October 20th - Are you a self-centered genealogist?

Photo by Pete Pedroza on Unsplash

Are you a self-centered genealogist? Now I do recall that back on October 2nd I told you that it was all about you - but what I meant was that you need  to make sure to add all the pertinent information about yourself into your Legacy family file. Then the idea is to expand those rings of influence - to your parents, your siblings, your grandparents, your aunts and uncles, your cousins, and so on and so on! That should be enough to keep us all busy with our family history and our Legacy family file!

And the same idea is true in the online genealogy community. Do you have a blog? Do you read others' blogs? Do you join Google+ communities, Facebook groups, Tweet about new finds, interesting activities, or great learning experiences? Do you attend webinars, on-line study groups, hangouts and the like? Are your activities online all about the genealogy community or are they all about you?

I really enjoy reading about new tools and technology. I always want to learn about how others accomplish tasks and activities. I enjoy reading about various conferences and seminars (especially the "takeaways" or "aha moments"). When someone finds and shares a new-to-me dataset or posts that a helpful conference is being streamed or recorded - I am in heaven. And what all of those moments have in common is that someone in our genealogy community was thinking of others not of themselves. And that is what it is all about!

So today - take 15 minutes AND

(1) read a few genealogy blogs and leave a comment (that will make someone else's day and give them the encouragement they need to know someone is reading their work).

(2) visit a website or community or group where you have received help in the past and share a bit of your knowledge by posting about a record set or research tip.

(3) write a thank you note to someone who has helped you online (this can be a private message or you can post it publicly).

I am sure there are some other ideas out there in the LVUG Community so feel free to share them with us in the comments section.

So many times and in so many ways, fellow genealogists and family historians are doing wonderful things and sharing wonderful finds - and making it about the genealogy community not about themselves. We need to encourage more of these unselfish folks.

For my part -

thanks to irisheyes jennifer who posts wonderful photos and stories that touch on history, family and genealogy; she doesn't post every day but when she does post you know you are in for a treat!

thanks to Jenna Mills who spent time with me last weekend in a hangout sharing her knowledge and expertise - what I learned in an hour of asking questions would have taken me several hours on my own (and she gave me lots of confidence to try something outside my skillset!).

thanks to Marian Pierre-Louis for her terrific series of social media webinars/recorded videos "starting from scratch" they are helping all of us feel more comfortable with all our social media choices. 

thanks to Pat Richley-Erickson I don't know where she finds the time but her study groups and hangouts keep us informed of what is going on in the genealogy world and help us work through so many topics. She makes a huge effort to include genealogists from all walks of life and all parts of the world. AND

thanks to Geoff Rasmussen and  the folks at Legacy - the weekly webinars are open to everyone and are on a variety of topics (and free to watch or re-watch for a week), they offer a free version of Legacy to encourage budding genealogists. There is no reason not to save your genealogy finds in either the free or paid version of Legacy and learn from some excellent presenters.