GeneaGala - Dates and Times

My genimate DearMYRTLE asked me for the local time in another city eg New York of the sessions for the hangouts I am hosting on 30th August (Sydney Time) for National Family History Month.

I've had a look at http://www.timeanddate.com/ and have drawn up this list of times for a few world cities (I accept no responsibilities for miscalculations). Hopefully this should enable intending viewers and panelists to plan their participation. (Please sign up using the Hangout links below)

The hangouts will not start right on the hour as advertised on Google+ except for Session 1- I will aim to start the 3 later ones by five minutes past the hour (technology willing).

GeneaGala Hangout on Air - Session 1 - Google+

Sydney, Australia     30th August 09:00 - 12 :00

London, UK             30th August 12:01 - 03:00

New York                 29th August 19:00 - 22:00

Los Angeles             29th August 16:00 - 19:00

GeneaGala Hangout on Air - Session 2 - Google+

Sydney, Australia     30th August 12:00 - 15:00

London, UK              30th August 03:00 - 06:00

New York                 29th August 22:00 - 01:00

Los Angeles             29th August 19:00 - 22:00

GeneaGala Hangout on Air - Session 3 - Google+

Sydney, Australia     30th August 15:00 - 18:00

London, UK              30th August 03:00 - 06:0

New York                 30th August 01:00 - 04:00

Los Angeles             29th August 22:00 - 01:00

GeneaGala Hangout on Air - Final Session - Google+

Sydney, Australia     30th August 18:00 - 21:00

London, UK             30th August 09:00 - 12:00 

New York                30th August 04:00 - 07:00

Los Angeles            30th August 01:00 - 04:00

Reflections Hangout

Although I have hung up my Official Congress Blogger hat I couldn't resist asking some of my genimates to share their thoughts on Congress 2015 in a Google Hangout on Air last night.

As well as hearing about their favourite speakers and what inspired them the panelists last night shared some ideas to make Congress 2018 even better than 2015 and then put forward some compelling reasons as to why a genie shoould attend a Congress.

During the Hangout Fran talked about connecting with young people. At the moment I have a 14 year old granddaughter staying with me. She saw me preparing for the hangout and asked what it was, I tried to explain. This morning as we were having breakfast in bed she asked how the hangout went. As I had my phone beside me I connected to Youtube and played some of the hangout for her. Her reaction "That's cool". Made me think about the way we share family stories, perhaps geneavlogging is the way to go.

Those who joined me and shared their opinions made this Hangout rather beaut. Thanks for your generosity. Please watch the Hangout right here.

Hanging out in 2015

After quite a break I have scheduled the first GeniAus  Hangout on Air for 2015. You are invited to join me on Monday evening, 8:00pm Sydney time, to discuss the topic "To do or not to do (over) - that is the question"

Hangout details and RSVP can be found here on Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c4ormfop18fmnobgp5ght2a5cbg.

If you are not a member of the GeniAus Community at Google+ then you might also consider joining.

I  have plans in train for two further Hangouts this month, I will share details as soon as they are firmed up. 

Congress Presenter - Pauleen Cass

Together with my fellow 2015 Congress Official Bloggers Pauleen Cass and Shauna Hicks I will be sharing interviews with Congress presenters, attendees and organisers on this blog from time to time. These may be in the form of written responses to questions we pose or they may be videos we record using Google Hangouts on Air.

I thank Congress presenter and official blogger Pauleen Cass for being first cab off the rank, Pauleen and I hooked up earlier this week for a Google Hangout on Air where we discussed family history and Congress matters. You can watch Pauleen's interview below in this post or via this link at my Youtube channel.

A Hangout High

It always takes me a while to come down after a GeniAus Hangout on Air and last Tuesday's was no exception. I was joined by an exceptional group of panelists who had so much to say and share about the topic, CGD (Continuing Genealogical Development). I do enjoy chatting with these folk in the informal atmosphere of a Google hangout on Air.

