Social Media & Genealogy

Go to your Facebook Page and type in Genealogy in the search area. A list of different Genealogy groups will start to show up.

Go to your Facebook Page and type in Genealogy in the search area. A list of different Genealogy groups will start to show up.

A great group I have found is the Organized Genealogist. Very helpful in trying to organized your data and paperwork.

This is a must site for all Technology with your research. They are a great group of people and so knowledgeable and helpful. However just remember if you ask questions about the best research program or the best computer to use you will get a lot of great answers but everyone has their favourites so it still boils down to your preference.

Like our own Facebook page. Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group. Once it is up and running fully we hope to post our meetings up here as well.

Search for "If you Grew Up" groups. Many areas now have them. I great way to stay in touch with some old friends or to find people from the area or what happened to them. Also so many old pictures are on these sites. I use several for the Niagara Area.

This is "If you Grew up in Huntsville" group which shows you some of the old pictures you might find on the groups.

Just a few general rules of Facebook Groups.

When you join a group it usually goes to the Administator first who will then approve you. This might take a few minutes to a few hours. Read over the policies of each group. Make sure you post to the right groups. Don't ask about looking up a death in Ohio on an Ontario group. Genealogists are the most helpful and friendliest people around and those on these groups are awesome and such help and true to their nature. But be careful of your posts. Don't post pictures of your son and your great grandfather showing how they look alike. This fills up the pages and when someone asks for help that question might get pushed down the page too far and people won't be able to see it and won't be able to help. Make sure once you get the answers you are looking for you marked "SOLVED" by your post so people won't keep trying to help you after you've gotten what you need.

Facebook is awesome for your research. Join different groups and watch them for a bit to understand what each group is about. If you are using Facebook to find family members be aware they don't always answer your messages. Make sure you put as much details into the message as possible so the person you are trying to contact doesn't think it just spam.

Create your own facebook page or group. Go to the small drop down arrow on the top right and you start there. Or you can see on the left where you can start a page. This is a great tool for a family reunion. Keeps everyone updated on all the details. People can click a button to say if they are going to the event or not or even a maybe. Our reunion this last year more than tripled from the previous year because we used Facebook this time.

Instragram is another media you can use. It is mostly a picture group but you never know just what you will find. You can use instagram on your phone or your computer.

If you search for Genalogy Roadshow this is what will show up. Instragram might also keep you updated on current events happening within a group.

Here you can see that they are letting you know of the upcoming season. You can also reply to their posts as well.

I have only touched base on social media in these slides. Type this site to help you find some other social media sites for Genealogy. http://socialmediagen.com. The top 10 sites in 2014 are listed here and you should find some interesting new ways to help with your research.