A new phenomenon has been developing on the Internet called “social networking.” This basically refers to web sites which offer ways to connect with long-lost or newly-made friends, family, co-workers, old roommates, ex-boyfriends, elementary school classmates, and complete strangers. The two most popular social sites are MySpace and Facebook, I prefer Facebook myself. There has been an explosion of genealogists showing up on Facebook and I have been discovering some of the genealogically relevant applications for the site.
Facebook is a good all-around site that is fun, interactive and sometimes a complete waste of time. One of my favorite things to do on Facebook is playing word games such as Scrabulous, PathWords, and Scramble where you can challenge a friend to a game and they can play rounds at their leisure. (I’m pretty good at these games, so if anyone wants to play, let me know!) I also enjoy doing the senseless things like sending trout paperweights and “tickling,” “hugging,” or “drinking a beer with” my friends. These virtual activities are just a fun way of letting your friends know that you are thinking about them.
You can find out how smart you are with quizzes such as the “Favorite 70’s TV Shows,” “Name That Movie Star” and my personal favorite–the “Their, There, They’re Test.” There are all kinds of personality tests as well like “What Breed of Dog are You?,” “What City are You?” and “Which 80’s Move Defines You?” You also can become a “fan” of music groups, TV shows, movies, actors, and other things. I just became a fan of pancakes.
One of the more interesting aspects to Facebook is a person’s status. This is a tagline where you can put in any status you want such as “Cari is writing an editorial” or “Karen Mauer Green is looking for homestead applications of Nicolaus Mauer's neighbors.” This one liner describes your activities, your feelings, your plans, whatever.
When I first signed up, I spent a lot of hours exploring, finding old friends, playing games and becoming fans of things. It was a giant but fun waste of time. I would get sucked in for hours and have not much to show for it except a high score in Scrabulous. However, I have discovered some more practical uses for Facebook––shockingly there are many!
Finding people on Facebook has the obvious genealogical application of meeting cousins or fellow researchers and being social with them. Once you create an account you can begin “looking” for people you know with Facebook accounts and request to be their “friend.” As you link up to people you can view who else they are friends with and what friends you may have in common. If you know their friends you can request to become friends with them and so on. In many ways it is like a family tree, or a web, in the way everything intertwines.
It seems that once I became “friends” with Birdie Holsclaw, I was able to hook up to many genealogists who are on Facebook. I am now “friends” with some nationally-known genealogists such as Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens (editor of Digital Genealogist and developer of Clooz software, who also is a huge Cubs fan), Drew Smith and George Morgan (The Genealogy Guys Podcast), Curt Witcher (he manages the genealogy section at the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana), Amy Johnson Crow (national speaker and author), Kathleen Hinckley (author of Your Guide to the Federal Census), Bruce Buzbee (RootsMagic), Beau Sharbrough (Footnote.com and past speaker at BGS) and more.
When genealogists speak at a national level and stand up front of the audience in their suits, they gain some level of celebrity, at least for me. I find myself timid to approach them so as not to feel like a fan at a concert, but at the same time, they are similar to me and my goals, just further along the path. Facebook puts everyone on the same level, more or less, as far as getting to know them. I feel like everyone is open to everyone. I have not encountered a rude person or had a bad experience with people on Facebook.
My most recent success and possibly the best thing that Facebook can be used for is the practical application of networking. For example, I would not normally talk to Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, I am not entirely sure I know where she lives, although I heard her speak at FGS 2005 in Salt Lake City. Having that element of “celebrity” about her, I would not be likely to call her up on the phone or approach her at a conference. However, her status on Facebook said “Looking for authors…” for the Digital Genealogist. I thought, “hmmm… I write articles…” So I sent her a brief message, told her of an idea on an article I am writing and she wrote back, interested, and I have a deadline now to submit my article! I don’t think I would have made that connection otherwise. Facebook made it really easy. Now, I am being “Kidnap’d” by her all the time! (It’s another one of the fun and useless games that allow you to break the ice and make connections.)
So, while Facebook has many many time-wasting capabilities, it also had the capability of doing some real work, making some real connections and having fun while doing it.
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