How Many Web Services Can One Person Use?

I began to think about what all I have going on in my life:

1. I’m trying to get my genealogy research together and get it all published on my web site.
2. I’m trying to organize and scan all my pictures.
3. I’m trying to start a forum on my web site.
4. I’m trying to start a wiki on my web site.
5. I’m trying to write a blog.
6. I’m trying to keep up with what is happening on Facebook.
7. I’m trying to keep up with all my “friends” on MySpace.
8. I’m trying to maintain my reading of all my favorite genealogy blogs.
9. I’m trying to venture into the blogs concerning frugal living and smart money practices. (Yep! )
10. Oh yeah, don’t forget about Twitter.

Of course, the number of sites I would like to check out that I know would probably help me is huge.

All of this is on top of trying to work my job, spend time with my wife and two daughters and also take time to write or call my son! Of course, there is also my son’s wedding coming up in 2 months and, of course, the birth of my first grandchild in February!

It really is very overwhelming. I originally started my website as a way of making my research available to my relatives and that lead to the forum, blog and eventually a wiki. MySpace is something that has caused me more headache than it has helped and Facebook was originally just a way of helping with a cause. Now I have so many “friends” and I am overwhelmed at the number of invites for this and that.

Suddenly, the joy is gone from my research and I feel almost like it is a job to keep up with all of this. What happened? Where did the fun go to?

I’m really thinking about how to get things under control and get back to doing what I enjoy doing. I’m really glad to have made so many friends online through Facebook and MySpace but do I really need these services? Isn’t that why I started my web site? If I wanted to have a “community” then that is why I started my Message Board (forum). If I want to interact with my fellow bloggers can I not just click on a button to email them or comment on their posts? If I desire information from my relatives can I not get that information from them via the Message Boards or Wiki?

Does this mean I will soon be deleting my Facebook account or my MySpace account? I’m not really sure. I have to reevaluate what tools are vital in my research and what tools are actually taking time from my research. I’m sure everyone in the genealogy community has had to deal with these questions but I now find myself facing them.

Whatever I do decide to do, I will make sure I post here to let everyone know of my decisions before doing anything. I want to try to avoid hurting any feelings or causing anyone to feel like I am a terrible person because I deleted them from my “friends”. I just feel like my life has spun out of my own control and I don’t like that feeling. It’s time for me to reclaim my time and use it a little more wisely. I’m not “OLD” but I am realizing that we are not promised tomorrow. I want to take advantage of the time I have. I want to spend more time with my family and enjoy them while I have the time. At the same time, I want to finish publishing my research for future generations to enjoy.

I guess you can say that I am ready for some “Spring Cleaning” but it’s being done in the Fall!

Have a great week everyone!

This is an interesting article about Applications on Facebook. I’ve often wondered about the little disclaimer that pops up when being asked about installing an Application. This answers some of those questions and lets me know that I made the right choice when I decided to remove all the applications I had on Facebook!

I hope you all will give some thought to this!

http://www.ariwriter.com/2008/09/how-you-have-no-privacy-online.html

The woman at the County Clerk’s office was very nice and helpful and the indexes were so good. The problem was that in order to get a death certificate that was almost 100 years old I had to fill out a form detailing my relationship and then pay $21.00 for a death certificate and $23.00 for a birth certificate. I asked why I couldn’t just get a regular, uncertified copy and was told that all they have now is the certified copies. Well, that was very surprising to me! I am being charged $20 something for copies of certificates that I’ve been getting online for free or for just $50 a year at Footnote! What’s up with that?

<START RANT>

For those who complain about having to pay for access to services such as Footnote, why not think about this. If I had paid the price at the court house for the death certificates I have obtained from Family Search for free (55), then the total price would be $1, 155! That is ridiculous! What’s worse, some of the death certificates I have gotten from Family Search are not even on the index at the court house! The same goes for the birth indexes at the court house and what I have gotten on Footnote!

And that is not including the cost of gas if I had to drive all over Texas looking for them!

I think I will take a very different approach when it comes to paying for access to certain records! I know now that things could be a lot worse! I am also convinced that some folks need to step back and think about things before complaining about paying for services online!

<END OF RANT>

It’s been very interesting to be able to actually see different things about my fellow bloggers and, in a way, get to know you all better.

One added benefit of Facebook has been that I am now learning so much from the Unclaimed Persons group that was the main catalyst in my signing up for the service in the first place. I haven’t had an opportunity to help much in any of the researching of the cases yet because I have been working. It seems I only have time to help on the weekends. Watching how the others have gone about their research in finding the persons has helped me to learn a little more about how I can go about researching my relatives!

I’ve been posting a lot lately about my elusive great-uncle, Martin Isaic Spangler, and I believe that I have learned a lot just by reading the progress of the cases at Unclaimed Persons. I think that I may be able to use that info I have learned from the group to try to find a way to connect with a living relative of Martin’s.

You see, there are so many different tools available that we don’t realize could be used as genealogy research tools! Who’d have thought that Facebook would be helpful in my genealogy?

Have a great day everyone!

