Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

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.

A Few Thoughts About Windows Vista

I purchased a new computer this week and specified that it should have Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed at the factory. I was able to take the computer out of the box, boot up, and start using Vista within a few minutes. I had read quite a bit about Vista's improvements and wanted to try them out for myself. Now that I have about eight hours' use under my belt, I am ready to share my impressions.

Déjà Vu: The Past Four Years of Genealogy Advancements

I had one of those "déjà vu" experiences this week. In this case, there was no impression of place. Instead, it was an impression of time. I felt that I was now living in a time that I had "experienced" some years ago.

Pam spent part of New Year's Eve organizing our collection of old genealogy magazines. She pulled out a copy of Ancestry Magazine that was exactly four years old: the December 2002 edition. She handed it to me and my eyes widened when I looked at the lead article: "What's In the Future for Genealogy?" Here was a four-year-old magazine article predicting what the future of genealogy would be like within the next few years. It is creepy that she stumbled over such an article on New Year's Eve, the one time of the year that many of us pause to reflect on the past and contemplate our future.

Now here's the strangest part: I wrote the article.

How accurate were my predictions? Did I score a hit or a miss? My hands trembled as I opened the magazine.

Are Digital Genealogy Libraries Going to Replace Traditional Books?

Is it time to stop the presses?

It seems that every week I report in this newsletter about more and more genealogy books that are being converted to electronic format. Sure, old books have been digitized for several years now. However, even new books are now appearing as electronic publications.

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?

I would like to offer some possible solutions to this quandary.