Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Predictions Best Forgotten

Caution: This article contains personal opinions.

Once upon a time, Microsoft said that Windows Vista would transform life as we knew it. I don't know about you, but my life hasn't been transformed. If Vista transformed your life, please let me know how that happened.

Microsoft also said that Vista would transform the way people worked and played, and address the “needs and aspirations” of people worldwide. Now Microsoft can't even get people to upgrade from XP to Vista: many PC manufacturers sell PCs with Vista installed and then also offer voluntary "downgrades" to XP, due to customer demand. So much for the "aspirations of people worldwide."

Microsoft isn't the only company to have its predictions turn into pixie dust. Circuit City said firing its most experienced salespeople would save the company. Have you been to a Circuit City store lately? Right. They aren't there any more. So much for saving the company.

Get an E-mail Receipt for Every Purchase

NOTE: This article has absolutely nothing to do with genealogy. However, I think some readers may find it useful.

I exchanged e-mail messages this week with a newsletter reader. The first message started off as a comment on the recent "Automatic Home Library Software for Windows, Macintosh and iPhone" article but soon drifted off into one topic only briefly mentioned in that article: how to transcribe data from printed receipts into a computer-readable format.

The article mentioned scanning ISBN barcodes from books so as to avoid the tedious task of entering title/author/publisher/ISBN/date every time when creating a card catalog of the books you own. The program described in the article will scan each book's barcode and  retrieve all the related information from online databases, and automatically entering that information into the program's database.

That's a great use of barcode scanning. but there are many more uses as well. Some of them can save even more time. My correspondent wrote, "If the developers of cash registers would program to include printing 2-3 codes of info on each receipt, Total $, Date, and perhaps a store ID."

I agree. Scanning of information on printed receipts could be a great time-saver, especially if that information was to be entered into a checkbook program, an income tax program, or similar applications. In fact, I do scan my receipts into an income tax program every year.

HOWEVER, I think there is an even better solution, and it is available today. I don't even need a scanner.

Lessons Learned about Digitization

The recent tragic news from Germany and Italy points out just how fragile our world is. Documents, works of art, architecture, and more from throughout the centuries can be wiped out within seconds by earthquakes, fires, building collapses, wars, and other calamities. The loss to scholars, historians, genealogists, and others is incalculable. Luckily, we now have the technology and the ability to preserve multiple copies of all these priceless objects for future generations.

Commentary: Footnote's Interactive 1930 Census and the Great Depression Collection

In a separate article today, I republished Footnote.com's announcement of the company's new Great Depression Collection. The mention of the first ever interactive 1930 U.S. Census caught my eye. This looks like a great resource for genealogists.

Of course, Footnote.com is a sponsor of this newsletter, so I always closely watch any new announcements from the company. Even so, I think the info about the Interactive 1930 Census would have caught my eye even if the company was not a sponsor. Other companies already offer the 1930 Census images, so one might think this is simply a duplication of what other companies have done. However, a quick look at the "interactive" features shows that Footnote's new offering is quite different from anything seen before.

Pop-Top Genealogy

I recently read a message on one of the online message boards that disturbed me a bit. Apparently this person is rather new to genealogy and was experiencing some frustrations.  He wrote, “I'm bummed though because I am not having any luck with Ancestry.com on finding any of my ancestors. Any advice on that?”

While genealogists have long dreamed of the day when we could sit at home and do all our family tree research via computer, we certainly have not arrived at that Utopian state yet. There are millions of genealogy records available today online, but the data available in electronic format at this time only scratches the surface. The writer of this online message apparently was not aware of the other resources available. From his brief message I would assume that he had only looked at the World Wide Web. Perhaps he only looked at the one site. I must say that several people jumped in to answer his online remarks, and the writer soon received a lot of good advice. However, for every person who asks such a question, I wonder if there are many more who never ask.

How Popular is Genealogy?

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.

A newsletter reader this week sent an e-mail asking a simple question:

I have heard about surveys showing genealogy to be the 2nd most popular hobby in America. Now I need a citation on this statistic and can't find one on the Internet. Can you help?

In short, the answer is "No." In fact, I question the "fact." I don't believe that genealogy is as popular as often claimed. Let's look at the facts.

Lessons to be Learned from the AFFHO Congress

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.

As I mentioned in another article, the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) "Congress" is now finished. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this five-day event in Auckland, New Zealand, and must say that I learned a lot. In fact, I think there were a few lessons here for all genealogy conference organizers.

