Inspiring Blogs 300Welcome to my latest Inspiring Genealogy Blog post. Here are a collection of posts that I’ve read during August that I’ve found intriguing, useful and/or inspiring.

In this edition of Inspiring Genealogy Blog posts we have posts that cover:  mobilegeddon, desktop genealogy software, citations, labelling digital photos, is your research intellectual property?, and who owns copyright to that photo?, indexes – good or bad?, and how to promote your next genealogy conference on social media … together with a whole heap more!

So grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, get comfy and enjoy some great reads.

As I mention every time, I find that reading blog posts helps me keep up with the latest news, products as well as what’s happening in general in the world of genealogy. And if you happen to already follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and to some extent Google+, you already know that I like to share with you the interesting things I read.

Food for thought? Labelling your digital photos
I came across this post on the “All About Digital Photos” site. Ken writes … “Since I started working with digital photos I’ve been looking for a good solution to labelling these photos. Unlike paper prints, there is no “back” to write on with a digital photo. Labelling is a good habit to get into, especially with family photos. I do a lot of genealogy and am constantly frustrated by collections of largely unlabeled photos”… [aren’t we all]. He explains that there are two types of labelling (digital and visible) and goes into detail of how to use these to your advantage. Read the full article …

Is Historical Research Intellectual Property?
Former lawyer, now genealogist, James Tanner tackles this intriguing question. He writes the following … “As genealogists, we find ourselves in a quandary. We do historical research. We discover documents, most of which are not covered by copyright or any other “intellectual property” protection and we convert those documents (organize, extract, summarize etc.) into our “own work.” Some of the documents we use … are clearly exempt from any copyright protection. … most of the other documents we consult are either long out of copyright due to the age of the documents or otherwise not covered by any sort of protection. The real question, from the standpoint of genealogical research, is not the copyright status of the documents we research, but the extent to which we can claim any rights to the information and to the documents themselves when the source documents are clearly not covered by any claim of copyright? In other words, is historical research per se, intellectual property?” It is an intriguing read. Read the full article …

To Index or Not to Index. That is the Question
Another post from James Tanner makes my list, and in my option he voices what I’ve thought of for a long time … people rely far too much on indexes. He writes … “I am not really challenging the concept of providing an index for genealogical research. Indexes do have their place. But I am suggesting that researchers do not become overly dependent on indexes.” Read the full article …

Why It’s Important to Use Desktop Family Tree SOFTWARE
There’s no doubt that big name databases encourage us to create our family trees online, while it’s fine, it is also limiting. You still need to have a software program on your hard drive on your desktop computer, laptop, ipad or mobile device. Christine from the Genosity blog, gives you 7 reasons as to why you should use desktop genealogy software program, rather than purely and online one. Read the full article …

Mobilegeddon and Your Society Website
Let’s say your society is doing well, it has a website, and you’re keeping things up to date. Now Google has gone and changed their search algorithm again, and now base their Search Engine Rankings on whether a website is mobile friendly. Read on to see what Mobilegeddon really means for the typical society website. This is relevant for everyone with a website, but is written in the context of a genealogy society. Read the full article …

15-Step Social Media Marketing Plan to Help You Promote Your Next Genealogy Conference
To make a conference work well, it takes far more than choosing a date, and putting on the society’s calendar. Gail Denver has come up with 15 great suggestions that will help your next genealogy event work well. Read the full article …

Citations, Rigmarole and Aha! Moments
Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to citations? Do you wonder if you’re doing them ‘right? Elizabeth Shown Mills shares with us how some people feel that citations are just too hard, and what you can do about it. She asks “in the grand scheme of things, what matters in a source citation?” Read the full article …

The Limits of Ownership
Judy tackles another reader’s query of ownership and copyright of an old family photograph. But rather than simply covering the issue of who has copyright, the question was raised in relation to an edited version of the photograph. It truly makes you think about the copyright issue of it all. Read the full article …

Stanmore Shame
Jill Ball writes how her husband wanted to donate some old primary school photos to his old school, but was left dismayed by their lack of interest. However, rather than give up, he contacted a local library who would be delighted to add them to their collection. It’s so good to know that they have a good home to go to. Read the full article …

Happy reading 😉