been happy with some charts we have done for her. Good grief.
$25 gift certificate from GenealogyWise Generation Maps group: Kathryn Doyle
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Diana Wilkes
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Fran Jensen
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Debbie Starr Jackson
$25 gift certificate from Facebook Generation Maps group: Tami Glatz
and the winner of the $100 gift certificate from both groups is: Dae Powell. He writes the ShoeString Genealogy Blog. I can't wait to get to know him better.
Congratulations.
I've alerted each of these people on their respective pages. Go congratulate them as well.
And we are going to do some more fun offers in these groups so stay tuned. In fact lets start with one now. (I was telling my best friend the week before we decided to start this company that I could never run my own company, because if I didn't believe in what we were doing, I couldn't promote it, and if I did, I would want to give it away.)
So...The first 2 people to email me at janet
Just doing our part to help the genealogy community.
Thanks to all our friends for the great summer we have had. Let us know if we can print you any other charts.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
One more day on the Generation Maps Social Networking contest.
Well, it has been an interesting week in the Genealogy Social Networking Scene.
As you know, we have been running a contest. 1 $25 gift certificate for a person drawn from our Facebook group, and 1 $25 gift certificate drawn from our Genealogywise group. And tomorrow at 5pm we'll draw a winner from the people who have joined both groups for a $100 gift certificate.
GenealogyWise has been an interesting experiment. It is amazing how fast something viral can grow, but it still has to prove worthwhile in order to maintain its viability. This new social network has had some serious hiccups--lots of bugs, having problems with their domain this morning, backpedaling their contests, and now censorship/policy discussions this afternoon. Great explosions of users can move both ways. We have been pleased at how we've been able to network with our users on GenealogyWise this week. But it looks to me like "Facebook is still Facebook for Genealogists." (Tamura Jones).
I think we've learned two things so far:
I'm not so sure I would really recommend GenealogyWise yet but we have yet to see what happens there. But I know I would recommend Facebook to anyone and I'll probably stay there more because it has all of my friends, not just the genealogists--that way we can convert more people to genealogy :-). I love getting to know people by the newsfeed there. Facebook is great for spreading your family history to the 20 something generation (although that demographic on FB is rapidly changing), AND anyone who wants to talk to genealogists. I actually heard a story this week about a grandfather who, after much prodding, got on to facebook only to find his grandaughter who had run away a couple of years ago. Facebook is a wonderful way to connect with people. Period. Go sign up so that you can talk to your living family members more. And then come play with us genealogists and we'll help you find out about your past family members.
As you know, we have been running a contest. 1 $25 gift certificate for a person drawn from our Facebook group, and 1 $25 gift certificate drawn from our Genealogywise group. And tomorrow at 5pm we'll draw a winner from the people who have joined both groups for a $100 gift certificate.
GenealogyWise has been an interesting experiment. It is amazing how fast something viral can grow, but it still has to prove worthwhile in order to maintain its viability. This new social network has had some serious hiccups--lots of bugs, having problems with their domain this morning, backpedaling their contests, and now censorship/policy discussions this afternoon. Great explosions of users can move both ways. We have been pleased at how we've been able to network with our users on GenealogyWise this week. But it looks to me like "Facebook is still Facebook for Genealogists." (Tamura Jones).
I think we've learned two things so far:
- You have to have a really good product. I think we at Generation Maps are ok there.
- We have the best users/friends in the world. I just love the genealogy community
I'm not so sure I would really recommend GenealogyWise yet but we have yet to see what happens there. But I know I would recommend Facebook to anyone and I'll probably stay there more because it has all of my friends, not just the genealogists--that way we can convert more people to genealogy :-). I love getting to know people by the newsfeed there. Facebook is great for spreading your family history to the 20 something generation (although that demographic on FB is rapidly changing), AND anyone who wants to talk to genealogists. I actually heard a story this week about a grandfather who, after much prodding, got on to facebook only to find his grandaughter who had run away a couple of years ago. Facebook is a wonderful way to connect with people. Period. Go sign up so that you can talk to your living family members more. And then come play with us genealogists and we'll help you find out about your past family members.
Two more blog mentions today.
Randy Seaver has apparently thrown down the gauntlet. He has a great file that I got to take a peek at at SCGS. If he'll let me, I'd sure like to see how big his new combined file would be to plot out.
http://www.geneamusings.com/2009/07/putting-it-all-together-finally.html
We brag about being able to do ANYTHING. If you have a huge file you'd like to print, you KNOW where to come.
