WDYTYA, #genchat, and an aftershow. What a great way to spend an evening!

So, be honest, how many of you have been religiously watching the recent season of WDYTYA on TLC?  I only missed one episode, but I have a pass since I was camping in a field in the middle of Pennsylvania at the time. No TV makes for a pretty good excuse, and I just love my DVR.  Here’s another question for you:  how many of you knew that there were live twitter chats and an after show hosted by the In-Depth Genealogist (IDG)? 

Before I go any further, I want to point out to everyone that you can follow Twitter chats without having a twitter account yourself.  You can use the Twitter Search function and search for the hashtags or subject you want to read (#genchat or #wdytya for instance). 

The IDG has begun hosting #genchat sessions during the live airing of the WDYTYA episodes starting at 9 p.m. EST.  For those of you unfamiliar with #genchat, it is a twitter chat where genealogists of all levels and flavors come together every two weeks to discuss a specific topic.  You can read more about it in these posts I wrote on this blog found here and here. 

Reading along with everyone’s thoughts and reactions to the show in real time is really wonderful.  It is always great to know that you aren’t the lone crazy person cheering, crying, getting angry, or being amazed by the show.  There is also a drinking (or chocolate eating) game many of the participants play…wild and crazy genealogists on the loose!

About 15 minutes after the show airs you can join a panel of genealogists and members of the IDG staff for an after show discussion on YouTube and Google+.  It is free form and the discussions are organic in their flow without a lot of prepared prompts.  Think of it as a group of friends who just watched an hour long show and then sat down to talk about their thoughts and impressions.  You never know what will happen in the end, but you know it will be good.  If you are not able to watch the after show live it is recorded and placed on their YouTube channel.  In fact, you can go back and see the previous shows as well!

Zooey Deschanel looking at an original
record on "Who Do You Think You Are?" 

Last night I had the good fortune to join the panel after the Zooey Deschanel episode.  You can watch it now on their YouTube Channel and hear all my thoughts and opinions on the show, history, genealogy, and the educational system.  Long story on the educational system, I don’t know how that keeps coming up, but it would be a long blog post in itself.  Go check it out, it was a good time, and I always love how people have different motivations, perspectives, and interests in this field.

I did misspeak in one of my statements.  It was the picture of husband’s 2^nd great grandfather, not 4^th, which I found at NARA last year.  You can read the post here.  If you watch the discussion you will see me talk about familiar blog topics: my kids, my husband, being a stay at home mom, history, and finding a great narrative to tell your family story. 

Hope you enjoy!

#genchat artwork from the IDG Facebook page

A successful twitter chat: #genchat recap

I feel like treating myself for trying
something new....

Last Friday I participated in the #genchat over on Twitter.  I know, it is now Tuesday and I am only now getting this posted.  So you know I have had my children home with cabin fever for 6 days…feel my pain...and the inability to get anything productive done thanks to the weather.

This was the first time I have ever participated in a Twitter Chat.  I didn’t know what to expect, let alone how wonderful it was going to be.  Yes, the tweets came fast and furious, but once you got the hang of the format and how it was going, it really wasn’t so bad I thought. To help with the chat I used an application called TweetChat to manage the feed, which I have to say made the experience a lot more user friendly. 

If you were unable to participate in the chat never fear, there is a way for you to read all the tweets!  Using Storify one of the moderators, Jen Baldwin, created a summary of all the tweets from the evening.  She did cut the jokes out, which, in all fairness, you kind of had to be there to understand.  Also on her post about the event Jen shared the stats for the evening and her impressions.  Go check it out, they are pretty impressive!

10 pm was a bit late for me; I was struggling to keep my eyes open by the end.  However, that may be from the fact that I brought the lap top to bed with me and it was super comfy, and warm.  Next time I will stay put at the desk, in the uncomfy desk chair, freezing.  Comfy covers aside, I learned some things, got to share some things, and had a blast kidding around with others. You could say I enjoyed myself immensely.  Trying something new and out of my comfort zone is always hard for me, but I am so glad I gave this a shot.  I see it being a great way for family historians and genealogists to interact from all over.  I wonder if there are other chats like this I need to go and investigate? 

These #genchats will be continuing every 2 weeks for the rest of the year.  The next chat will be Friday February 8 and the topic will be “Weekend Warriors: best tips for 60 minutes of research.”  I am interested to see what types of tips will be offered up by the participants.  It has me thinking about how I do quick and effective research when I only have a few minutes to spare.

I hope to see many of you at the next one!

*photo credit: Cakehead Loves via photopin cc

Are you attending #genchat?

There is an exciting thing happening tonight over on Twitter.  It is the first genealogy chat, ever as far as I can tell, and it should be very exciting!  You can learn more by reading the pressrelease on Conference Keeper.  Conference Keeper, for those who don’t know it, is the calendar with all the genealogy conferences and workshops posted in one place.  It is fantastic!

Not sure what a Tweet Chat or Twitter Party is?  Well, check out these resources to answer your questions.   How to Participate in a Tweet Chat by Janet Fouts and Getting Started: A Guide for Beginners by tweeparties (both referenced on the press release from Conference Keeper).

Per the invite I received, here is the information on how you can attend:

Join us for the first ever #genchat!

Genealogy conversation and collaboration, using the power of Twitter.

Hope to see you there! 

Please feel free to share this Event!

Jan 25, 2013
10 PM Eastern
9PM Central
8PM Mountain
7PM Pacific.

See the full description of #genchat here

See the 2013 Schedule for #genchat here: 

Get your #genchat badges here, and share the Twitter love! 

Tonight’s chat will be on starting your 2013 research off on the right foot.  Looking over the list I can see quite a few topics that should get a lot of attention.  I know I am interested in newspaper research, oral histories, cemetery projects, and continuing education to name a few.

Look for me on Twitter @tntfamhist!