I have written before about the skyrocketing of attending genealogy conferences. It seems every year in the United States we hold national conferences in expensive convention centers with attendees staying at nearby hotels that charge exorbitant prices for rooms and meals and then pile on even more fees for parking, Internet access, and whatever else "the traffic will bear." The organizers in Auckland took a different approach, one that I think we all can learn from.

Turn Off Your Television!

Warning: this article contains personal opinions.

A brief mention in Dear Myrtle's blog (http://blog.dearmyrtle.com) caught my eye. It was a one-paragraph "pointer" to an article on CNet, entitled "Ditch Satellite TV for Online Alternatives and Save." The James family canceled their satellite dish TV package and replaced it with a media center PC, a fast broadband connection, and a Netflix account. They now save $93 a month.

James said she and her husband were spending $115 a month for their Dish satellite service, which gave them about 250 channels of programming. But when she sat down and listed what she and her husband actually watched, she discovered that they only viewed about 25 of those channels.

"I just couldn't justify watching only 10 percent of the channels I was paying for," she said. "I would have felt a lot better about keeping the satellite service if I could have thrown out the extra channels and only paid for the channels we watched. It's just like buying a whole loaf of bread and only eating two slices—such a waste."

Highway Robbery: Conferences, Conference Centers, and Conference Hotels

I just returned from the 2008 conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. As I reported in another article, I enjoyed most of it. However, a few things have me blowing steam out my ears. I do not plan to go through similar experiences ever again. In fact, I am questioning whether or not I want to go to any more genealogy conferences. I know from informal conversations with a number of people in the past few days that several others are considering the same issues. Several people I talked with this year tell me they won't be going to any more major conferences.

Let me jump ahead and provide the summation of this article: holding conferences in downtown locations of major cities is too expensive.

Now I'll provide the details.

Expanding the Reach of Genealogy Societies and Conferences

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions. The intended audience for this article is the members and officers of genealogy societies.

There are two contradictory "facts" floating around among genealogy societies, points that I hear discussed at almost all the genealogy conferences and meetings that I attend:

Fact #1: Genealogy is more popular today than ever before. It is the second or third or fourth most popular topic on the Web, depending upon whose sources you care to cite.

Fact #2: Attendance at all genealogy venues is down. The average attendance at genealogy conferences is declining. (Note that I wrote "average." There are some notable exceptions.) Membership in genealogy societies is also declining. Finally, the number of visitors to most major genealogy libraries reportedly is declining.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see a contradiction in these two "facts?" If interest in genealogy is growing, why aren't we seeing more and more people at conferences, libraries, and society meetings?

Commentary About FamilySearch Cooperative Project With Ancestry.com/The Generations Network

Today's announcement from FamilySearch, the genealogy department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and The Generations Network, owners of Ancestry.com, may be monumental for genealogists.

First of all, these two organizations are the biggest competitors in the arena of supplying information to genealogists. The two have not always agreed on various projects and goals in the past. In my mind, that's not surprising; I wouldn't expect a commercial corporation to have the same goals as a non-profit organization owned by a religion. The lack of agreement has created bits of friction from time to time, although the two organizations obviously do not discuss their differences in public.

I think today's announcement is great: these two powerhouse organizations have decided to work together, not on one project, but on many. Each brings certain strengths to the table, strengths that may complement the other's offerings perfectly or nearly perfectly.

Let's closely examine a few items in today's announcement.

Printed Newsletters and Magazines are Disappearing

NOTE: This article contains personal opinions.

I received a sad note in the mail recently. It came from Debbie Roberge, Editor and Publisher of "The Pine Cone and Tassel," an excellent newsletter devoted to genealogy research in the State of Maine. I have subscribed to this newsletter for several years and was saddened to read Debbie's note. She wrote (in part):

It is with deep regret that I must inform you that "The Pine Cone and Tassel" will cease publication.

Debbie went on for a bit more to explain the reasons for her decision. She specifically cited the cost of gasoline required to do research trips around the state and stated that she could not pass those expenses on to her subscribers. She didn't cite printing and postage costs although I suspect those were also significant. Whatever the root causes, she states that she is unable to continue publication due to financial reasons.