Also, another mention about my class at the BYU conference in a few weeks. http://www.meridianmagazine.com/churchupdate/090716ties.html
He says he would come to my Comparing Softwares for NFS but I'm really excited about the other class I'm teaching. It's a new one that goes much deeper than this description:
"38. Basic Research Practices in the Age of New FamilySearch
Janet Hovorka
Grounding yourself in the foundations of good research can help you be a more effective genealogist, whether in the library or on the Internet. We’ll discuss primary and secondary sources, original and compiled records and how to track your research effectively. In the Internet age source centricity is more important than ever and so are your methods of citing sources. And now that you can work on the new FamilySearch Family Tree, we’ll discuss keeping a private copy of your research and how to work with FamilySearch Family Tree without laborious syncing."
You can take a look at the classes here. If you are going to be in the area, be sure and come visit, even if you don't come to classes. We'll be in the hallway with all the other vendors that you can talk to too. (I always learn more from the vendor hall than the classes anyway.)
http://www.geneamusings.com/2009/07/putting-it-all-together-finally.html
We brag about being able to do ANYTHING. If you have a huge file you'd like to print, you KNOW where to come.
Also, another mention about my class at the BYU conference in a few weeks. http://www.meridianmagazine.com/churchupdate/090716ties.html
He says he would come to my Comparing Softwares for NFS but I'm really excited about the other class I'm teaching. It's a new one that goes much deeper than this description:
"38. Basic Research Practices in the Age of New FamilySearch
Janet Hovorka
Grounding yourself in the foundations of good research can help you be a more effective genealogist, whether in the library or on the Internet. We’ll discuss primary and secondary sources, original and compiled records and how to track your research effectively. In the Internet age source centricity is more important than ever and so are your methods of citing sources. And now that you can work on the new FamilySearch Family Tree, we’ll discuss keeping a private copy of your research and how to work with FamilySearch Family Tree without laborious syncing."
You can take a look at the classes here. If you are going to be in the area, be sure and come visit, even if you don't come to classes. We'll be in the hallway with all the other vendors that you can talk to too. (I always learn more from the vendor hall than the classes anyway.)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A little love from Dear Myrtle
Thanks Myrt for the great recommendation.
http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2009/07/photo-tree-chart-just-in-time-for.html
We really can do ANY kind of chart. Send it to us for a Free Consultation. We'll get back to you with ideas and size and pricing options.
http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2009/07/photo-tree-chart-just-in-time-for.html
We really can do ANY kind of chart. Send it to us for a Free Consultation. We'll get back to you with ideas and size and pricing options.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Generation Maps Social Networking Contest
It has been fascinating tonight to watch a new genealogy social networking site get started. I signed up for Genealogywise.com late this afternoon, and in just a few hours, I had dozens of friends and dozens of fans on the Generation Maps group. We'd love to have you join us. It will be interesting to see where this site goes and how it develops.
I've loved all the fun we have had on facebook over the last year socializing and getting to know the fun genealogists there. We haven't really utilized the Generation Maps page there as much as we could but are still pleased to have lots of fans there. With the growth of social networking, we have lots of exciting ideas to use both of these tools for future announcements and special events.
So I've been cooking up an idea. We are going to have the mother of all genealogy contests. For every Generation Maps fan on facebook and everyone who joins the Generation Maps Fans group on Genealogywise we will hold a drawing. Next Friday, July 17th we will award a $25 gift card to one random person in each group. Join both groups to increase your chances of winning.I've loved all the fun we have had on facebook over the last year socializing and getting to know the fun genealogists there. We haven't really utilized the Generation Maps page there as much as we could but are still pleased to have lots of fans there. With the growth of social networking, we have lots of exciting ideas to use both of these tools for future announcements and special events.
But wait, there's more ;-). On the 17th at 5pm Mountain time, we will collect the names of every person who is a member of both groups for a special drawing. The winner of this contest will win $100 in credit from Generation Maps (two $50 gift cards.) You can use it for one of our beautiful canvas giclee fine art prints (genealogy chart or photo reproduction) or a whole bunch of working genealogy charts to draw all over and analyze your information with.
So take a look at http://www.genealogywise.com/group/generationmapsfans and become a fan.
