Sunday, January 8, 2012

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 1 January to 7 January 2012

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Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.


Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:


Ancestry.com 2012 Plans by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog.  Mr. AI adds much more context to the Ancestry.com year-end announcement.

Finding Births, Marriages, and Deaths for New York Ancestors: a 2012 Research Challenge and beyond… by Arlene Eakle on Arlene Eakle's New York Genealogy Blog.  Arlene highlights vital records sources, and laments the passing of cursive writing.

Creating a custom chart  by Kim Ostermyer on the Late Night Genealogies blog.  Kim figures out a way to make the chart he needs, not the chart software wanted to provide.  Good job!

Carnival of Genealogy, 113th Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog.  There are 10 entries to this carnival on the topic of  "A Dickens Christmas" - a look at Christmases past, present, and future.

My last word on GeneaBlogging and the Paradigm Shift by Michael Hait on the Planting the Seeds blog.  Michael summarizes the debate about source citation on blogs.  It's a good compendium.

Professional Genealogist and Geneabloggers, Friends or Foes? by Valerie Elkins on the Family Cherished blog.  Valerie has comments on Michael's post, and makes some recommendations.  Good list!

How I Can Live With Myself, Being Both a GeneaBlogger and Board-Certified Genealogist by Polly Kimmitt on the PollyBlog.  Polly comments on Michael's post with good points.

You’re Not the Boss of Me! by Christy Fillerup on the Living Ancestors blog.  Christy comments on Michael's post with more good points. 

Eliminating the Hobby from Genealogy by the writer of The Genebrarian Reference Desk blog.  Is genealogy just a hobby?  Or is it a research methodology?  Is there a brand for it?  Good questions, good comments.

Why Bother With Genealogy?by Elyse Doerflinger on Elyse's Genealogy Blog.  Elyse discusses why she does genealogy, and searches for the right word to describe her feelings. 

Privacy and the Social Security Number by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  James tries to provide Facts about Identity Theft of SSNs, but the data is hard to come by.

 Several genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week, including:

Monday Morning Mentions: Resolutions by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.

Ruth's Recommendations by Ruth Blair on The Passionate Genealogist blog.

Genealogy News Corral Catch-up by Diane Haddad on the Genealogy Insider blog.

Genealogy Round Up, January 5 by Megan Smolenyak on the Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Roots World blog.

Friday Finds - 01/06/12 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog blog.

Follow Friday – January 6, 2012 by Wendy Littrell on the All My Branches Genealogy blog.

Follow Friday: This Week’s Favorite Finds  by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.

Follow Friday Gems - 01-06-12  by Deb Ruth on the Adventures in Genealogy blog.

Follow Friday - Jan 6 2012 by Ginger Smith on the Genealogy by Ginger's Blog.

Weekly Rewind by Apple on the Apple's Tree blog.

Week In Review by John Newmark on the TransylvanianDutch blog.

I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 1110 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/best-of-genea-blogs-1-to-7.html

Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2012.

3 comments:

Michael Hait said...

Thanks for the mention, and the mention of the responses. I have no problem with disagreement when it occurs respectfully.

I don't think Valerie's post was a response to mine, though. Her post doesn't have anything to do with citing sources on blogs.

Celia Lewis said...

Randy, your selection always brings me to a new-to-me blog writer or two or three! I learn so much from these listings. Thanks so much for your friendly helpful posts, day after week after month!

Valerie Elkins said...

Randy, Thanks for the mention! Always a thrill.

Michael is right, my post is not about citing sources, nor in response to him. I actually agree with many of his points, though I am on the fence of whether or not a blog is the place for me to put my sources for research, though I am happy to share should someone ask.

My post is directed at some of the full-time genealogists who see the "hobbyists" as a threat to their pocketbook. Instead of seeing them as foes, I suggest ways that a "professional" can increase revenue and make a living doing what they love. Not everyone knows business as well as they know genealogy. When you remove the competition mentality and replace it with a networking mentality it is a win-win for everyone.

I love learning and sharing from all and have great respect for both the master and the student.

Thanks again Randy for sharing and teaching others!