The second edition of my book, Social Media for Family Historians, is now out. It explains what social media is; what use it is; and introduces you to more than 25 social media sites that can help family historians to communicate, share and collaborate with other family historians and with their own families. It has been expanded and updated, with some sites removed that I no longer consider useful, and new ones added, such as Google+. The section on getting started with Facebook in … [Read more...]
A first look at the new Facebook profile
24 September 2011 by 10 Comments
I've bitten the bullet and had a play with the new profile in Facebook. You'll be able to see it on 1st October. I will take you through the process of setting it up (once you've agreed to do so). At the moment it's only open to developers. When I said yes, I accepted the option to take the tour. First up you can select the cover (the large photo). It selected the most recent photo that had been tagged with my name. As you can see, this isn't me - it's my beautiful great-grand-nephew: When … [Read more...]
Can Google+ replace Facebook and Twitter?
12 July 2011 by 3 Comments
I've been playing with Google+ for a few days now, and I've had some time to experiment and to see how others in my circles are reacting to it. Most seem to be using it as a substitute for Facebook - posting to a limited audience in their own circles. Many of them like that you can more easily post about specific subjects to specific people, a capability that Facebook has but hides very well. The more public figures - developers and power-bloggers, for example, are making everything … [Read more...]
How did Facebook get my email address?
22 April 2011 by 4 Comments
Last month I gave a talk to some 'seniors' about social media, particularly Facebook. Many of them are wary of using social media because of privacy concerns, and talking to them made me realise that there are a lot of misconceptions that make people more fearful than they need to be. One that stands out involves requests from other people. Some of them had received friend requests from others, usually relatives, that arrived in the form of an email. These emails come from Facebook and so the … [Read more...]
Social Media for Family History Societies
11 February 2011 by 3 Comments
A lot of large companies and organisations are using social media to attract new customers and members, and to keep in touch with the ones they have. Those that don't are learning how to do so. I think small volunteer organisations like family history societies should do the same. It is even more important for societies to use low-cost ways of reaching people that cost little more than the time of a regular volunteer or two. Most family history societies have at least a basic website so … [Read more...]