And if you're not already, don't forget to become my friend too. Janet Hovorka on Genealogywise, and Janet Hovorka on Facebook.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Awesome Salt Lake Conference coming up
I thought I would pass along an email I just received from Family History Expos because it is a great opportunity to come to a conference in Salt Lake, catch a world-class conference and get some time in at the library. This conference center is out in the suburbs of Salt Lake, so parking and hotel costs are cheaper than when the national conferences come to town, but the library is a short ride on Trax, Salt Lake's above ground subway system. You can enjoy this conference for less, and have more money to be able to stay longer and enjoy the library.
Hope the info is helpful to you.
From Family History Expos:
Remember, next month, August 28-29, 2009, is the Salt Lake
Family History Expo to be held at the South Towne Expo
Center in Sandy, Utah. We just wanted to send you this
little reminder.
Full conference details can be read online at
http://www.FHExpos.com.
You may be interested to see the list of classes being
offered! Look here
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/presenters.php?event_id=50 .
Did you know that we give away tons of door prizes? The
list is just beginning to grow, check it out here
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=50#prizes .
Pre-register today and save! Go to our Web site at
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=50 .
You’ll be glad you did!
Invite a friend to come along with you. Be sure to let
everyone you know hear about this awesome opportunity to
attend the Salt Lake Family History Expo 2009. You will be
hearing from some of the top genealogists in the country,
staff from the Family History Library, and top industry
leaders all in one place to teach you what’s new, what’s
coming, and how to make the most of your research time and
dollars.
Hope the info is helpful to you.
From Family History Expos:
Remember, next month, August 28-29, 2009, is the Salt Lake
Family History Expo to be held at the South Towne Expo
Center in Sandy, Utah. We just wanted to send you this
little reminder.
Full conference details can be read online at
http://www.FHExpos.com.
You may be interested to see the list of classes being
offered! Look here
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/
Did you know that we give away tons of door prizes? The
list is just beginning to grow, check it out here
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/
Pre-register today and save! Go to our Web site at
http://www.fhexpos.com/events/
You’ll be glad you did!
Invite a friend to come along with you. Be sure to let
everyone you know hear about this awesome opportunity to
attend the Salt Lake Family History Expo 2009. You will be
hearing from some of the top genealogists in the country,
staff from the Family History Library, and top industry
leaders all in one place to teach you what’s new, what’s
coming, and how to make the most of your research time and
dollars.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The *last* post on SCGS
Mine has to be the last post on SCGS. With catching up on the work we came back to, I'm a bit slow posting these pictures. Or at least it seems that way. When you are running with the geneablogging crowd--which is a very fast crowd--you have to post it now, or someone scoops you. (I still hold the scoop for Footnote Maven's picture though--and don't you forget it.) Now I know what it was like to be a news reporter. And, work with the funnest group of people in the world.
I also had to re-arrange my reader to make sure I was getting the latest feeds on all these fabulous people. Let me show you:
First, Denise Levenick from the Family Curator. What a sweetheart she is. I was so glad to get to know her. She did welcome goodie bags for all of us and the treats were a wonderful fill in for lunch when we couldn't get away from the booth. She let us participate too, with a coupon for all the geneabloggers. I'm so glad we did, because then they all came to see us at the booth when I couldn't get out to hang with them in the lobby. Many thanks Denise.
Then, a picture of the blogging summitting going on the hall. Left to right, Drew Smith (new blog), Kathryn Doyle, Elyse Doerflinger (Love Elyse's stuff on youtube. So glad to get to print a chart for her.) Dick Eastman (What can you add about Dick?), Randy Seaver (Thanks for the mentions again Randy), Bruce Buzbee (as you know), and me.
Got to meet and print a chart for Gini Webb. Hadn't known about her blog before. Excited to be reading it now. What a nice lady.
Printed a chart for Elizabeth ONeal too--a big one starting with her daughter. She had an impressive file. I've followed Elizabeth for quite a while, and love her status reports on facebook and in twitter. I love that she is a Mom doing genealogy. Like her, I'm passionate about passing this down to my kids and making sure they know where they come from. That is such a strengthing, grounding thing for children. Here we are with the chart coming off the press.
Honored to be interviewed by the Genealogy Guys. George Morgan and Drew Smith. There wasn't anyone else standing around in their interview/conference room, so I just snapped a quick one of them. The nicest guys. They are branching from podcasts into video now so we tried showing some charts. I remember hitting it off long ago with Drew in the Nashville airport. We librarians have to stick together. I'll let you know when the interview is posted.
