Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Top Ten Tools I Use For Genealogy Every Day

Cyndi Ingle recently asked a question on Facebook for discussion: 

"One of the new lectures is "Ten Resources I Use Every Day." Top 10 lists seem to be a popular thing. I remember being asked on many occasions to create top 10 lists of sites to present in lectures at conferences. Thus, this lecture idea was born. I've been adding to an outline for a while now. It is all the things I do and all the things I use during the day that make me more efficient, organized, and a better researcher. I have a lot more than 10 of them. It's 55 so far. So, I organized them into 10 categories. Ha! What are your favorite 10 resources?"

I responded on Facebook, but now I can't find Cyndi's post (Facebook doesn't show us everything a person posts!).  So this list may be a bit different from my Facebook answer.


Previously, I have written these other Top 10 posts:

*  My Top 10 Online Genealogy Research Resources (23 February 2015)

*  My Top 10 Genealogy Family Tree Resources (25 February 2015)

*  My Top 10 Genealogy Education Resources (6 March 2015)

This is my list of the Top 10 Tools I use every day to pursue my genealogy addiction obsession hobby:

1)  My Dell desktop computer with Windows 7, now four+ years old and almost full of stuff.  It's running slower and slower.  It is indispensable with thousands of documents, images, videos and more that support doing my genealogy research, reporting and education.  I count the external hard rive as part of this system.  I couldn't do it without it.



2)  The RootsMagic genealogy software program.  I have all of my research conclusions, plus record images, sources, notes, to-do list, research log, and more in this program.  I can add and edit content on the FamilySearch Family Tree from within RootsMagic.



3)  Blogger.  I write several posts almost every day using Blogger, which is part of Google.  It is easy to use, and using it consumes a major part of my day - 1 to 3 hours at least.



4)  Google.  I use Google for Chrome (web browser), Mail, Drive, Search, Translate, Images, Books, Maps, Calendar, and more.  It makes my online life organized.  

5)  Feedly news reader.  I read content from over 1,500 blogs on my Feedly news reader.  It is indispensable for me for what I do with my blog.



6)  My iPhone.  I read my email, and sometimes Feedly, and Facebook, and much more on my iPhone.  I use the RootsMagic and Ancestry.com mobile apps when I'm in a repository to see what I already have.  I use the conference mobile apps when I'm at a conference.  I use it as my main camera, and photos sync to iPhoto on my desktop computer.

7)  Facebook.  My blog posts go automatically to Facebook so that my 1,600 friends can see what I've written recently.  I keep track of what my daughters and their families are doing, plus extended family.  My Facebook friends are mainly genealogy related, so I get lots of news, and photos, and stories, from them every day.  Facebook also has many interest Groups that serve as message boards.

8)  Google+.  This is a social media platform, and I have a significant number of genealogists in circles.  I post information about my blog posts, and occasionally other tidbits, on Google+.  I love the Hangouts and Hangouts On Air where I can talk to, collaborate, or expound upon genealogy topics.  I try to participate in DearMYRTLE's Mondays With Myrt almost every week.

9)  OpenOffice program with Writer (word processor), Impress (presentation), and Calc (spreadsheet).  I use Write and Impress almost every day.  Many of my screen shots on the blog are copied into Impress to be saved and then imported into blog posts.

10)  Dropbox.  I save important computer files (RootsMagic database, presentations, family photos, reference books, conference syllabi, website backup, and research articles) to a free Dropbox account.  
I didn't list my Dell Laptop computer in my top 10 because I only use it to give presentations and classes, or when I'm away from home on a trip.  It has almost all of my major tools accessible on it.

I didn't list my all-in-one HP printer/scanner/copier machine because I use it infrequently now.  Most of my old family photos have been scanned, and the rest are digital photos.  I do print things out occasionally (e.g., syllabus articles) but it often sits idle all day.

I have many more tools that I use, but they aren't as important to me as the ones above, and I don't use them as often.  

We all have different tools that we use to pursue our genealogy and family history.  What do you use?  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/03/top-ten-genealogy-resources-i-use-every.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


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