Unfortunately due to the stormy conditions in and around Sydney several panelists were not able to stay the distance. I'm sorry we missed your contributions but appreciate the effort you made to connect.

I detected several themes coming through in the conversations. These included the importance of organisation, citing one's sources and the value of blogging. Panelists took part in a range of traditional and online learning activities and appreciated podcasts, hangouts and webinars. It was interesting to note that many of the panelists work or have worked in IT related jobs and that most of them are geneabloggers.

When I put the panelists on the spot and asked them to nominate a presenter they would recommend these names were mentioned Lisa-Louise Cooke, Chris Paton, Thomas MacEntee, Dick Eastman, Richard Reid, Kerry Farmer, Maria Northcote, Helen Smith, Kim Phillips, Cyndi Ingle and GeniAus. Watch out for them at an event near you or online.

Among the events panelists plan to attend are Rootstech 2015, Congress 2015, The Unlock the Past Baltic Cruise and the NSWACT State Conference.

Best Hangout Ever

I realised a dream tonight. I had more people for the GeniAus Hangout on Air to mark the end of National Family History Month then the ten spaces on the panel.

Having so many panelists contributing to the conversation during the broadcast makes the hangout such a wonderful experience for the Hangout host. Thank you to the twelve peole who joined me to talk about their experiences in National Family Month especially Shauna Hicks, voluntary national co-ordinator for the event.  I had an incredible 60 minutes thanks to the collaboration of these generous genies.

If you missed the Hangout you can watch it right here or catch it later here.

#NFHM2014 - Party time at your house today

It's party time at your house at 5:00pm this afternoon (Sydney time). Yes, if you care to join in, you can celebrate what has been a fantastic National Family History Month.

I'm hoping for a full panel in the GeniAus Hangout on Air this afternoon. If you can tell us about a #NFHM2014 event you've attended, hosted or presented, your success with Shauna's 31 activities for researchers or societies, blog posts you may have written or new blogs you have started or brickwalls that have come tumbling down please join the live panel and share your stories.

Around 4:45pm I will send out links to join the panel to those who have responded "Yes" to my prior invitation to the Hangout. Those people who have messaged me and indicated they will be on the panel will get an even earlier link sent to them from 4:30pm. Watch the notifications bell in the top right hand corner of your Chrome browser or your email for these. We need to check your settings, video and sound before we go live.

If want to watch and comment on the dicussion you will need to be a member of the GeniAus Community on Google+, I will be around to approve more memberships between now and Hangout time.  I will be turning comments off on Youtube (if I cn work out how) so that we keep the conversation all in the one place within our community.

If you prefer to watch quietly from the sidelines you can watch the video on Youtube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYLcvkZja4. 

Questions??? I'll be back online after I have a spot of lunch.

See you at the party, please feel free to dress for the occasion and have your favourite refreshment handy.

Caught in the Act

I have debated with myself as to whether I should share this photo or not mainly because I had forgotten to put my iron and ironing board away before it was taken.  But that is the way with candid photos.

GeniAus Haanging out

Last week when I was halfway through my #NFHM2014 hangout my son and Mr GeniAus arrived back from an outing and tiptoed into the room. As the broadcast was in session I couldn't stop to have a chat with them so I just kept going. My son thought it amusing that he "caught me in the act" so he whipped out his phone and took a picture of me which he emailed the next day.

I thought it interesting because the photo shows the things I surround myself with before I start a hangout.  I hangout in the kitchen because the lighting there is good and I am able to connect to my modem by an ethernet cable which I feels gives me a better connection.