One of the highlights too was another new, long lost friend Kathryn Doyle. I've followed her on facebook and love her posts. Now I'll be following her blog closer too. I've already seen that she is one smart cookie. She is in real life too.
We had a great time at the facebook social. Aparently Drew had a *really* great time. LtoR Bruce, Drew, Thomas MacEntee (Thanks for the great post Thomas. We loved printing that chart for you), and Michael Helmantoler
One of the interesting things about this conference was really solidifying in my mind the way different people do genealogy differently. Some genealogists are purely ancestor people, looking for who they came from. Some are purely descendant people, looking for people to have family reunions with. And some are really picture people, like FootnoteMaven and Maureen Taylor. And then there are the story people, like my Mom and Susan Kitchens. What a kick she is. And what a great story teller. Here she is hamming it up with Thomas.
And a big thanks of course to the engine behind it all: Kim, who held down the booth while I flitted about with the geneabloggers. I suppose if you were being a bit too sentimental, he is the "wind beneath my wings." But really, we talk about how at Generation Maps he is the database engine and I am the GUI--or the graphical user interface. He is the incredibly hard worker and I am so glad he lets me be the flitterdegibbit (The Sound of Music is my all-time favorite movie.)
Finally, Sunday night, after everyone had mostly left, I got a few minutes to sit in what had become the bloggers lounge at the Marriott and try to get some work done. I got to soak in the vibes they left I guess. Luckily Lisa Alzo was still there and we had a great talk. I'm so glad to have gotten to know Lisa in Colorado and at SCGS. She is a great asset to the Genealogy community. Ask her about best practices for conference attendees--she's seen every side of a genealogy conference and has some great ideas. And someday I'm going to get to one of her Eastern European Genealogy classes so that I can find more on our Hovorka line. You would think I should be a specialist in that--I'm not, but I know where to find one--in Lisa.
A few more bloggers that I got to meet but didn't get pictures of: Amy Coffin--another genealogist/librarian. Steve Danko (actually got to talk to him more last year, but go read his stuff. Good to see him again.) Schelly Talalay Dardashti *The* authority on Jewish Genealogy, Sheri Fenley the funniest, best writer of us all, Cheryl Palmer, Sheri's good friend for good reason, another great writer, Craig Manson an icon. Oh, so much fun to get to be with these people. You all have a place to stay, and a good restaurant guide when you come to the library in Salt Lake, Ok? Hope to see you again soon.
I also had to re-arrange my reader to make sure I was getting the latest feeds on all these fabulous people. Let me show you:
First, Denise Levenick from the Family Curator. What a sweetheart she is. I was so glad to get to know her. She did welcome goodie bags for all of us and the treats were a wonderful fill in for lunch when we couldn't get away from the booth. She let us participate too, with a coupon for all the geneabloggers. I'm so glad we did, because then they all came to see us at the booth when I couldn't get out to hang with them in the lobby. Many thanks Denise.
Then, a picture of the blogging summitting going on the hall. Left to right, Drew Smith (new blog), Kathryn Doyle, Elyse Doerflinger (Love Elyse's stuff on youtube. So glad to get to print a chart for her.) Dick Eastman (What can you add about Dick?), Randy Seaver (Thanks for the mentions again Randy), Bruce Buzbee (as you know), and me.
Got to meet and print a chart for Gini Webb. Hadn't known about her blog before. Excited to be reading it now. What a nice lady.
Printed a chart for Elizabeth ONeal too--a big one starting with her daughter. She had an impressive file. I've followed Elizabeth for quite a while, and love her status reports on facebook and in twitter. I love that she is a Mom doing genealogy. Like her, I'm passionate about passing this down to my kids and making sure they know where they come from. That is such a strengthing, grounding thing for children. Here we are with the chart coming off the press.
Honored to be interviewed by the Genealogy Guys. George Morgan and Drew Smith. There wasn't anyone else standing around in their interview/conference room, so I just snapped a quick one of them. The nicest guys. They are branching from podcasts into video now so we tried showing some charts. I remember hitting it off long ago with Drew in the Nashville airport. We librarians have to stick together. I'll let you know when the interview is posted.
One of the highlights too was another new, long lost friend Kathryn Doyle. I've followed her on facebook and love her posts. Now I'll be following her blog closer too. I've already seen that she is one smart cookie. She is in real life too.
