Thursday, April 19, 2007

The Future of Free Online Genealogy...An Introduction to LivingGenealogy

LivingGenealogy.com is a new, 100% free genealogy site that offers four key features:

Ancestor Pages: Users can create a page (using the simple template) for each of their ancestors. Then they (and their relatives) can add photos, memories, journal excerpts, etc., collaboratively authoring their ancestors' biographies and creating a more complete picture of who their ancestors were. In addition to the more complete view we get when more people are involved in telling their ancestors' stories, this information is easy to share and universally available online.

Place Pages: Just like Ancestor Pages, users can create pages dedicated to geographic locales - their ancestors' hometowns, countries, regions, etc. Users who have been there or live there now contribute their photos, information, travel tips, genealogy research ideas, etc. to the page. Users who haven't had the chance to visit their ancestral hometowns can go on a sort of "virtual tour" through the information and photos others upload. Those who are planning a trip to these places can also connect with users who have been there and get tips and insights before they go.

User Groups: Anyone can create and join user groups. These can be public (like everybody with ancestors from Liverpool) or private (like secure family-specific groups where family members can collaborate on research and keep up to speed on each other's progress). User groups are a great way to connect with others and leverage each other's resources and insights to create synergies and avoid duplication of efforts.

Blogs: Every family seems to have its champion of genealogy who is out front researching their roots. These frontrunners can write a blog at LivingGenealogy.com that allows them to share their insights and the excitement of their discoveries with other family members who aren't as genealogically inclined...yet.

Connect with Relatives: LivingGenealogy.com is all about connection. Through each of the above features, relatives close and far can connect, collaborate and capture their heritage. And throughout the site, everybody's contributions are stamped with their username so that when new information and insights arise, other relatives (even those we didn't know we had) can get in touch. Family histories can also be shared with other relatives through the "Email this page" link at the bottom of every page.

Check it out and register free at LivingGenealogy.com!

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