Genealogy and the Internet

There is a standing joke: "I read it on the internet, it must be true!" The reality, of course, is that you cannot trust anything you read on the Internet, right? Well that is not exactly true either. What you cannot trust on the Internet are things said by ordinary people who may sound factual (and think they are) but are just expressing their opinion. Then there are those who, from the beginning, are intent on being fraudulent.

The Genealogy Mother Load

My family research started about 10 years ago. Using the Internet as my primary research tool, I was able to find some modest information on some of my ancestors. It was about that time that a searchable version of the 1900 U.S. Census became available. Back then, my collection of data included those census pages of my family in Wisconsin and Illinois and some photographs and bits of written history that I collected from family members. It was a fairly small collection. The biggest find was on my paternal grandmother's side of the family.

History and Genealogy

I like history! I know that there are others out there like me, but most people do not care much about history, don't like it or don't understand it. To some it is boring to others it is just not cool. After all, pop culture and history are really on opposite ends of the cultural spectrum. Our society is totally enthralled with the latest cultural phenomenon . . . whatever that might be. Check out any browser's front page and other places on the web and you will find lots of space devoted to popular culture, celebrities, sports, gossip (you might even find some actual news) but if you want history, you need to go find it.

Yet Another Blog

This is my second blog site but I am not sure exactly what it wants to be. I may have gone about this backwards as my first blog was a stand-alone site with Blue Host using Wordpress. I had been very happy with that format and been posting for a few months. I decided to start another blog just to spread myself out a bit and also to get a full time link back to my other blog. Maybe this will get me some exposure as I do not have much right now. I am not too worried about that, however, as my main goal right now is to just write and see what happens.

That other blog was all over the place . . . talking about making money online, architecture, genealogy, family life and other things. As it is new, it is in a constant state of change; really an experimentation at this point. I think it will settle down as some point and become more focused. My goal for this site is to be focused from the start so I am thinking about blogging about either Genealogy (my family research) or Architecture (my impoverished profession). Both of these topics have had pages on my other blog. In addition to the pages I also have a few posts on those topics and some links. I may continue to post there as well as here. I have more information about my family history and genealogy so I am leaning in that general direction . . . but I could change my mind, you never know.

If you look at both of my sites you will notice that I have chosen a very different look for this one. I really want them to contrast and have a completely different feel. Also, I do have ads on my other site and hope that someday that may generate a little income. This site will not have any of that (at least in the beginning) which is another thing that will set them apart.

Post Script (2017): I have abandoned some of my early blog sites - these were always evolving experiments but I found it hard to consistently keep up with them. I would lose interest and often found it hard to stay focused. Even with this site - which has become very focused, I can have trouble keeping motivated.