We had a great time at the facebook social. Aparently Drew had a *really* great time. LtoR Bruce, Drew, Thomas MacEntee (Thanks for the great post Thomas. We loved printing that chart for you), and Michael Helmantoler
One of the interesting things about this conference was really solidifying in my mind the way different people do genealogy differently. Some genealogists are purely ancestor people, looking for who they came from. Some are purely descendant people, looking for people to have family reunions with. And some are really picture people, like FootnoteMaven and Maureen Taylor. And then there are the story people, like my Mom and Susan Kitchens. What a kick she is. And what a great story teller. Here she is hamming it up with Thomas. 
And a big thanks of course to the engine behind it all: Kim, who held down the booth while I flitted about with the geneabloggers. I suppose if you were being a bit too sentimental, he is the "wind beneath my wings." But really, we talk about how at Generation Maps he is the database engine and I am the GUI--or the graphical user interface. He is the incredibly hard worker and I am so glad he lets me be the flitterdegibbit (The Sound of Music is my all-time favorite movie.)
Finally, Sunday night, after everyone had mostly left, I got a few minutes to sit in what had become the bloggers lounge at the Marriott and try to get some work done. I got to soak in the vibes they left I guess. Luckily Lisa Alzo was still there and we had a great talk. I'm so glad to have gotten to know Lisa in Colorado and at SCGS. She is a great asset to the Genealogy community. Ask her about best practices for conference attendees--she's seen every side of a genealogy conference and has some great ideas. And someday I'm going to get to one of her Eastern European Genealogy classes so that I can find more on our Hovorka line. You would think I should be a specialist in that--I'm not, but I know where to find one--in Lisa.
A few more bloggers that I got to meet but didn't get pictures of: Amy Coffin--another genealogist/librarian. Steve Danko (actually got to talk to him more last year, but go read his stuff. Good to see him again.) Schelly Talalay Dardashti *The* authority on Jewish Genealogy, Sheri Fenley the funniest, best writer of us all, Cheryl Palmer, Sheri's good friend for good reason, another great writer, Craig Manson an icon. Oh, so much fun to get to be with these people. You all have a place to stay, and a good restaurant guide when you come to the library in Salt Lake, Ok? Hope to see you again soon.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Pictures from SCGS
Guess What!?! FootnoteMaven just gave me permission to post the picture of us to my blog.
Woohoo. Such an honor to meet this lady. And she is the same sweetheart in real life as she is online, even more so. And what a beautiful lady too. I don't know why she uses her FootnoteMaven picture. But it was fun to actually get to see her and give her a hug. I wrote her on twitter a couple of days ago and told her she would have to come find me because I didn't even know if I was looking for a blonde or a brunette. And when she flashed me her nametag in the lobby yesterday, I felt like I'd struck gold. Soooo exciting to finally get to meet her.
Printed a great chart for Randy Seaver. What a file he has. To print the whole ancestor generations going out from him would have been 60+ feet. Wow. We all ought to be listening to him for advice.
Randy's and I think so much alike. His is one of my all time favorite blogs. It is amazing how you can feel so connected to people, think so much alike, talk to each other all the time, and yet have never met. Then when you finally do--it is so exciting.
And yesterday I got to be interviewed by Lisa Louise Cooke. We had such a great talk. Even after the recorder was off I felt like we could have talked forever. I'll let you know when the interview is posted.
I missed the blogger summit class this morning because I was teaching my Inherited Genealogy class against it. I've got to run now to the Facebook Meetup for the Geneablogger's group. I can't miss that too. I'll post more shortly. So many awesome bloggers to meet.
Woohoo. Such an honor to meet this lady. And she is the same sweetheart in real life as she is online, even more so. And what a beautiful lady too. I don't know why she uses her FootnoteMaven picture. But it was fun to actually get to see her and give her a hug. I wrote her on twitter a couple of days ago and told her she would have to come find me because I didn't even know if I was looking for a blonde or a brunette. And when she flashed me her nametag in the lobby yesterday, I felt like I'd struck gold. Soooo exciting to finally get to meet her. Printed a great chart for Randy Seaver. What a file he has. To print the whole ancestor generations going out from him would have been 60+ feet. Wow. We all ought to be listening to him for advice.
