Even though I already Facebook, Bebo, Google, wiki, podcast, and blog on a regular basis, I gleaned some valuable nuggets of information about social networking from Drew Smith's book, Social Networking for Genealogists. This handy little guide is written for the genealogist who has minimal knowledge about social networking sites. Smith provides term definition with his step-by-step instructions on how to use various networks. Since it is often difficult to learn how to use web-based applications from a book, the screen shots Smith includes are very helpful. He also lists suggested steps at the end of each chapter to help readers practice the skills they will learn along the way.

The most important principle Smith teaches is that social networks are here to stay and can be valuable tools for genealogical research, so we should learn how to use them. Secondly, only the information you post about yourself will appear on these sites; you can put as much or as little about yourself as you feel comfortable sharing with your fellow researchers.

Smith begins his book with a discussion of basic terms and tools such as RSS and tags in chapters 2 and 3. For me, as a blog reader, just learning how to read the multiple blogs I subscribe to through an aggregator like Google Reader was a great time saver. No more clicking around through multiple blogs! I just go to my Google Reader account and read what is new. Amazing.

The later chapters discuss different social networks such as message boards, mailing lists, blogs, wikis, Flickr, YouTube, Second Life, and Geni. He suggests reading each chapter in order so that basic terms are understood when referred to in these later chapters.

Chapter 4 goes over mailing lists and discussion boards. Smith looks at GenForum, Ancestry.com's message boards, and RootsWeb and shows how to send or post messages and how to search for messages based on localities or surnames. He gives helpful steps for searching and provides screen shots of the different sites. Then he ends the chapter with 8 steps on how one can "get involved"--which was easy for me to do based on his examples in the chapter.

Chapter 5 looks at blogs and blogging, specifically how blogs can further genealogical research. For those who are not familiar with blogs, Smith explains exactly what a blog is and provides examples of two exceptional blogs: www.brandi.org/geneablogy/ and www.stephendanko.com/. He also talks about how to find blogs using Genealogy Blog Finder and how to set up your own blog using Blogger (part of the Google family). His step-by-step instructions make it very easy to set up your own blog.

The next chapter focuses on wikis, or websites that allow multiple contributors--the term comes from the Hawaiian word wiki which means "To hurry, hasten; quick, fast, swift" (www.wehewehe.org). The most well-known of these, Smith points out, is the notorious Wikipedia. And while it has some useful information for genealogists, the one Smith recommends is EOGEN, or Encyclopedia of Genealogy (www.eogen.co m/). He shows how one can become a volunteer for the wiki and how to post to the wiki. Next he explains how to make your own PBwiki and walks us through it step by step. The benefits of a wiki, Smith claims, are that it "can make it easier for you to share and preserve an ever-changing online family history and attract unknown researchers to your site" (p. 64).

Chapter 7 shows readers how to use collaborative editing tools, specifically Google Docs. The benefits of using this for genealogists is that you can invite family members to collaborate on a family history without all the added steps of attaching the document to an email. You merely upload it to your Google Docs and then choose who may or may not see it. This is also a good idea to preserve documents before the inevitable hard drive crash. Smith once again gives step-by-step instructions that allow anyone to learn Google Docs in a snap.

Chapter 8 may seem daunting in its topic of photo and video sharing, but Smith breaks down simple steps to uploading photos to Flickr, video to YouTube, and points the way to RootsTube. Apparently YouTube has many programs for the genealogist such as "interviews with well-known genealogists, video versions of family stories, and travelogues of ancestral towns" (p. 77). It is not just a place to watch bloopers or music videos anymore. Smith also shows, aided by screen shots, how to enable privacy settings to protect pictures and video from being viewed by unknown persons (something he recommends when using images of children or people who are still living). Unfortunately, he does not include much information on RootsTube, but does promise a helpful online tutorial at: www.rootstelevision.com/submit_rootstube.php. I did check the link and found the tutorial active and also found this other helpful note for those of you who already have video posted online: "Alternatively, you can upload a sample to Google Video or YouTube and email us with the link" (RootsTube).

Chapter 9 is a short chapter on bookmarking and only features Delicious. According to Wikipedia, there are other social bookmarking sites, but Delicious was the first one to develop the concept (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking). Smith explains the biggest draw for users of Delicious is the ability to take your bookmarks with you and access them from any computer while sharing them with others. However, it is not really clear how Delicious or other social bookmarking sites are especially beneficial to genealogists.

Like chapter 9, chapter 10 is short and sparse on information—this time it is personal libraries. Smith only discusses LibraryThing, a site for cataloging your own books and sharing that catalog with others. And while Smith points out the value of this tool for genealogists is the ability to see what books are out there on genealogy, it is not evident how this site would have any great impact on one's research. He also neglects other sites like Google Books which allows you to share what you are reading with friends and evaluate the titles.

Chapter 11 features podcasts and Smith gives the basic steps to downloading the iTunes directory software, finding a genealogy podcast, and downloading the podcast for listening. He does mention other directories, such as Windows Media Player, but does not show how to use it. Smith also shows the page for his own podcast, The Genealogy Guys Podcast, which can be downloaded through iTunes for free. After looking at Smith's podcast page, I did a quick search just of the term "genealogy" and got 90 podcasts and most all were free to download.

The chapter on Facebook (12) is one of the best in the book, even though Facebook is the only social networking site that Smith discusses. He briefly mentions MySpace but does not discuss it, even though it has "over 100 million accounts" (p. 105). In spite of his uneven treatment of social networking sites, this chapter gives excellent pointers on setting up a Facebook account and dissects the advantages to the genealogist. This chapter alone would make the book worth reading and purchasing. And even though I already have a Facebook account and use it regularly, I never before had thought about it is a research tool. One thing I will be doing soon is uploading all the photos I scanned a few years ago from my grandmother's family photo albums. Now all my relatives can have those photos too -- and they will never get lost if they are widely disseminated. But Smith really opened my eyes to Facebook's genealogical import by pointing out the differ ent genealogy groups, especially one called Unclaimed Persons. The group's mission is simple; they help coroners identify the relatives of unclaimed persons whose bodies are waiting in the city morgue. They also have a website at: http://www.unclaimedpersons.org/. Genealogists associated with this group have helped reunite 98 individuals with family members, according to their website. An article in the January/February 2009 issue of Ancestry and a short video are available on the website for those who are interested in learning more about becoming part of this project.

Smith discusses virtual worlds in chapter 13, specifically the free website Second Life. While it has minimal application for genealogists and is a complicated interface to navigate, Smith does give basic steps and lots of encouragement, along with screen shots to help users set up an account.

While the information in chapter 14 about specific networking sites for genealogists is the most relevant chapter in the entire book, it does not include much information. Smith only discusses how to use Geni, though he does mention other sites in passing (MyFamily.com, Dynastree, and MyHeritage). His step-by-step instructions were easy to follow and I quickly set up my family tree.

Overall, Social Networking for Genealogists is a good basic book for researchers who are unfamiliar with or new to social networking. Smith's clear instructions and screen shots make this book easy to read. However, there are a few weaknesses beyond those I have already mentioned. The book does not have a concluding chapter or provide an index. But for less than $20 you can learn some valuable skills to help increase your social networks and possibly connect with some previously unknown relations.

Review written by Larisa S. Asaeli