Genealogy as a Team Sport: Getting Your Message Out

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Rootsweb lists will be gone 2 March 2020

Perhaps you have heard that news that Rootsweb mail lists are going away, leaving only the list archives behind. At least those invaluable archives will remain.

 The notice:
Beginning March 2nd, 2020 the Mailing Lists functionality on RootsWeb will be discontinued. Users will no longer be able to send outgoing emails or accept incoming emails.

What are the alternatives?

Twenty years ago, this would have been devastating. These days, we have lots of other places to place queries, ask questions, get answers and make connections. Where best to post? That depends on what you want to accomplish. We humans work best in connection with others, and getting your message out helps you find new collaborators and new cousins. Let's explore some of the options.

 Many (but not all) lists are moving elsewhere. Linkpendium.com, among others, will be keeping track of the new locations. A very popular destination for the lists is groups.io and that is where our list is moving, to skcgs.groups.io. Subscribers to our Rootsweb list have been invited to the new group, which is open to all. Groups.io offers us many things that we didn't have previously, so please go to our new group and join.

Ancestry Message Boards

For queries, posting obituaries or other original records you've found and want to share, one of the best places is Ancestry's Message Boards: ancestry.com/boards. The boards are Localities, Surnames, and "Topics." 

 It's important to choose the proper place to post; most posts are best put in a locality. Don't stop with the "general" board, but drill down as close to where your ancestor might have been born, been living, or died. For instance, here is the King County, Washington board: ancestry.com/boards/localities.northam.usa.states.washington.counties.king/mb.ashx

 Perhaps the King County board is new to you, but it gets lots of use:

Classify your post

Each post can be classified as Query, Bible, Biography, Birth, Cemetery, Census, Death, Deed, Immigration, Lookup, Marriage, Obituary, Pension, or Will. Unless you are posting a death record, deed, immigration record, etc., choose Query. If you answer a query, keep your reply Query so that they thread correctly.

Use the surname field

Once you have typed or copied in your text, look at the small box below your post text. It says in grayed-out text, Only enter the surnames discussed in your post. Please enter each of the surnames mentioned in your post so that if people searching for that surname, they can find your post -- Even if you are not researching that surname, even if they are only a witness, and especially if that surname is also a common word. Why? Those of you researching rare surnames are spared this, but consider those of us with, for instance, Disney? Try googling for that one! Or Post, Day, Brook, and many more. The surname field is important and should be used if there are any surnames in your post.

Facebook

If you attended our January 2020 meeting, you learned about how to use Facebook for your genealogy research. I place it second here, because there is no surname box, no way to filter for surnames. For localities and interest groups, as Marilyn has shown, there is a lot to love about Facebook! It is a fantastic way to find advice, and help others and enlarge your contacts.

Twitter

I like and use Twitter. However, I wouldn't post a genealogy query there, because a detailed query is going to be over 280 characters. But Twitter works to boost a message board query or blog post. When you tweet, always use an image to catch attention and interest and #hashtags for the words or names for which people will search.

 Twitter can be an excellent way to bring attention to your post or issue. You can reply to your own post which links two or more together, which is a creative and effective way to get your thoughts out or share a group of images. The image at right is a Twitter thread honoring my grandfather who fought in The Great War. See it full size: twitter.com/valoriez/status/1061823362559692800

 We have a post  on this blog about how to use Twitter for Genealogy: skcgs.blogspot.com/2019/01/how-to-use-twitter-for-genealogy.html

 Recently there have been a rise in Twitter groups, such as #genchat - genchatgenealogy.com/schedule.html - walkmypast.com @walkmypast and #AncestyHour - ancestryhour.co.uk

 Fun!

Instagram

Genealogists are using Instagram! Some well-known bloggers and writers post on Instagram now. Many write posts and don't include images, but that strategy does not take advantage of Insta's strength: images. It seems like a perfect place for a person (or genealogy society) to share old photos and other images. If you have never used Insta, you might not realize that conversations take place there. To illustrate, below is a post made last year by OliveTreeGenealogy, a Canadian genealogist.

Help Wanted!

We are seeking for someone motivated to start a South King County Genealogy Instagram! Please write to Publicity@skcgs.org if you are interested. Wouldn't it be great to have all our members sharing their #AncestorPhotos there?
sample Instagram image, post and responses

Other Social Media

Please suggest in the comments other services you have found useful in your networking and research. 

Thanks!


Valorie Zimmerman

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