Quick Guide to Genealogy Social Networking Websites

Social media sites are an ideal way to stay connected with family and friends, whether that means posting fun status updates or pictures of kids, pets and holidays. They’re also a useful tool for connecting with other genealogists.

 

Mainstream sites such as Facebook and Pinterest are good options, but they aren’t the only ones: Several lower-profile social media websites are geared specifically to the genealogy community, with forums, family trees, collaborative ancestral profile pages and more. Explore the sites in this chart for opportunities to learn and network with others who share your passion.

 

 

Website	Description	Features	Tips
Familypedia	This wiki-style website lets genealogists create articles on topics such as individuals, social history, old occupations and ancestral hometowns.	forums available in English, French and Dutch member-uploaded educational videos   photo section contains everything from portraits to newspaper clippings	Use the advanced search to customize your search queries. Make sure you read the privacy and copyright guidelines before posting.
Genealogy Wise	A vibrant and thriving online community, this site is affectionately called “Facebook for genealogists.” The National Institute for Genealogical Studies runs it, but anyone can join.	create a personal page that reflects your research   connect with other researchers on topics of interest     get aggregated genealogy news from other social media outlets	Upload old photos for help in ancestor identification. Chat on the forums, in groups or in real time to get the most research help.
Geneanet	This research database, wiki and blog based in Europe has a strong online community. More than 1 billion records are available via pay per view or a premium membership.	free, pay-per-view and premium subscriptions  available (in euros)   premium records include searchable databases and digitized books   build a family tree or import a GEDCOM to connect info from the database to your family	Make sure the English language option is selected. Search the online cemetery database and find headstones from many countries.
WeRelate	The Foundation for On-Line Genealogy and the Allen County Public Library sponsor this wiki to connect the work of its contributors into one family tree. It’s currently in beta but has more than 2 million participants.	start a tree or upload a GEDCOM   n each individual in the family tree has a customizable page   living people don’t appear in the tree   search across all pages and trees at once   create articles on genealogy-related topics	Start by reading the FAQ page, which answers most user questions. Link to the sources of the information you enter to give it credibility. You can “watch” pages to be notified of changes others make and use the View Network page to see who’s watching or researching the same pages as you.

 

From the May/June 2015 Family Tree Magazine