Working vaguely from the left of the kitchen table you can see my other gear:

* an handsfree phone that I can dive on and disconnect if someone calls through the hangout
* a vvidoe camera on a mini tripod sitting on a pile of recipe books to get it to a good height
* a botttle of water for when I get parched
* a spiral notebook in case I need to write something down (note the blue pencil in my hands)
* ta big laptop from which I connect to the hangout and monitor my running sheet
* a USB headset
* a portable hard drive on wich is loaded all of my genealogy files
* a pretty pink mouse connected to
* a second laptop on which I watch comments that may be made in the Geniaus Community during the course of the hangout

I am always nervous prior to a hangout commencing. I think this photos shows that once I am connected with my gear around me I am quite relaxed; my demeanour demonstrates that hangouts are not daunting activities.

As you can see from this picture you do not need any sophisticated gear to run or join a hangout, if you haven't tried it yet you should have a go.

Hanging Out in National Family History Month

The first #NFHM2014 event I attended was an online one hosted by myself. It was wonderful to have four Australian and two British family historians join me for a Google Hangout on Air.

As I am presently semi-housebound I realised what a boon online events are for those who are isolated by distance, disability or for some other reason. My stay at home is only temporary as I should be able to drive about next week (I hope) but many others around Australia don't have that luxury.

Here is what newbie panelist Travelgenee had to say about the hangout: http://travelgenee.com/family-history-month-challenge-16/

I won't prattle on about the event instead I will just post the video for you to view.

Your internet connection is unstable...

...was a message I got when I was setting up the GeniAus Hangout on Air this afternoon but I wans't deterred.

I went ahead with the hangout not realising that my video feed was missing. This really didn't matter until I sharee my screen and started to demonstrate how to use a resource. It wasn't until the polite panelists told me that they couldn't see my screenshare and that they hadn't been able to see my smiling live face that I realised I had an issue.

In spite of this we had a good Hangout, thankfully the video feeds from the other panelists were available. In parts my audio was patchy but the panelists came through loud and clear.

So what will I do in future?

* As well as doing sound checks prior to the show I will ask the panelists to let me know if there are issues with my video feed.

* I will use another room in the house that is closer to our modem/router for my hangouts.

* I may connect to our modem/router with an ethernet cable.

Thanks to Hilary from Wales, Michelle from Stockton NSW and Sandy from Illinois, USA for joining me on the panel today. Should you wish to meet these ladies and hear what we had to sa you can watch the hangout recording right here:

Lifelink

Instead of writing a blog post about Lifelink a new resource for New South Wales I decided to do a Google Hangout in which I demonstrated the product and made some comments about it.

When I viewed the video I discovered that the quality was not too good with the video cutting in and out and some parts of the audio being unclear. I am still posting it as it may be useful for someone and it may engender some conversation.

#UTPCruise - It's already Day 7

As soon as we arrived in port I phoned Mr Geniaus and said that I couldn't decide if I should get off the cruise ship to see Hobart. He suggested that if I didn't have cabin fever I may as well stay on board.

As I have lots of genealogy work to do and I have visited Hobart on a number of occasions I took his advice and have remained closeted in my cabin since we docked. I don't feel confined as I have my balcony door open. I have a fresh breeze wafting in and I am able to see the city and Mount Wellington.

I just spent twenty minutes recording a Hangout on Air that relates my experiences of the last two days. Unfortunately although it appeared that the video in the hangout was recording it does not appear on the recording. Don't you just love technology?

If you would like to hear my recording you can do so from here.

#UTPCruise - Day 4

Laziness has taken over again and, instead of typing a report on Day 4, I have recorded a Google Hangout on Air.

Tessa Keough on Google+ this morning challenged me to talk about the genea business cards I have collected so far on the cruise so I took up her challenge and discussed them in the video I recorded.

Already 44 people have watched the first Hangout I posted from the cruise so I guess that it is a medium that people appreciate. This afternoon I am hosting a Hangout on Air for Unlock the Past in which I hope to interview some cruisers and presenters whom I have met on board. Shortly I am going exploring around the ship to find a suitable location as the internet connection in the Conference Center is not strong enough to support a Hangout. I had thought of going out on deck somewhere but the wind is whistling and making a terrible racket so indoors will be the best bet.

