A Small Social Media Geneameme

I missed the recent Unlock the Past cruise. I did quite fancy a revisit to Fiji, but alas it was not too be.

Jill over at Geniaus floated the idea of this small meme in regard to Social Media, so I thought that I would play along.

1. Tell us about your favourite social media tool and why you like it.

I love all aspects of social media. I love that it shrinks the world to the size of a matchbox! I like Twitter, it is an information snapshot in 140 characters! Information in the blink of an eye, what a fantastic concept. I like Facebook as it bridges the miles between family and friends across all parts of the globe. It enables me to share the incidentals of their lives and vice versa. Facebook does enable the "Like" facility which means that I can keep a track of sites without adding them as a friend. I am beginning to like Google+ and still need to explore and really embrace this further.

2. How do you use social media to further your genealogy career or business?

I recently set up a Facebook page to co-exist with my blog, currently it simply shows a link to the various blog posts, but will grow as I develop my research business further.  I utilise Twitter to share my blog posts and raise my profile as others routinely favourite and re tweet my posts.

3. What advice would you give the cruiser who said “I must be living
under a rock” and is not sure about coming out from under it? (This came from my Social Media presentation)

Get out there and explore! The world of Geneabloggers and GeneaTwitters is a friendly and welcoming one. Explore and embark on a social media journey of discovery.  Follow other bloggers and Tweeters and see how they do it - there is no right or wrong way! Explore, explore, explore the internet has so many wonderful sites to assist your research, please do not miss out!

4. What aspect of Social Media makes you grit your teeth?

I am non too keen on what I see as the Facebook high jacking of accounts - adjusting settings without my consent and changing the terms frequently.

5. How does social media assist with your CGD (continuing genealogical development)?

Social media enables information to come to me quite easily. I often favourite items on Twitter or in my reader so that I can revisit the items as time allows.

6. How do you fit social media time into your busy day?

The world of smart phones enables social media to be assessable all of the time - 24/7. So when I was off to the day job I by law should have a 30 minute break, the reality was often different, but found that I could have a quick Twitter or Facebook fix whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.

7. Do you have a story of how social media enabled you to connect with a long lost relation or fellow researcher?

Quite recently I wrote about a family that links to one of my Puttenham families and married into the Jackson family. As a result of that post, someone left a comment as they descended more closely that I to that very family. I replied to the comment, but sadly that have not revisited and left further comments or provided an email address or profile.

8. You have a minute to share a piece of advice about genealogy and social media. Go for it.

Social media is a tool. A great tool, which will enrich your research. That said, you can not beat the feel and experience of a records office, seeing those documents and knowing that they have survived several hundred years, and hopefully your ancestry is within those wonderful pages. Embrace social media and the people you meet along the way. It is a wonderful experience and you and your research will be the better for it.

So, as Jill says, are you up for the challenge?