The End of the #GenChat Era

The social media genealogy chat #GenChat began in 2013. (For more about its history and evolution, see here.) Christine McCloud became #GenChat co-host in 2018 and sole host in 2022. Sadly, this chat will end in mid-December, as shown in her announcement.

 

Christine presided over some major changes during her long tenure. Most important, as the social media world evolved, Christine expanded #GenChat from the Twitter platform to the Mastodon platform. This meant she hosted four chats each month instead of two. 

Then, when many genealogy folks fled Twitter, she moved #GenChat to BlueSky and contributed to the vibrant genealogy community there. 

Christine has maintained the two chats format twice per month, a challenging schedule on top of mastering the technology to operate both chats.😲 Not to mention that she actually has a life of her own!

Meanwhile, BlueSky gained two other genealogy chats, #GenHour (on Thursdays) and #AncestryHour (on Tuesdays). Both of these chats are weekly, lively and unmoderated, with BlueSky folks posting informally about their current genealogy activities and sharing ideas and info with other chatters. 

The final two #GenChats will be November 28/29 (Friday on BlueSky, Saturday on Mastodon) and December 12/13 (Friday on BlueSky, Saturday on Mastodon).

A heartfelt thank you to Christine for keeping #GenChat going with such enthusiasm and dedication! You have done a superb job, and you are much appreciated. 😍 

Looking Back at 2022 Genealogy Milestones

 

Now that 2022 is nearly over, it's time to look back at milestones in this 24th year of my genealogy journey.

• Fun with the 1950 US Census release. On April 1st, this mid-century US Census was made public, and the race was on to find ancestors! Between navigating the US National Archives Census site (with its rudimentary index) and checking FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, and Ancestry.com, I found just about everyone I wanted to locate in 1950. I blogged frequently leading up to the release and afterward as well with tips, techniques, and resources. Only a few stragglers remain to be found...like my paternal 1c2r Frank Morris Jacobs, a WWI veteran who in WWII was working in advertising. 
• Presented 25 genealogy programs. A new one-year record for me! I presented a dozen how-to talks about finding ancestors in the 1950 US Census, including one in-person program. Among my other popular talks were "Planning a Future for Your Family's Past" and "Bite-Sized Family History Projects." It was an honor to present at the WikiTree Symposium, and record talks for The Genealogy Show and Virtual Genealogy Association anniversary. In addition, I was interviewed for two podcasts about preserving family history for future generations. 
• Active in genealogy blogging and social media. This year, I've written 140 blog posts. Some were related to Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy prompts, some were for Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal's Genealogy Blog Party. I've been active in many Facebook genealogy groups, also active in Twitter chats such as #AncestryHour and #GenChat, with occasional #ArchivesHashtagParty posts. Given Twitter's problems, I hedged my bets by joining a genealogy-oriented Mastodon server (where I post as @MarianBWood@genealysis.social). I appreciate the growing genealogy community there! 
• LOCKSS and NaGenWriMo. During 2022, I was increasingly focused on sharing what I know about ancestors, because LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe). I participated in National Genealogy Writing Month and wrote 70 bite-sized bios of ancestors during November alone. My most popular blog post of 2022 was "Go Ahead and Save My Stuff to Your Tree," part of my plan for LOCKSS. 
• Cousin connections and elusive ancestors. I 💗 my cousins! It's been a joy to get to know so many during the course of my 24-year genealogy journey, even connecting with a few fairly distant cousins this year. We've shared a couple of photos and confirmed basic dates for mutual ancestors. I hope we can pool our knowledge to make even more progress in fleshing out the lives of elusive ancestors, particularly those who stayed behind in Eastern Europe. 

With the coronavirus pandemic still keeping me close to home for most of 2022, I watched dozens and dozens of informative (often inspiring) genealogy webinars, including at the all-virtual RootsTech (which will be hybrid in 2023), plus the Virtual Genealogy Association and WikiTree, among others. As a member of multiple genealogy societies, I learned a lot from speakers and from discussions with members at virtual meetings throughout the year.  

In all, 2022 was jam-packed and I won't be slowing down in 2023. I have lots of genealogy plans in the works...more about that soon! 

Fave Genealogy Channels on YouTube

YouTube is a really fun, informative resource for genealogy education, news, and opinion! 

Five of my favorite channels for genealogy, in no particular order, are:

• Family History Fanatics - Updated weekly or more often, lots of hands-on demonstrations and insightful examination of topical issues.
• Amy Johnson Crow - Updated weekly, focusing on practical techniques, research resources, and contemporary concerns.
• Allen County Public Library Genealogy - Regular updates with engaging 45- to 60- minute videos about a broad range of topics.
• BYU Family History Library - Meaty genealogy content for all levels, including how-to for genealogy technology.
• Genealogy TV- Updated weekly, with a wide variety of useful genealogy content plus lively expert interviews.

Five more go-to YouTube channels: Family Search, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Find My Past, and WikiTree. 

There are more genealogy-related channels on YouTube, but these are among my very favorites because of the solid content. Whether you choose to subscribe or just watch a couple of videos to gain knowledge about a particular aspect of genealogy, do take a peek at these channels.

If chat is available, try scrolling through . . . often there will be interesting Q&A or additional comments.