Today Randy Seaver posted a
genealogy poll on his Genea-Musings blog. I don't often answer online polls like this, but I found his questions interesting. The
Mission Impossible music isn't playing in the background here, but these are my answers:
a) Which genealogy software programs for your computer do you use (e.g., Family Tree Maker, Reunion, GRAMPS, etc.)?
The program I use regularly is Family Tree Maker, PC version 16. I also have installed and use to varying degrees PAF 5.0, Legacy Family Tree, Reunion, and Mac Family Tree (yes, I'm "computer bilingual"). I even used to use the
old Mac version of Family Tree Maker!
b)
Which online family trees have information submitted by you - in either a separate online tree (e.g., Ancestry Member Tree) or a universal (collaborative) online tree (e.g., WikiTree)?
I have no family trees posted online anywhere, and I advise others to do the same. I don't want my family tree information appropriated, inappropriately linked, and/or mangled by people who don't do good research. (A good genealogy friend of mine had her entire tree copied with no attribution by a Ph.D. student, of all people!) I do, however, have a
family research page on my own Web site with the names and locations I am researching, and family members have found me that way, which shows you don't need to put a tree online to collaborate with family.
c) For which subscription genealogy record providers (e.g., Ancestry) do you have a subscription?
The only site for which I have a paid subscription is FindMyPast.com, because the paid version shows the newspaper images, which the FHL Portal version does not.
d) Which FREE genealogy record providers (e.g., FamilySearch) do you use regularly?
At home I use FamilySearch extensively, along with FindAGrave, Google, JewishGen.org, Library and Archives Canada, RootsWeb, USGenWeb, many newspaper and genealogical society sites, and any site that includes information I am looking for. I also regularly visit my
local LDS FamilySearch Center (which in my case happens to be the
Oakland FamilySearch Library) and use the databases available through the FHL Portal, which include 19th Century British Newspapers (a Gale database), Ancestry.com World Edition, Fold3, Godfrey Library, Newspaper Archive, and more, and which are free to use in the library. The Oakland FSL also has individual subscriptions to GenealogyBank, VitalSearch, and Newspapers.com, each available on only one computer. I also use Steve Morse's
One-Step Webpages, but it isn't actually a records site, just a better way to search on other sites that do have records.
e)
How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research online? [Note: not reading, or social networking, but actual searching in a record provider]. Estimate an average number of hours per week.
I probably do a minimum of about 20–30 hours of online research every week.
f)
How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research in a repository (e.g., library, archive, courthouse, etc.)? Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.
The amount of time I spend doing on-site research varies from week to week, but it probably averages out to about 5–10 hours per week.
g)
How much time do you spend each week adding information to your genealogy software program (either on your computer or online)? Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one month period.
I have no online trees so spend no time adding information to them. (That's one way to save time!)
h)
How much time do you spend each month at a genealogical society meeting, program or event (not a seminar or conference)? Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.
I attend several meetings and programs from different organizations. It's probably about 9 hours per month, assuming about six programs per month at one and a half hours each.
i)
How much time do you spend each month on genealogy education (e.g., reading books and periodicals, attending seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, etc.)? Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.
This is another hard one, because of the number of hours spent at conferences. Maybe about 20 hours per month on average.
j) How much time do you spend each week reading, writing and commenting on genealogy blogs, websites, and social media? Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one-month period.
This is probably about 13 hours per week. A good chunk of that is writing for my own blog, of course!
I noticed that one question Randy didn't ask is how much time we spend just talking to other people about genealogy!
