Issue 3.10
(The following article is excerpted from Chapter One of Drew Smith’s new book, Social Networking for Genealogists)
If we weren’t talking about computers or the World Wide Web, the term “social networking” might bring to mind the idea of joining clubs, attending parties, engaging in office politics, or volunteering for a community project. Human beings are social animals, and we have a long history of building relationships with others, making new friends, and strengthening existing ties. We enjoy activities that put us in contact with others who share our interests: sporting and recreational events, cultural events, political rallies, religious services, educational lectures, conventions, shopping trips … the list goes on. We value the existence of special places that make these kinds of social networking possible: stadiums, auditoriums, houses of worship, classrooms, convention centers, shopping malls. Within these places, we can find those who share our interests and who enjoy talking with us about them. If these places did not exist, we would feel more isolated and cut off from the rest of society.
What happens when computer technology advances to a point where there are “virtual” places people “can go” in order to engage in social networking? We “go” to our electronic mailbox as if it were the physical mailbox in front of our home. We “go” to a website as if it were a store or clubhouse. Although computer networks date back to the late 1960s, and the Web itself to the early 1990s, it has been only in the past decade that we’ve seen an explosion of social networking sites and services appear online, and even more recently that a large number of these have been designed specifically for genealogists.
Social Networking for Genealogists is about the type of social networking made possible by the development of international computer networks; availability of network access to most homes (especially broadband access); creation of websites dedicated to particular kinds of networking (posting photos, viewing and commenting on videos, seeing what books friends have in their libraries, etc.); and ease of participating in these sites without having to be a computer expert.
More to the point, the book is intended to identify those kinds of social networking sites and services that will be of the most interest to genealogists. After all, most social networking sites were never developed with genealogists in mind (although this book will certainly discuss those sites that were). There are so many different sites that it can be confusing and overwhelming to explore them. Blog address: http://snfg.blogspot.com/
Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com.