Randy's and I think so much alike. His is one of my all time favorite blogs. It is amazing how you can feel so connected to people, think so much alike, talk to each other all the time, and yet have never met. Then when you finally do--it is so exciting.And yesterday I got to be interviewed by Lisa Louise Cooke. We had such a great talk. Even after the recorder was off I felt like we could have talked forever. I'll let you know when the interview is posted.
I missed the blogger summit class this morning because I was teaching my Inherited Genealogy class against it. I've got to run now to the Facebook Meetup for the Geneablogger's group. I can't miss that too. I'll post more shortly. So many awesome bloggers to meet.
Friday, June 26, 2009
SCGS Blogger Summit.
I finally got to meet Thomas MacEntee! Been looking forward to that. 
http://www.geneabloggers.com/
Conferences are such a treasure hunt now for people I love and read all the time but haven't ever met.
Gotten to talk to Myrt, Randy Seaver, Denise Levenick, Sheri Fenley, Cheryl Palmer. Got to take more pictures. More to come.
http://www.geneabloggers.com/ Conferences are such a treasure hunt now for people I love and read all the time but haven't ever met.
Gotten to talk to Myrt, Randy Seaver, Denise Levenick, Sheri Fenley, Cheryl Palmer. Got to take more pictures. More to come.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Free Consults at Conferences.
I'm packing again. Looking forward to meeting lots of new facebook and blogging friends at SCGS. I'm wondering if everyone knows to pack their genealogy files?
We bring one of our 42 inch plotters to almost every genealogy conference we go attend. We do that so that our plotter can meet up with your genealogy file--and great things result.
Just bring us a copy of your genealogy file. ANY SOFTWARE (Ancestral Quest, Family Tree Maker, Legacy PAF, RootsMagic, you name it) on ANY FORMAT (USB drive, CD, Your own laptop, even a 3 1/4 inch floppy). Drop it off to us at the booth, come back after your next class, and we'll give you some options for printing things out. Then stop back later in the day and voila--a print of your file, as far as it reaches (or whatever part you want). We have done some huge charts at these conferences and not only is it exciting for the person whose print it is, it is exciting for everyone else to see too.
Check out our conference schedule. We are heading out to SCGS this weekend, and then will be going to Wyoming a couple of weeks after that. We'd love to check out your file and get it all out on a big chart for you.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Triathalons and Patience in Genealogy
You may be wondering why you haven't heard anything from me this summer about doing more triathalons. (I'm sure you were just wondering that.)
I fell in early March. It was one of those strange falls where you hit it just wrong. Well, I hit my left knee really hard. Flat on the cement. It didn't really hurt the day of, but then I could hardly walk for the next couple of days. I knew I had done something to it, but I didn't want to deal with it. My father's family has a thorough history of knee problems and lots of knee replacements all around. So I just went into denial, and didn't want to go there. I tried to exercise some, and thought I would just push through it. I still had a month or two before I had to be ready for the first triathalon I wanted to do.
Turns out--not such a great idea. A couple of weeks ago, I finally gave in and went to the doctor. I'm sure I aggravated it more by trying to keep going. I should have just taken it easy. The good news was that I have good cartilage--part of my father's family's problem. Bad news, my muscles were all out of whack from trying to limp around on it, and my knee cap is messed up. I went into physical therapy to move things around, but I have the patience of a gnat and still want to push it too far. So I'm working on it slowly and surely.
I'm sure there is a family history lesson in this. I think you sometimes just have to have patience. I taught my serendipity class in Colorado last weekend. I talked about how there are lots of stories about how strange things happen to come together to further a genealogist's work, and most genealogists have experienced that. Randy Seaver calls them Geneagasms. It was fun, and at the end of class I opened it up to the class members and heard some more great stories. In fact, there was kind of a relaxing sigh, that they could acknowledge these hunches, or coincidences without thinking it was only happening to them. But in relating some of those stories, I had to stop and caution the class, that you can't expect serendipitous things to happen. Genealogy--in my experience--really comes in fits and starts. You work and work and work and then you catch a break. In fact, the really good serendipity stories are so good precisely because someone has been working on the problem for many years, and then finally a miracle happened. You just have to have PATIENCE. Wish I was better at that.
Well, I can still relate triathalons to any experience. I've got to get back at them so that I can start braging about it again. "That reminds me of a triathalon I did once...."
