Alan
E. Mann, AG
alan.familyhistory@gmail.com
Accredited
Genealogist
What’s New in Family History
on the Internet
This session looks at some new things on the Internet. There are so many new web sites we can’t possible begin to look at even 1% of what’s new. Rather, I would like to show you several new data sites, demonstrate some new technologies or concepts, examine some new products or services, and give you a few hints on how to keep find more of the same on your own.
New Data Sites
Footnote.com has entered an agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to make digital images available for millions of records. The first collections are now available. This service is on a subscription basis ($9.95/mo or $99.95/yr). Free memberships allow you to upload your own images and view limited records, including the Pennsylvania Archives.
GenealogyBank from NewsBank is a major newcomer in genealogy subscription web sites. This site has lots of newspapers, digitized books, and historical documents. For a better description of their content, see www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/keyword.html.
WorldVitalRecords is another newcomer in genealogical subscription web sites. One interesting feature is GeoMapping, which has been applied to Social Security Death Index data and several other databases on their site. From SmallTownPapers to Genealogy Blog Planet, they have some unique offerings. The company is aggressively acquiring new databases, and has a valuable offering at a reasonable price. Take a look at www.worldvitalrecords.com/contentlisting.aspx.
HistoryKat (also
familytoolbox.net, sources2go.com, and genealogytoolbox.com) have a variety of
sources. Most notable unique content is various state census records for
Tutorials continue to be a popular way of sharing instructions. One new tutorial is http://census.byu.edu/.
Some sites that are new, at least to me, are lists of various record types available on the Internet. Take a look at www.deathindexes.com and a site well worth exploring at http://home.att.net/%7Ewee-monster/databases.html.
New Technology or Concepts
I’ve been encourage participation in blogging and podcasting long enough not to refer to it as a new technology. For those interested, check out NetVibes for blog tracking and iTunes for podcast tracking. More on this subject appears in my New Technology presentation (online at www.alanmann.com/articles/newtech.htm).
Calendar synchronization (www.timetomeet.info) - TimeToMeet gives you a personal URL that others can use to make appointments with you. For them, it's like calling up your secretary and asking for a spot on your schedule. If you want, you can link it with your synchronized calendar and let others see when you are free or busy.
Shareable clipboard (www.cl1p.net) – most of us are familiar with copy and paste. Now, use the Internet to copy and paste between computers. Copy something to the clipboard, paste it to a URL, and then retrieve it from any computer. This could also be useful for teaching in computer labs or trying to help someone over the phone.
The world’s pedigree online is certainly not a new concept, but has yet to be successfully implemented. Several efforts are underway (One World Tree by Ancestry, OneGreatFamily, new FamilySearch, www.zooof.com, www.geni.com, etc.) which are worth keeping an eye on. A different approach is taken by GenesReunited, which seems to be ahead of the competition in the area of fostering collaboration. If you have British ancestry, check out www.genesreunited.com.
Timelines are a vital tool for genealogical research. GeneLines is a program which tries to implement the idea, but which requires software. Legacy and most other genealogical database programs are now including some form of timelines in their software. However, timelines are probably something better suited to a web service. For example, see www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/kings_queens/index.shtml. Timelines can benefit us by displaying in context:
New Products and Services
I’ve often mentioned automatic backup services, and I’ve tried to use several. One of my long time favorites, Mozy, has introduced unlimited size backup service for a fee of only $4.95/mo. Alternatively, you get 2 gb (+256 mb if you use this link - https://mozy.com/?ref=6H24GG).
Zamzar is a service for online file conversion (from your files or from a web site). Convert older formats to newer ones or convert large image files to compressed images for uploading or emailing. For their impressive list of file types handled, see www.zamzar.com/conversionTypes.php.
OnDemand Books. I’ve previously talked about Lulu.com as a publishing alternative, but now another phenomenon is ready to debut - the Expresso book dispenser. Check it out at www.ondemandbooks.com (4 minute video on site).
Speaking of books, how about www.libraryireland.com? This service makes Irish books available online. You can search or browse the catalog of books, and search or read the books themselves. This free service has many good Irish reference works, including Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland.
Check out the experimental life browser at www.familysearchlabs.org/lifebrowser.
Google has made it possible for those wanting to try a little programming to design customized Google searches. For a few examples of such searches, see:
How to Find More Web Sites on Your Own
There are thousands more such sites on the internet. It would be impossible to list them all here. Even if I could list them all, there would be more that weren’t listed by tomorrow! So how can you find more? There’s a lot you can do to be aware of developing technology. I would suggest: