RootsTech 2016: Using Facebook for Family History

I taught a class at RootsTech 2016 on Using Facebook for Family History. This was the objective of the class:

Discover how to create and manage family Facebook groups for ongoing virtual reunions. Uncover genealogy related organizations, societies, groups, conferences, companies, and experts. Learn about Facebook apps that help you build your tree and find out how simple it is to connect with distant cousins.

Questions answered in this class:

1. How do I create and manage a family Facebook group and how do I determine the privacy level for the group?
2. How can I find genealogy related organizations or people on Facebook?
3. What are some search techniques on Facebook to help me find and connect with distant living cousins?
4. What resources are available on Facebook to help me break through my “brick walls”?
5. How can my Facebook connections help me build my family tree?

My class was written about on the FamilySearch Blog. You can read about it here: Facebook and Family History—What a Match!

I'm going to answer those above questions and more here on my blog, in the coming weeks and months, as I share the content from my class and from my continual learning about Facebook.

#RootsTech

RootsTech 2016 Speaker and Ambassador

RootsTech 2016 starts tomorrow! It is going to be a busy four days for me. I've been sharing many posts here about RootsTech. Some of them have been press release; as this year I'm a RootsTech Ambassador.

I'm also a RootsTech Speaker! This is my 2nd year presenting at RootsTech. This year my class is:

Using Facebook for Family History

Discover how to create and manage family Facebook groups for ongoing virtual reunions. Uncover genealogy related organizations, societies, groups, conferences, companies, and experts. Learn about Facebook apps that help you build your tree and find out how simple it is to connect with distant cousins.

If you are attending RootsTech in person, my class is offered on Friday, February 6, 2016 at 11:00 AM in Room #151, class # GS2283F.

Below are links to the syllabus and outline.
Syllabus
Class Outline

Have you been wondering "What is a RootsTech Ambassador?"

A RootsTech ambassador is an individual with significant influence who is passionate about discovering, preserving, and sharing family connections and memories. These people come from all over the world and are family history and genealogy professionals or hobbyists, photographers, bloggers, scrapbookers, business leaders, storytellers, and innovators. RootsTech ambassadors are key players as they help build awareness of RootsTech events and opportunities, broadcast event announcements, engage in content opportunities, and amplify the RootsTech experience. Additionally, RootsTech ambassadors become important participants in defining, influencing, and growing an industry.

Commitments Prior to RootsTech 2016

• Publish a minimum of 3 posts (one per month) for most social media distribution platforms (blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+). More frequently if your media warrants it (such as Twitter, Tumblr). We will provide you with ample content for these posts and can even help you with official RootsTech 2016 guests for your content if that applies.
• Promote the event to your followers and community (such as through your social media site, email, newsletters, or other communication tools that apply) as frequently as possible.
• Conduct a promotional contest for your followers (The prize is a free, all access pass to RootsTech 2016).

 During the RootsTech 2016 Conference:

• Post to your social media site daily and more often if using instant messaging media like Tumblr or Twitter using the #RootsTech.
• If attending remotely, select one session per day to blog, Facebook/Google+ post, or tweet about.

 After RootsTech 2016:

• Publish (minimum of 1) a post or article summarizing the event with your personal experiences and observations. Send us a link once blog post is live.
• If possible help create awareness of the 1,500+ local RootsTech Family Discovery Day events worldwide throughout the remainder of the year.

Check out all of this year's ambassadors:
2016 RootsTech Ambassadors


#RootsTech

2015 Ogden Family History Conference - Of Roots and Branches

Put this FREE event on your calendar and plan now to attend the Ogden FamilySearch Library's Family History Conference - Of Roots and Branches on Saturday, September 12, 2015 in the Shepherd Union Building on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Check out this link for schedule information: Ogden 2015 Family History Conference

I am presenting the following sessions at this conference:

10:00-11:00 am
Piecing Together the Evidence
How do you know the documents, sources, and photos you just found are really about your ancestor. We will discover, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, if you have the right pieces of evidence, where to find the missing pieces, and what to do with the pieces that just don’t fit.

11:15 am-12:15 pm
Using Facebook for Family History
Discover how to create and manage family Facebook groups for ongoing virtual reunions. Uncover genealogy related organizations, societies, groups, conferences, companies, and experts. Learn about Facebook apps that help you build your tree and find out how simple it is to connect with distant cousins.

1:45-2:45 pm
Overwhelmed …. Paralyzed?  Time to get organized!
Overwhelmed by all the new technology?  Too many ancestors to research?  So much to share with your descendants?  Are you awake around the clock trying to figure out where to start? Come discover how to get it all sorted out and put together a personal priority plan.

3:00-4:00 pm

Linking the Generations: Sharing Eternal Family Keepsakes

Come discover how to create the atmosphere and environment in your home and family that allow you to create, preserve, and pass on memories and memorabilia to the next generation.  This interactive session will give you hundreds of ideas you can implement immediately in your own family.

I am looking forward to seeing you there!

Revealing Roots and Branches Facebook Page and Pinterest Board

I created a page for my blog on Facebook. You can be a fan here:

https://www.facebook.com/RevealingRootsandBranches

I also created a board for my blog on Pinterest. You can follow here:

https://www.pinterest.com/amyarchibald/blog-revealing-roots-and-branches/

Genealogy! Just Ask!

This month I found the best genealogy collaboration group on Facebook.

Genealogy! Just Ask!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GenealogyJustAsk/

I have only been a group member for a little over a week and I am so impressed with what is taking place that I want to shout it from the rooftops! 

Everyone who is interested in genealogy or family history in any form and at any level should be a member of this group. 

The group is a SAFE environment for anyone from beginner to expert to ask questions and also to provide answers. And it is FREE help! From those who are in the same research trenches as you are and from those who have been there and done it before.

It is inspiring to read the requests and see all the suggestions of help. It is taking family history / genealogy from what has historically been a "do it myself struggle" to a community collaborative effort. When you hit that "brick wall" and you have exhausted all you have within you, it is comforting to know that others know what it is like and can offer assistance. And many are willing to offer assistance before you hit that discouraging wall. 

Perhaps you just need help on knowing where to focus your efforts. Perhaps you are just beginning and are overwhelmed and need a little nudge of encouragement. Perhaps no one in your own family understands anything you are talking about and you just need an understanding and listening ear. It is about sharing success with those who understand the struggle. It is about matching the person with the question to those who know how to find the answer.

As this Facebook group has grown larger, the administrators, Jan Mitchell and Robin Foster, knew that it was time to create location and topic specific groups. They surveyed the group members and the first sub-groups created were for England and Ireland. Now, nearly all the US states have separate groups as well as handful of other countries. I like to think of these groups as "offspring" from the parent group. The Genealogy! Just Ask! website home page provides Facebook links to all of these offspring. Check out the website here: http://www.genealogyjustask.com/

I am also a member of a few of the "offspring" groups and in the Germany group another member posted some resources yesterday that were amazing to me. One website was particularly helpful to my family and our research efforts. I didn't even ask a question ... yet someone offered me some answers.

I wanted to know how and when these collaborative groups started, so I messaged the administrators with some questions. They were so positive with their responses. Let me share with you a little bit about these two women and some of their goals and purposes for Genealogy! Just Ask!

Jan Mitchell has been researching her family since 1994. While serving for three years as a research missionary and volunteer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints her main responsibility was training the other missionaries on how to help the patron. She loves teaching others how to use available websites to locate records online as well as where to find records offline. She helped to create and promote the FamilySearch Genealogy Research Communities on Facebook.

Jan created the Facebook group, Genealogy! Just Ask! in June 2014 as a safe non-intimidating place that anyone could feel comfortable asking questions in their own way. That comfort also needed to extend to all members of the group as they should feel comfortable in responding to any question without threat of critique or criticism. Everyone who has done any research in any area can be an expert in their own right. When you are familiar with a certain record set or website, you can also direct others there as well. Everyone can be a teacher and helper.

Robin Foster has been researching her family since 1985. She served for seven years as a family history missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where she helped patrons to answer research and product questions and helped build the family history community through social media. It was through this social media effort that Robin met Jan. Robin is the chairperson of the Fairview Cemetery Project and the new Greenwood South Carolina Family History Center Director.

As Jan was busy building the Genealogy! Just Ask! Facebook group last Summer, Robin was involved with reclaiming the Fairview Cemetery that she had found. She posted a question on her Facebook timeline about the initials to a headstone she had found and Jan provided the answer. Jan proceeded to help document all the burials and they went from 56 known burials to over 845; by using obituaries and death certificates. It was at this time that Jan asked Robin to join her with Genealogy! Just Ask!

Jan and Robin are great friends who respect and admire each other. Though they work well together, they have never met each other in person; Jan lives in Oregon and Robin lives in South Carolina! This is the magic and beauty of social media. They also never expected to find so many people who wanted to join Genealogy! Just Ask! They love all people and want to represent to the world that all people of any color, race, religion, etc. can work together in doing genealogy. This is a huge paradigm shift they believe will happen within the genealogy community.

While the focus of the group is to find records of deceased individuals, one amazing experience happened recently. Robin explained, "The group worked together to find a living descendant of someone who was cremated and box 6 of 7 of his remains were found in a house. It was wonderful to watch". Jan commented, "We also knew it would be impossible to do it alone but saw what could be done when everyone contributed. We knew one person could not know everything but everyone could know something. Combine the knowledge everyone had in a safe environment and brick walls would fall."

If you have a genealogy or family history related question, you should join one of the Genealogy! Just Ask! Facebook groups to find help. Be very specific in your request by providing what you already know and what resources you've already checked and what specific information you are still needing. And then see what happens. You will be amazed by the help you will get. 

While in the group, be sure to take some time to check out the posts from other group members. Perhaps you have the answer for the question they are asking. Remember to be courteous and respectful of other's opinions and beliefs.

Then come back to this blog post and share in the comments how Genealogy! Just Ask! has helped you.