I fell in early March. It was one of those strange falls where you hit it just wrong. Well, I hit my left knee really hard. Flat on the cement. It didn't really hurt the day of, but then I could hardly walk for the next couple of days. I knew I had done something to it, but I didn't want to deal with it. My father's family has a thorough history of knee problems and lots of knee replacements all around. So I just went into denial, and didn't want to go there. I tried to exercise some, and thought I would just push through it. I still had a month or two before I had to be ready for the first triathalon I wanted to do.
Turns out--not such a great idea. A couple of weeks ago, I finally gave in and went to the doctor. I'm sure I aggravated it more by trying to keep going. I should have just taken it easy. The good news was that I have good cartilage--part of my father's family's problem. Bad news, my muscles were all out of whack from trying to limp around on it, and my knee cap is messed up. I went into physical therapy to move things around, but I have the patience of a gnat and still want to push it too far. So I'm working on it slowly and surely.
I'm sure there is a family history lesson in this. I think you sometimes just have to have patience. I taught my serendipity class in Colorado last weekend. I talked about how there are lots of stories about how strange things happen to come together to further a genealogist's work, and most genealogists have experienced that. Randy Seaver calls them Geneagasms. It was fun, and at the end of class I opened it up to the class members and heard some more great stories. In fact, there was kind of a relaxing sigh, that they could acknowledge these hunches, or coincidences without thinking it was only happening to them. But in relating some of those stories, I had to stop and caution the class, that you can't expect serendipitous things to happen. Genealogy--in my experience--really comes in fits and starts. You work and work and work and then you catch a break. In fact, the really good serendipity stories are so good precisely because someone has been working on the problem for many years, and then finally a miracle happened. You just have to have PATIENCE. Wish I was better at that.
Well, I can still relate triathalons to any experience. I've got to get back at them so that I can start braging about it again. "That reminds me of a triathalon I did once...."
Monday, June 15, 2009
Loveland Colorado Family History Expo
You know, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to tell you about this time. It was kind of the same old same old, but in a really good way. Love, love, love getting to meet people. Classes went well. Managed to juggle the booth and 2 lectures without Kim this time. Plotter hated me at first but then I figured it out. Great facility, and Holly's team was wonderful as usual. You really have to try one of her conferences. I hope we do Loveland on a regular basis.
So let me show you some pictures.
You know, over the course of this last year conferences have changed so much for me. It is now a treasure hunt for friends that I know on the social networking sites like facebook and twitter, or people who have commented on my blog. This is me and Laura Best. I was so glad she introduced herself because you look at someone, but you never would connect it most of the time. Or at least I don't. I'm a little dense sometimes that way. But I know Laura really well from facebook. And I was so glad that now I get to know her for real.
And this is Becky Jamison. Another great facebook and blogging friend. She came to my "Serendipity in Genealogy" class. That was a fun class this time because I was a little late starting and when I finished trying to catch up, I was actually done 10 minutes early. So I opened the class up to the participants to tell us about times they had experienced the "numinous" It was so fun to hear the comments. And it was really interesting--I think I felt a collective sigh of relief from everyone. Megan Smolenyak says that if you put 50 genealogists in a room, 45 have had some kind of funny coincidental happening in their research. But we hesitate to talk about it much because it seems so "out there." It is fun when everyone relaxes and admits that it happens, and you get to hear the stories. There are some great serendipity stories out there. I'm going to always end that class early so I can listen and not just talk. 
And one of the highlights of the conference for me was getting to meet Diane McGinnis. I've known Ken and the other Legacy guys for a long time but have never had a chance to meet any of their wives. I had a great time talking to Diane. I hope sometime I get to meet Pegi, Dave Berdan's wife. I've talked to her many times on the phone but haven't ever gotten to meet her for real.
Sandy Booth also came and brought the cute kids. They explored the museums and the pools. I've been on that side of it--with the kids at a conference--and I can tell you with certainty that she worked harder than we did. Aren't they cute though? It's always fun to talk to Sandy.
I got to go to dinner with Lisa Alzo who was there to speak and Allison Stacy of Family Tree Magazine. We didn't get a picture but it was great to get to know them better too. Two really bright ladies. And we found an awesome barbeque place. "Serious Texas Barbeque" I hope we go back to Loveland just so we can eat there again. Looks like I was pontificating about something brilliant in this picture doesn't it? Thanks to Mike Booth for the picture.
And here are the cute Family History Expos ladies. Ready to eat some of that GOOOOOD barbeque. You would think they should look exhausted but they don't do they? Thanks again Mike.
