How I Get the Most Out of GW

There are so many groups now and that is a good thing, but as I stated in my previous blog, you just can not check out every one of them.If I were new to GenealogyWise, after I set up my page with the surnames I am researching, etc, I would go to the groups main page. Then I would start researching all the surnames on my list. You will see in the results, not only the group which is about that surname, but the other groups where a comment has been left about that surname.I would also search the groups for locations, and occupations. I will use North Dakota as an example of location. The search results for "North Dakota" presented me with 18 results. There are 4 groups using North Dakota in their description with only 1 having that location in their group name, "Germans from North Dakota"As an occupation, say your ancestor was a fireman, you would do a search for "fireman". There are no groups for firemen and only 1 comment on a group. If your ancestor was a tailor, there are no groups for the occupation "Tailor" but there are 6 comments in other groups.I think you get the idea about searching groups. Like regular search engines, whatever string of search terms you can think of, you can search by in the groups.

This brings me to a side note for groups and the Discussion threads. Group Creators: When you form your groups, try to get your members to post their questions or entries in the Discussion Forum, which creates a thread. The RSS function, if you enable it, will only pick up the post in the Discussion Forums. You can enable this by going to "edit group" and clicking the "RSS Reader" box. Then to use this function, go to the home page of the group, see the "view all" on the right hand side, almost under the "edit" link on the Discussion Forum header. Click the "view all" and then click the little rss icon to the left. Looks like a little box with a dot and 2 curves. Also, make sure when you post to a discussion, you include the tags, such as surnames in the discussion or locations. You can go back and add these later. If you are adding tags with more than one word, such as North Dakota, you will want to put those words in quotation marks: "North Dakota".

Next, after I searched the groups, I would search the membership for surnames in common. I just created a group for Rodgers/Rogers in Texas as this is a major brickwall for me. (Note: before you create a group, always search for the surname or whatever title your group will have to make sure one does not already exist.) After I created the group, I went to the membership and did a search for both spellings of the surname, and then invited the people who fit the criteria.Remember, most people are just as confused as you are about how to get the most from their joining GW. They will appreciate your taking the first step by inviting them to your group or, if you aren't the group creator but you are a member, you can still invite people to your group. I think one member inviting another to a group is a strong "pat on the back" for that group.This is one reason why, when you set up your profile, unless you are here simply to create a family member only presence, you will not want to make your profile private. That really defeats the success rate of your membership on GW.I personally do not use the forums much nor the video section so I can not offer any advice or suggestions in that area. Perhaps another GW user who does can offer their suggestions as a follow up to this blog entry.I hope this has helped someone a little bit in getting around GW. As with any membership, you will get out of it what you put into it. Become an active member in your group and you will find your experience here very worthwhile.

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Comments

Katie Heitert Wilkinson September 1, 2009 at 7:23pm

Thanks, Sherry. It's always good to hear from somone who's been down the road. I'm probably far too random in my approach, so I appreciate your sharing an organized approach.

Katie
Tina Wyatt August 31, 2009 at 6:23pm

Great info Sherry. Thanks.
Louise Bernero August 27, 2009 at 9:25pm

Thanks for the great information.
Doug Tallman August 20, 2009 at 5:11pm

Nice post, Sherry. This is going to help a lot of people, including me!
Sherry Hightower August 18, 2009 at 10:02pm

I didn't post this in the blog and I think I should have.

Personally, I think everyone should be a member but it is probably a good thing that is not the case! This is a great resource for people needing help around the site:

http://www.genealogywise.com/group/genealogywisememberhelp
Shelly Pawlikowski August 18, 2009 at 9:48pm

Perfect! I was wondering where to start!
Sherry Hightower August 18, 2009 at 8:16pm

Clovis, I completely understand and agree with your priorities 100%. I did a search for "lost photos" and got 8 hits. See if one of these fills your bill.
Clovis Marie Byars Herring August 18, 2009 at 4:50pm

Sherry, I would love to really get involved in Genealogy Wise. My husband has cancer. He has to be my priorty. There may come a time when I can really get into it again. My biggest problem would be I am guilty of getting too involved in genealogy. When the time comes that I can devote more time I will certainly jump in and do my best on anything I take on. Right now I would like to know if there is a group that wants to find lost photos of the past.
Sherry Hightower August 18, 2009 at 4:08pm

LOL!! You are toooooo funny!!

Thanks for the feedback.

This reply was deleted.