Google

[Kit]

I've started doing a subject from a family history degree, a freebie offered by FMP the other week. The subject is getting the most out of google.

I'm not sure I do search effectively and wanted to know if I am missing out on anything or not.

Week one was fairly basic but I did learn about google alerts. You can set up an alert that will give you results only if a new entry for your search term appears on the internet.

I set up a couple, as part of my homework, so hopefully if anyone puts anything about my 4g grandfather I'll get an email that day. For OH's 3g grandfather I've set up a weekly email as they are most likely to be about an american artist and not our William.

It will only search for the exact term, so you need a new alert for each variation of the name or place.

You need a google account to do alerts.

[Janet]

That looks very interesting, Toni. I'm going to try it. Thanks!

[Kit]

A lot of things mentioned I knew already but there are 2 things of interest.

The first is a website called Panoramio. You can log in using your google account, although I am having trouble finding a user name it will accept.

Panoramio is like google maps but people can add photos of places and attach them to the map. So you could visit your grandma's house and upload a photo. I'm not sure if you have to option to set things to private. The course recommends to search by an area and not an address as you can't be guaranteed that people will attach something to the right address.

There is also the option to allow your photos to attach to google maps so if someone searches on google maps for the exact address you post then they will see your photo.

[Kit]

The second website is : ancestor search (http://www.searchforancestors.com/google/searcher.html)

This website is made for genealogical searches and the page has multiple ways to search for the person or place you want, with (all) the tricks already set up for you.

I've not used it as the course is supposed to teach me how to do it for myself but it sounds good.

[JBee]

Thanks Tonii. I've never known how best to search on Google so have printed off the ancestor search and saved the link for future use.