So now it is back to work. We'll all do it again next week at SCGS ok? Come join us. I'll be excited to meet you too.
So let me show you some pictures.
You know, over the course of this last year conferences have changed so much for me. It is now a treasure hunt for friends that I know on the social networking sites like facebook and twitter, or people who have commented on my blog. This is me and Laura Best. I was so glad she introduced herself because you look at someone, but you never would connect it most of the time. Or at least I don't. I'm a little dense sometimes that way. But I know Laura really well from facebook. And I was so glad that now I get to know her for real.
And this is Becky Jamison. Another great facebook and blogging friend. She came to my "Serendipity in Genealogy" class. That was a fun class this time because I was a little late starting and when I finished trying to catch up, I was actually done 10 minutes early. So I opened the class up to the participants to tell us about times they had experienced the "numinous" It was so fun to hear the comments. And it was really interesting--I think I felt a collective sigh of relief from everyone. Megan Smolenyak says that if you put 50 genealogists in a room, 45 have had some kind of funny coincidental happening in their research. But we hesitate to talk about it much because it seems so "out there." It is fun when everyone relaxes and admits that it happens, and you get to hear the stories. There are some great serendipity stories out there. I'm going to always end that class early so I can listen and not just talk. 
And one of the highlights of the conference for me was getting to meet Diane McGinnis. I've known Ken and the other Legacy guys for a long time but have never had a chance to meet any of their wives. I had a great time talking to Diane. I hope sometime I get to meet Pegi, Dave Berdan's wife. I've talked to her many times on the phone but haven't ever gotten to meet her for real.
Sandy Booth also came and brought the cute kids. They explored the museums and the pools. I've been on that side of it--with the kids at a conference--and I can tell you with certainty that she worked harder than we did. Aren't they cute though? It's always fun to talk to Sandy.
I got to go to dinner with Lisa Alzo who was there to speak and Allison Stacy of Family Tree Magazine. We didn't get a picture but it was great to get to know them better too. Two really bright ladies. And we found an awesome barbeque place. "Serious Texas Barbeque" I hope we go back to Loveland just so we can eat there again. Looks like I was pontificating about something brilliant in this picture doesn't it? Thanks to Mike Booth for the picture. 
And here are the cute Family History Expos ladies. Ready to eat some of that GOOOOOD barbeque. You would think they should look exhausted but they don't do they? Thanks again Mike. So now it is back to work. We'll all do it again next week at SCGS ok? Come join us. I'll be excited to meet you too.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Vinyl
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New Family Reunion Chart Options
New Family Reunion Chart Options
As we head into the summer, you may be looking forward to a family reunion. Generation Maps has all sorts of options for creating a family history chart that will be the center of your get together. We have a new paper option that we are really excited about for family reunions this year -- VINYL. We have often been asked about a more durable paper for an outside gathering and we finally have an option for you. We have even seen people use this option for tablecloths and placemats (a great gift for the grandkids). With pictures or decorative elements, you can do some really fun things with this new option.
It is often hard to know how big a descendancy chart is going to be. When you send your file in for a FREE CONSULT, we can give you lots of options for creating a chart. You are welcome to use some of the popular genealogy programs to create your chart and then just send it to us for printing. But with all the practice we have had in printing family reunion charts, we can usually save you space over what many of the popular programs can do. Give our free consult a try, and we can send you the various size and pricing options for your data.
You may also want to visit The Chart Chick blog for the best ideas we have seen on how to display the charts. We have seen some great ideas over the years, and you can benefit from them here, and here. However you choose to do it though, you can create lots of great family history discussion, make everyone feel included, and even gather more information with a great chart. Use our free consult and we can make it much EASIER for you.
It is often hard to know how big a descendancy chart is going to be. When you send your file in for a FREE CONSULT, we can give you lots of options for creating a chart. You are welcome to use some of the popular genealogy programs to create your chart and then just send it to us for printing. But with all the practice we have had in printing family reunion charts, we can usually save you space over what many of the popular programs can do. Give our free consult a try, and we can send you the various size and pricing options for your data.
You may also want to visit The Chart Chick blog for the best ideas we have seen on how to display the charts. We have seen some great ideas over the years, and you can benefit from them here, and here. However you choose to do it though, you can create lots of great family history discussion, make everyone feel included, and even gather more information with a great chart. Use our free consult and we can make it much EASIER for you.
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