‘Back in the day,’ our ancestors’ version of social media was human contact. Stories were shared by village griots about our roots. Physical signs such as smoke were used to communicate. Entries were manually entered into family Bibles. Long visits with food-in-hands were made to families whose loved ones transitioned. Telephone calls were made on rotary dial devices. Telephone company operators connected calls between lines.
Today, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of daily opportunities for the novice to serious genealogy and ancestry “hunters” to find details about their loved ones. One of the obvious, natural sources of data gathering is apparent in our daily doses of media. Whether current TV newscasts or historical clippings from newspapers, there are photos and stories waiting for us to find and connect them to our ancestors.
Social media is a great source to find relatives. Social media is not limited to Meta, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Pinterest. In 2019, Meriam-Webster Dictionary defined social media as:
“… forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)…”
Meriam-Webster Dictionary
There are so many sites that apply to this definition and that is where the Good Genes Genealogy Team invites you to begin or resume your ancestry research. According to Datareportal, nearly 5 billion social media users are regular users on thousands of different sites. On average, 7.2 sites are visited each month by users. The top reason why we utilize social media is to remain in contact with living and deceased friends and families. Often, we receive news about the passing of a loved one from social media sources.
To help jog your brain, here are a few of the platforms that are part of our social media community:
- Church websites
- Sorority and fraternal websites
- Community blogs and vlogs
- Every app on cellular phones
- Government resources
- Newspapers
- TV and Radio
- Event, show bookings
- Tradeshows
- Quiz sites
- Dissertation sites
- Publications, ranging from scholarly to trade
- Lots more sites are revealed on Datareportal:
Here’s an important tip on locating historical points on the QuizDaily website. It opened clues to one of our client’s family members.
“In 1832, the Georgia Infirmary became the first hospital for African Americans when it opened on Christmas Eve. Established by the Georgia General Assembly and a $10,000 grant from the estate of a merchant and minister named Thomas F. Williams, the Georgia Infirmary was built 10 miles south of Savannah, Georgia. In 1974, the infirmary was renamed the Adult Day Center; it is still an operating facility.”
https://www.quizdaily.com/quiz/61e84610f2c1d0000825d16f?utm_source=intro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=63d09d81816737bda7888548