Kathryn Sheranko has an article, Locals decode the past through genealogy, in the Cranberry Journal (PA), about normal, every day genealogists, and the brick walls they hit and the solutions they find. Just a positive article about genealogy as a hobby, as well as mentioning the value of genealogy clubs.

I see that Clooz 2.0 is undergoing beta testing. Clooz is billed as a “electronic filing cabinet that assists you with search and retrieval of important facts you have found during the ancestor hunt” by its developers, and they’ve certainly added a few interesting things.

Three things about this new version of Clooz jumped out at me (and they certainly helped me decide to add this to my collection of genealogy software)

I’ve been looking at new digital cameras as I want to upgrade for various reasons (not the least of which I’m into gadgets and love seeing new stuff). There have been three sites (and especially their user forums) that were extremely helpful to my getting up to speed on the latest and greatest, and I just wanted to mention them:

- Steve’s Digicams - Great forums, lots of information
- Rob Galbraith’s site - Lots of information to crunch through
- DPReview.com - Same as above, and I have spent many hours browsing their forums (they have a great photo retouch forum in addition to the normal camera-oriented forums).

The Internet Genealogy Community Study and its blog are back in action, starting up this week (monday to be precise).

Kylie Veale and her site, are, in her words, An Australian ‘Internet Studies’ PhD student researching online genealogy within the broader context of hobbyist Internet usage. How do genealogists use the Internet? What are the consequences of the development of genealogy as a significant Internet-based activity?

She has now published a “rolling draft” of her Thesis Outline, located here, where she breaks everything out (what else would an outline be?). It’s very interesting that while genealogy has spawned more than a few degrees, this is one of the few, if not the only, degree/thesis based around the study of genealogists themselves, and how they use the internet.

It’s a great premise, after all, the two most revolutionary things to occur in genealogy in our lifetimes have been the advent of personal computers and access to the internet.

The Boston Globe has a business article from the Associated Press, by Adam Geller, Consumers turn to their DNA for answers, about, you guessed it, DNA testing and its uses, and its growing market. While they focus on one genealogist, Art Thomas, and mention quite a bit of detail about what all is involved when it comes to DNA testing and genealogy, they also focus on what is apparently a booming business. They also mention some of the other uses (genetic diseases, paternity, etc.).

Look’s like Ancestry’s Yearly/Weekly/Daily NewsJournal/Newsletter thing has morphed into a blog.

The title, “24/7 Family History Circle!” refers to them spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thinking up ways on how to get you to use Ancestry.com. I’m kidding, I jest, I have the “Super-Duper Membership” package, where my paycheck goes straight to Ancestry’s offices to cover my monthly bill. Again, just kidding.

To be honest, it’s interactive, that’s a good thing, and I like the look, it’s a lot cleaner than the old newsletter thingy, and easier to read.

As much as I kid them here and elsewhere, I do believe they have tried (and succeeded in many ways) to improve the look of their services, and the new blog is a reflection of that. When you are on dial-up, you want as little clutter as possible, and way too many genealogy services sites are way too busy, both from a loading perspective, and from a “where do I go from here” perspective, and Ancestry and their newsletter used to be that way.

A friend who is into useability-type stuff, both web and print, commented on the blog and their site and said they have got some good designers that paid attention to complaints about clutter and load times.

The Block Island Times (RI) is paying a small tribute to Samuel T. Livermore. Interesting guy, wrote a great book almost 130 years ago about the history of Block Island, Rhode Island. He wrote a lot apparently.

WCAX (Vermont) is running a story by the Associated Press, And why was writer’s ancestor burned at the stake?>, about an author’s genealogy research into why his six-times-great grandfather ended up being burned at the stake, a fate that he himself helped seal for another person (he was not killed during the Salem Witch Trials, however he testified against somebody else who was). It’s a unique article, and raises some interesting questions. I am descended (along with probably millions of other Americans) from somebody who was killed during the trials. I’ve read probably a dozen books on the matter, have watched probably 20+ hours worth of shows (around Halloween, the History Channel turns into the Salem Channel), and I’ve seen all kinds of explanations. The author of this article takes another look at how some things could have happened (as well as the irony in his own ancestor’s end).