Genealogy Search » family activities

5 Networking Tips You Can Use in Family History

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:47:13 +0000

Networking is all the rage in the business world. It’s touted as the single best way to get the jobs you want and to move upward in your career – way better than sending out resumes. Whole seminars focus on teaching businesspeople how to better hook up with each other- through events, email, Facebook, etc.- for their benefit. However, few family history buffs know that networking can help them build the genealogy.

With this in mind, I put together these 4 networking tips that can work for family history buffs:

1. Start with the inner circle - The best place to start in any networking is in your immediate circle of family and friends. These are the people most eager to help you and they are the people you probably have the most contact with. Talk to them about your family history efforts regularly. You never know what they may have to share with you.

2. Branch out – If your friends or family mention they have a friend who may be able to help your family history search, get their contact information or ask to be introduced to them. For instance, if they know someone who does family history in a state or country in which you are trying to do research, ask for the introduction. You’ll be making a new friend and getting into places you normally wouldn’t.

3. Join clubs or associations - Why rely merely on your efforts when you can harness the knowledge of hundreds of likeminded people? Dozens of great genealogical societies are out there, as well as social genealogy groups on sites like LinkedIn or Facebook.

4. Maintain contact - Some of these new relationships may not bear fruit immediately, but over time can be very beneficial. Keep in contact with your newfound family history friends via the occasional email, chat, or Facebook comment.

The main thing is, don’t be shy. You can learn so much more (and have more friends, period) by just talking to people about your passion for genealogy.

Skype keeps long-distance families close

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:27:28 +0000

My family has really spread out over the years. Originally based in Southern California, my siblings and parents are now spread out over four states and three countries. My dad and sister are still in California. My brother is in New York. Another sister is in Hawaii. Another sister is in New Zealand. And yet another sister is currently living in Hong Kong. My mother, brother, and I are residents of the great state of Utah. With all of this space and very busy lives, getting together is nigh impossible. Were it not for the miracle of Skype, we would rarely get together.

For the uninitiated, Skype is a web-based phone service. It’s way cheaper than landline or cell phone rates. In fact, if you call another Skype user within the US, the call is free, no matter how long you talk. International calls are something like 1.3 cents per minute. For one-to-one calls, you can talk with live video streaming like something out of the Jetsons. Conference calls are easy to set up, too. That’s how our family uses it – for virtual Sunday dinners.

About once a month, we set up a conference call. We tease and crack jokes. We catch up on each other’s lives. We discuss pressing family issues and get in arguments. Over thousands of miles, through a vast network of cables, servers, and satellites, our family is able to spend quality time. Our kids know each other.

So this isn’t an ad for Skype, I promise. The quality can be sketchy at times, with participants sounding like they’re speaking through one of those fast food drive-thru speakers. But seeing as it’s free, it’s a pretty good deal.

So what do you do to keep your family together over long distances? Messenger pigeons? Smoke signals? Letters?

‘Family Huddle’ tells the Mannings’ story of family and football

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:53:18 +0000

Football was a huge part of my life growing up. My dad was a junior college football champ, and football was a constant on Saturday afternoons and Monday evenings in the fall. Some of my fondest memories involved tossing the pigskin with my dad in the backyard. For this reason, I’m not shy about plugging this book.

Peyton, Eli, and Archie Manning, all star NFL quarterbacks, have put together a children’s book called ‘Family Huddle’ about playing football and being a family.

The family has created their own mini-dynasty in pro football. The father, Archie, was a Pro Bowl quarterback. Chances are good that Peyton and Eli will go head to head this year for the Super Bowl as quarterbacks of the Giants and Colts respectively. So it’s nice to see them go back to their roots of throwing passes in the family’s backyard and even spreading some family values while they’re at it.

The book features three brothers growing up in Louisiana, playing football under their parents’ watchful gaze. Just in time for football season!