Apologies that at about the 12 minute mark the following video got patchy (blame Telstra) but PLEASE persevere as the quality improves after a few seconds.

#UTPcruise - Day 2

Instead of typing up a report on yesterday's cruise activities I scheduled a Google Hangout on Air. I was thrilled that Tessa Keough from The US joined me.

Connect - Converse - Collaborate

I've been a little bit nervous.

I ordered some business cards, stickers and postcards from Vistaprint to take on the cruise a couple of weeks ago and they hadn't turned up by last Friday. My previous orders from this company have arrived early so as it was over two weeks since I ordered them I was in panic mode.

You see I am rather excited about Google Hangouts for Genealogy and I wanted to promote my GeniAus Hangouts on Air when I give a talk on the subject.

Just in the nick of time they arrived this afternoon. Phew!

I think the postcard (below) looks rather spiffy and I'm rather pleased with my 3Cs  (it took me a day or three to come up with them).

Connect - Converse - Collaborate 

Front

Back

Hangout Habit

I've got it bad, the Hangout Habit that us.

I just love logging on to a scheduled Hangout on Air and seeing who will join me to chat about Genealogy topics. It's such a lottery as one doesn't know who will join in until their image pops up on the filmstrip at the bottom of the screen. I am always relieved when the first person joins in prior to starting the recordingas I know I won't have to deliver a monologue.

I seem to be developing a group of Hangout regulars who have joined me on a few occasions and in each session a couple of newbies appear - what a nice mix that is. As we are all learning about the medium the sessions are quite casual and we often digress to learn about and master some part of the Hangout setup.

Tonight was a bit of a challenge when I, as host, dropped out of the Hangout. Thankfully tthe others realised I was missing and carried on valiantly. Although our topic was packing for a geneajaunt we did stray a little and discuss things that were specific to the cruise some of us will soon be taking but amongst the chatter I picked up a few excellent tips for organising myself, preparing for visits and notetaking for all my geneajaunts. There was also some specific advice given for people attending Rootstech.

Thanks to the fabulous group of ladies who hung out with me tonight. You are stars that make the GeniAus Hangouts on Air so bright.

You can view the video from here or on my Youtube Channel.

Ethically challenged?

I have just emailed a copy of the issues we will be discussing in the "Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy" panel on the 4th Unlock the Past Cruise to the panelists for the session.

Joining me as panelists will be three eminent genealogists from Australia and the UK:

Pauleen Cass
Kirsty Gray
Maria Northcote

This session promises to be a cracker as there are some curly questions for the three panelists to ponder. Most genealogists will have been confronted with one or more of the dilemmas to be discussed. 

If you are cruising I suggest that you highlight this session for attendance. I am a fan of panel sessions because they give the audience an opportunity to hear a range of opinions on a subject rather than a one-sided view. I must remember to get the panelists permission to record it.

Panelists in a session on the 3rd UTP Cruise

The issues we will be discussing are so interesting that I will schedule them for discussion in a future GeniAus Hangout on Air.

Accentuate the Positive 2013 - An experiment

I decided to try something different in response the Accentuate the Positive Geneameme I published last week.

Firstly I realised that my response was going to be loooong and I wasn't looking forward to typing it up, secondly I needed to respond before I posted the list of links to others' contributions and most importantly I wanted to try something new.

So here is my response recorded this afternoon as a Google Hangout on Air to which I invited no other participants..



Apologies for the dodgy sound and the patchy pictures. I looked and sounded fine as I did the recording so will blame the heavy traffic through my ISP or Google on this New Year's Eve.

A Team Effort - A Successful Hangout

Thanks to five kind souls who joined me in the GeniAUS Hangout on Air this morning I think we have pooled our experience to give some useful advice to Foreigneres and First timerw who are attending the 4th Rootstech Conference in Salt Lake City.

