Follow Friday - Using Pinterest

Follow Friday 

Using Pinterest

Do you have a Pinterest account?

These days, it seems everyone does. On this site we are able to share photographs, and articles from interesting sites, or that we make ourselves with hundreds, if not thousands, of other viewers.

We are able to create Boards where we can specialize those items we pin. Yes, think of each board as a bulletin board. You can specialize each board and pin items that are particular to that board. Such as one of my favorites, Genealogy News. Here, on my account, I am able to pin wonderful articles that I have either enjoyed, or have learned from others. And you can follow other people's boards as well. Getting to see what unique articles they are able to save as well.

I love that I am learning more and more about genealogy simply by following Pinterest boards!

So, how do you find these pins on everyone's boards? 

Go to http://www.pinterest.com and in the search box, simply type in what you would likie to find. (You name it, and someone has pins of it!) But, if you'd like to learn more about genealogy, simply type the word genealogy into the search window. Believe me, you can spend days (maybe weeks!) poring over the pins there! And if you visit the sites that they are linked from, you can learn so much! I've learned so much that I have started keeping a journal of sites with articles that I have read, so that I can reference back to them when I want to! Yeah, it's that cool! You don't want to bookmark the pages, because believe me, there will be too many bookmarks saved!

If you haven't already signed up for Pinterest, go ahead and do so now. Play around and see what others are saving to their boards for now. And then decide what things you are most interested in. Set up some boards and beginning pinning!

No matter what subject you are interested in, you'll find pins!

Well, I pin, and I pin, and I pin some more!

You can even pin your family name! You'd be surprised how many people will turn up with similar, or the same pins!

Visit it now, and learn just how you can use Pinterest to assist you in your genealogy research. It's a site well worth utilizing!

Follow Friday - Pinterest

Have you considered the power of Pinterest?

I am totally addicted to the web site! I get on it, and will sometimes spend one, two, or even three hours and not even realize I've been there that long! It's much more addicting than Facebook, or games! My poor iPhone stays in my hand and I am there!

But, did you know that many genealogy bloggers are on Pinterest? I had been using Pinterest for quite some time, filling up my little Boards, until one day I accidentally came across a genealogy site! I am in seventh heaven my friends! Literally!

Ok, so I am wherever the genealogy leads me. I hope you know that about me by now! (How many years have we been together on this blog?) So, you can imagine my absolute delight when I found these genealogy bloggers on Pinterest! And suddenly, I cannot get enough genealogy! (If I could make an income with genealogy to match what I currently make working for a major insurance company, honey, I would be doing that full time! It's my passion!)

But on Pinterest, I can find, not only some great ideas about research, and writing, and digital photography, and saving those photographs, and census records, and forms to help me get everything organized, and great organization tips, but there's more! Did you know you can search for you the surname you're researching? Some families have linked their family trees to Pinterest! How awesome is that! Best of all, it's another FREE site to go looking for clues!

I use all kinds of resources as I'm researching. Both traditional, from brick and mortar institutions, to books, and web sites. But one thing I won't do, is take any one else's family tree and tack it onto mine. Nope. I've got to do the research and prove it first. (Only, I actually do the polar opposite! I try to disprove the connection first. Once I can't disprove it, THEN I attempt to find proof that it fits.) Remember, just because someone says that So and So is related to you, doesn't mean it's the truth! Find the proof out there, and document, document, document! Write down those sources, and citations!

But, I digress! Back to Pinterest! I absolutely love the site. It's given me some help in my family research. But what it's really given me are ideas. I use the site as a kind of sounding board. It helps to have a background in research, but if you will open your mind, and simply let ideas play one off of another, you'd be surprised to find out just how far you can go!

And that's where Pinterest really shines! You type in what you're searching for, and BAM! One has only to start looking through the thousands of pins that will come up from your search, and before you know it....2, 3, or even 4 hours have flown by!

Some tips on using this site? Keep a notepad handy! You'll want to take notes. And believe me, if you see something you want to read more in depth on, do it right then, because you won't remember how to navigate back to it! And don't think, "I'll just pin that and it will be on my board and I can come back to it later! Cause, darling, later you won't be able to find it in all of the pins you save! So, when you see something you want to read, do it right then!

I use my notepad for a jumping off point. I can always get back to an article I've pinned, because I mark down the date I've saved it. Sometimes, however, by making notes when I read the article I've pinned, I have enough info that I don't need to reference back to it.

So, I am here today to officially encourage you to head on over to Pinterest, and find you some fun! Just about anything under the sun can be found there! It's like an open air market. Just start browsing honey. You'll never walk away empty handed!

Have a great time!

Follow Friday

If you're like me, you hit a brick wall in your genealogy research now and then. It's just been lately that I discovered the many genealogical ideas, links to websites, and templates available for just a few moments of your searching time.

On several of these searches, I have found a web site that I didn't know existed. I found templates that are for more sophisticated than what I have been using until now (most of my templates are those that came out in the '90's and are so antiquated, and unable to use your computer to fill them in). I have fallen in love with Pinterest.

Here you will find so many helpful articles that you can read for weeks and never read the same article twice! As well as photographs, and ideas for getting young children involved in genealogy!

You are also given the option of following several of those who post on Pinterest. This means you will receive notification when someone you are following puts a new item on the site. And that can mean a breaking through of that nasty brick wall sometimes!

I highly recommend adding Pinterest to one of your genealogy sites bookmarked on your computer. At the very least, you can find some inspiration for either where to look next, or in your filing system!

Pinterest is a free program, and you can download the free app on your smartphone, which means you will be notified of new pins even earlier!

So, sign up today, and in the search function, simply type in genealogy. You'll see what I mean!

I highly recommend adding Pinterest to your genealogy research bookmark.