I’m just curious though. Does anyone remember the Ancestry fiasco last year? You know, folks were posting images from Ancestry and they threatened them, blah, blah, blah! I understand that Ancestry is a pay-site and that cut into their profits or whatever. How does that work with Family Search? I mean, it’s a free database so would it be wrong to post these images?

I am simply trying my best to avoid any harassing emails. What do you all feel on this subject? Post your comments and let me know. (This is also a chance to see if anyone is actually reading this stuff.)

It had disappeared for a few days and I was worried that it was not going to come back but it is back and how! It now has a very nice feature. You can look up the record and also get a copy of the original image! I’m not sure that the feature is available for all records but for the ones I have looked up it has been.

How great is that? The original death certificate with all the information you might want, right there for the taking! I love it!

Thanks, Family Search!

I’ve been content with my MySpace page for it seems like forever and I will continue with that but I believe that my new venture will be very exciting. I was reading a post yesterday about the Unclaimed Persons by Megan at Roots Television. She talked about creating a group at Facebook and I was really intrigued by the ideas put forth in this blog.

Well, to make a long story short, I decided to join Facebook and the Unclaimed Persons group and while doing so I discovered that there are a lot of Genea-bloggers that are on Facebook. So, I decided it would be cool to have my MySpace account for my real family and my Facebook account for my second family, my fellow genealogists and bloggers.

I plan on trying to explore it more this weekend but I hope none of you will be offended if I ask you to be my “Friend” on Facebook. I’m excited to have an opportunity to get to interact some with all the other bloggers who I respect and admire so much! I’ve already been able to add Randy Seaver and Miriam Robbins Midkiff so I’m off to a wonderful start!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Anyone know anything about this?

So, what’s on my mind is what is the best way to do things for your research. In essence, it basically comes down to how are you going to establish your web presence! Do you simply choose free or are you willing to pay? Which is the best way? Well, that question will probably be able to be answered a million ways. Here are my thoughts on some of these subjects.

Web Hosting

Which is best, free web hosting or paid? I guess that all depends on what you are planning to do. I had a site for a long time on GeoCities and was happy with it for a time. There came a time when it was no longer appealing to me. When I decided to get serious about my web site I opted to buy a domain name and host it on a paid server. There’s just something about it when you go to a site that has pop-up ads and banners all over it. I’ve never been in this for the money and my web site shows that. There are no banner ads of any kind on it! I’m not interested in making money with my web site, I’m interested in making connections! I know that there are many who say that they can’t afford it but, really, everyone can afford having their own site! I just renewed my domain and hosting for one year and it cost me roughly $60.00 for my domain registration, private domain and hosting. That’s $5.00 a month! Most folks can burn that at their local hamburger joint!

Blogs

OK, here’s the touchy subject. I know there are many people who have a blog on Blogger or the free WordPress and a lot of those are folks who are on my Blog Roll! Honestly, I believe that blogging is something that you can do on a free site and not have to worry. However, for me, the best option is choosing a free software, uploading it to my server and having total control of my content. That is one thing I enjoy about paying the small amount I do. Total Control. Yes, there is a learning curve sometimes but for me it is well worth it. There are a number of free blogging softwares available. I use WordPress on this blog and have recently began using Serendipity on my new blog. Both work well for me. I find WordPress is a little more powerful and easier to customize. Serendipity does have some good points about it also. I’m still learning it so who knows what may come of it.

Forums

Forums or Message Boards are something that most folks don’t worry about. I really don’t get much action on my forums but I do want to try to have it available because you never know which tool might generate a lead! This is one part of my web experience that I have chosen to go with a free host on. The main reason is because I became frustrated when trying to set up the software when I first started! The one I have now is easy to use, easy to set up and very customizable. It is hosted on ProBoards.

Email

Well, this one is simple. I have several free emails available with my hosting package but because I have had a couple of emails that I have used for years, I continue to use GMail for my email. I grew tired of Yahoo and their limits on space and all the ads and such. I also didn’t like that you had to pay for Pop Forwarding. GMail can be obtained easily through my Outlook Express. So, for me, free is good here!

That’s just a few things on my mind right now. I may elaborate on them more in the near future. I’ve always enjoyed having conversations about what ways folks are able to make their web presence and hearing about which free services are good and which ones are better off paying for.

Please, feel free to leave a few comments and share your views!

The Moultrie Creek Online Historical Society is authored by Denise Olsen of Family Matters and will have a group of contributing authors to help folks in many ways. This is her description of her site:

Moultrie Creek Online Historical Society is a fictional organization. It’s only purpose is to demonstrate how associations such as local historical societies, genealogical societies and family or veteran associations can take advantage of free and low-cost online services to support their membership.

I am excited to see what this site will offer. I am always on the lookout for ways to not only make my research easier but to also make my website and blog more user-friendly and interactive.

Make sure to check out this new blog and support Denise in her efforts to help out others! I know there are quite a few talented authors who could contribute to this effort. I will have to say that I know I’m not one of them but I do marvel at the talent that is available in this genea-blogosphere! (Is that a word?)

Have a great day everyone!