Hilary Gadsby from Wales, Jane Haldeman from Chicago, Illinois, Jenny Joyce from Sydney, Australia, Brenda Wheeler from Queensland, Australia and Russ Worthington from the US i appreciate the support you gave during this Hangout on Air.

I do apologise for saying umm so many times and for the instances when I did not have the camera on the person who was speaking. Perhaps I should learn to sit still and not laugh so much as well. I am learning a little more about the process each time I host a Hangout!

Those who wish to view the recording of the Hangout can do so via this link on Youtube: http://youtu.be/ztarTg14_qk or you can watch the video embedded below. Please add any comments you may have about the Hangout to its Youtube page.

High Societies

In the recent GeniAUS Hangout on Air we shared details and showed screenshots of our genealogy groups' activities. We gave precedence to Aussie societies but also mentioned those overseas or international organisations that we have joined.

Following is the list of Societies mentioned by the on air panelists and those who were following the event on Youtube.

Anne Young (off air) The Genealogical Society of Victoria GSV.org.au which has a terrific online index for members, the Genealogical Index of Names, a great magazine, a library in the centre of Melbourne on Collins Street, and a very friendly research service for members who don't live in Melbourne.

The Avoca and District Historical societyhttp://home.vicnet.net.au/~adhs/ADHSMain.htm which has very extensive card indexes of people who lived in the district compiled from all sorts of records, schools, vaccinations, the undertaker who was also a furniture maker, newspapers, letter collections. My husband's family came from the area and I found the group very helpful for researching his family.

The Ballarat and District Genealogical societyhttp://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au which actively researches locally. It's library is combined with the local library which is terrific as it means extended visiting hours as well as the co-location of two great resources.

When I was in Canberra I belonged to HAGSOC. I really appreciated their great library, monthly talks, and when I was beginning genealogy their excellent beginners course. http://www.hagsoc.org.au 
Chris Wright  
Central Queensland Family History Association  http://cqfamilyhistory.org.au/
Bundaberg Genealogical Society Inc.  http://www.bga.org.au/
The Queensland Family History Society  http://www.qfhs.org.au/

Brenda Wheeler 
Hervey Bay Family History Association  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~qldhbfha/
National Genealogical Society http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/
National Institute for Genealogical Studies  www.genealogicalstudies.com

Michelle Watson  
Stockton Historical Society  http://stocktonhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com.au/

Maureen Trotter (off Air)
Port Phillip Pioneers - a group for people whose ancestors arrived before Victoria became a separate state  http://www.portphillippioneersgroup.org.au

VicGum - lots of help with software and computer problems via the Gumnet mailing list, lots of workshops and a great newsletter  http://www.vicgum.asn.au

Emerald U3A Genealogy group - a small self-help group

Cornish Association of Victoria - very welcoming to new members, good library resources. I have only just joined this group. http://www.cornishvic.org.au

Les Tobin 
Society of Australian Genealogists  http://www.sag.org.au

Lilian Magill
New Banksown Family History Group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1418043615094041/?fref=ts
John Nichols Family Society  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~johnnichols/
Familysearch Mortdale Family History Centre  https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Mortdale_New_South_Wales_Family_History_Centre

Marg Doherty
Genealogical Society of Queensland  https://www.gsq.org.au/

Pauleen Cass  
Toowoomba & Darling Downs Family History Society http://tddfhs.org.au/
Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory http://www.gsnt.org.au/node/19
Sunshine Coast Genealogical Society genealogysunshinecoastinc
Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies http://www.aigs.org.au/
The Family HIstory Association of North Queensland  http://www.fhanq.org/ausnqnamesnplaces.html

Jill Ball  
Hawkesbury Family History Group  www.hawkesbury.net.au/community/hfhg/‎
Ku-ring-gai Historical Society  http://www.khs.org.au
Society of Genealogists http://www.sog.org.uk

Thank you once again to the generous genies who joined in with our event.