Friday, July 17, 2009

Genealogy Wise and its most active and most popular groups

OK. Despite my statements of a week ago, I haven't managed to completely avoid the new Genealogy social network, and I have enjoyed participating in several group and forum discussions.

As of this morning, here are the twenty "most active" groups on Genealogy Wise. I'm not sure how the term "Most Active" is measured.

1. Ireland and Irish Ancestry
2. Ancestry Family Tree users
3. FindAGrave Addicts
4. Germany and German Ancestry
5. Scrap Your Family History
6. Southern California Genealogy Jamboree
7. Scotland and Scottish Ancestry
8. Legacy Family Tree fans
9. Surname Groups Needed
10. Missouri Genealogy
11. Genealogical Proof Standard
12. Ships Passenger Lists to USA
13. DNA and Family Research
14. Internet Research Tips & Treasures
15. American Revolutionary War Ancestors
16. Iowa Genealogy
17. Lost Faces: Ancestor Photos & Albums
18. MacGenealogist
19. Genealogy in St. Louis
20. Genealogy Tips and Links

And as of the moment, here are the 20 "most popular" groups (measured by number of members).

1. Germany and German Ancestry 341 members
2. FindAGrave Addicts 327 members
3. Ireland and Irish Ancestry 302 members
4. Ancestry Family Tree users 297 members
5. Legacy Family Tree fans 261 members
6. Genealogy Tips and Links 255 members
7. Scotland and Scottish Ancestry 211 members
8. American Revolutionary War Ancestors 169 members
9. England Family History 158 members
10. Lost Faces: Ancestor Photos & Albums 156 members
11. Internet Research Tips & Treasures 151 members
12. I am a Geneaholic 148 members
13. Genetic Genealogy 136 members
14. Southern California Genealogical Society and Family Research Library 133 members
15. MacGenealogist 132 members
16. RootsMagic Fans 131 members
17. GeneaBloggers 130 members
18. National Genealogical Society 116 members
19. Missouri Genealogy 116 members
20. The Genealogy Guys Podcast 115 members

I am very impressed that Missouri Genealogy is high on the list in both measurements. I created the group when I realized no one else had yet done so. I've been quite pleased with the participation, and I've learned of several new resources . (This is where I learned about the Springfield/Greene County Library)

Genealogy Wise shows a lot of promise. The administrators of the site have made several mistakes, which may have irrevocably repelled some potential members, in their opening week. Most of it I would ascribe to lack of preparedness. Tamura Jones points out that they announced on July 7th they were hiring 15 people to help launch the site. And for all intents and purposes it was launched later that day through it being blogged about on several Geneablogger websites. So they weren't fully staffed when the initial wave of genealogists joined up.

However, they have responded well, I think, by listening to the complaints, and seeking input from the community. Any social network is a product of its members, and there are a lot of experienced genealogists participating on the website, so it could be a valuable resource to expand one's genealogical knowledge, as well as a potential place to discover kin.

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