Follow-up: I Have a Complaint Concerning Many Genealogists

On the evening of May 22, I read one too many comments complaining about "the high cost of online genealogy services." I wrote a knee-jerk reaction article that pointed out what a bargain these services are. I posted that article online in this newsletter's web site and went to bed.

I guess I struck a sensitive chord: I awoke the next morning to find dozens of newsreaders' comments posted at the end of my article. I watched in amazement throughout the day and evening as still more and more comments were posted. As I now write this new article 4 days later, 210 readers' comments have been posted, more than quadruple the number ever posted to any other article in this newsletter over the past twelve years!

If you haven't yet seen those comments, you might like to see what everyone is writing at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/05/i-have-a-compla.html.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to offer their views and suggestions. The experience of reading all those comments was heartwarming.

I Have a Complaint Concerning Many Genealogists

Warning: This article contains personal opinions.

I have a complaint that may upset some people, including some who read this newsletter. I will probably lose readers because of this article, but I don't care. Like many of my readers, I feel so strongly about this issue that I just have to speak out – hold the sugar coating.

Some people are so shortsighted that they manage to ignore certain facts that are blatantly obvious to others.

Commentary About Social Security Numbers in the SSDI

Note: This article contains personal opinions.

This week's news about a woman fraudulently using Social Security numbers of deceased individuals got me thinking. This woman allegedly used the publicly available records on RootsWeb.com to locate people who had recently died. She then took over their credit cards, submitting changes to the mailing addresses for the deceased victims to one of her many rented mail drops and, in some cases, she'd add her own name as an authorized user of the card.

After the story was released, I read comments from several people stating that they shouldn't release Social Security numbers of deceased people. I have read many similar comments in times past. I have one comment:

WRONG!

In fact, releasing Social Security numbers in the SSDI is one of the most powerful identity theft prevention tools available today! Let’s use the data wisely to prevent identity theft.

Internet Connections of the Future

You remember when your neighbor was the first person in town to get cable TV? To be sure, the neighbor received clear pictures and received five more channels than you did! Who would be dumb enough to PAY for the privilege of watching a television channel when the other channels are all free? All you need is rabbit ears. The neighbor pays HOW MUCH for those extra channels? I'll never do that!

Everyone knows that television will always be broadcast on the airwaves while telephones will always connect via wires.

Rules of Posting Genealogy Information Online

The past few weeks have been fascinating. We saw Ancestry.com deliver a search engine that focused primarily on genealogy resources. The service was designed to simplify the process of finding family history information that many people would not be able to find easily because it is often scattered among numerous websites across the Internet. However, the service quickly became controversial as genealogists discovered various features that some felt were inappropriate, including caching of web sites and the use of HTML frames that hid the origin of a page obtained from another web site. Ancestry pulled the service after only a few days.

I watched the various comments fly back and forth with somewhat mixed emotions. I agreed entirely with some of the messages posted and disagreed with others. More than a few surprised me. In numerous cases, I thought to myself, "That's the way everyone does it. Not to say that it is right or wrong, only that it is common practice."

Some Thoughts About Publishing Your Genealogy Data

Watching the comments posted to this newsletter's web site prompts many questions: Just how private are the facts that we record? Can we really "protect" our genealogy data? Should I copyright my data? Is my data automatically under copyright protection when I publish? Should I keep my data secret? Is it a good idea to do so? Or should I publish my genealogy data for all to see?

I do not know all the answers, but perhaps I can offer a few thoughts for your digestion.

Comments about the NARA Proposal to Increase Fees

WARNING: This article contains personal opinions.

I've been thinking a bit about the article posted here yesterday about the National Archives and Records Administration's proposal to increase fees. To be sure, I reacted negatively to the news at first. So did many other people who posted comments to the end of the article on the newsletter's web site.

The more I think about it, I wonder if perhaps the personnel at the National Archives have the right idea. In fact, maybe all of us should follow their example.

Here are a few thoughts:

Saving Money at Conferences: Paper or Plastic?

WARNING: This article contains some of my personal opinions.

As I am packing for the trip home after the annual St. George (Utah) Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree, I am reminded of one thing: the syllabus is published on a CD-ROM disk instead of on paper. What a great idea!

I am told that the annual BYU Technology Conference does the same thing: publish the syllabus on a plastic CD-ROM disk instead of on paper. To my knowledge, these are the only two large genealogy conferences to do so. All the others I know of still publish on paper, a costly, labor-intensive, and bulky process.