Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Add Events to Google Calendar From Gmail

You may have noticed the Add to your Outlook calendar option on webinar confirmation emails. It's very handy...if you use Outlook.


For my personal email and calendaring system I use Gmail and Google Calendar. I was wondering why I never saw an Add to your Google Calendar option. I know those Google folks are smart and would not leave us hanging without this feature. And they didn't, they are just more intuitive and streamlined about it.


Next time you receive a confirmation in Gmail, or go back to an old email, hover your mouse over the date. You will see Add to Calendar. Click on the date and a small dialog box will open.



In the dialog box you can edit the title of the event, change the date and time (I don't know why you would) and then click Add to Calendar. No more retyping or copy and paste.



Sunday, October 20, 2013

Doing My Homework As a New GenSoc Board Member

As a new board member for MoSGA, I've been working to prepare myself for my first official genealogy related board meeting on November 2nd. I'm a strong believer in preparation and getting a lay of the land so to speak.

I've read the Bylaws, the Standing Rules, last month's minutes and the reports for this month's meeting that have been submitted. I'm making my list, checking it twice and then cutting it by 75% because someone(s) advised me to go slowly and inch my way in. :)

To get a broader perspective of genealogy societies and how they operate I turned to the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). I am very impressed with the volume of information available on the public side of the site. Their Society Strategy Series is extensive and I will slowly make my way through it. I can't wait to see if I can get my mouse behind the members only section, I can only imagine what I will find there.

Being that I am a self-proclaimed podcast junkie, I've listened to FGS Radio - My Society since the beginning and enjoy the episodes very much. There are many great interviews with societies sharing aspects of their programs that had success and those that didn't. I'll begin paying more attention as I listen.

It is very timely that FGS begins broadcasting a 3 part webinar series this week called Genealogy Society Membership and Communication with George G. Morgan as the presenter. All three segments look interesting and very applicable to all societies (not even necessarily genealogy). George is a very good speaker, be sure to register for all three.

So far I feel I have done my due diligence and can walk into this first board meeting, follow the conversation and keep my mouth shut effectively. I was considering memorizing Robert's Rules of Order. Do you think that would be overkill?




Sunday, October 6, 2013

Mid-Continent Library System Is Working On that Divide

Genealogy's Star James Tanner shared this thought provoking post today: Can we overcome the Great Genealogical Divide. 

My initial reaction was to move on as I assumed this was yet another post about "that" divide in the genealogy community. However, curiosity got the best of me and I did read what James had to say and it brings to light another divide James has identified.

In a nutshell James feels there is a need for basic computer, technology and Internet skills for many genealogists. Conferences such as Rootstech essentially require these skills in order to get the most from the sessions offered there.

At first I was shaking my head in agreement with James. It is true many conferences I attend do make the assumption that the attendee has a certain level of technological aptitude. I would hazard to guess that few, if any, conferences attempt to provide this basic type of education.

I stopped shaking my head in agreement though. I do not feel a conference model should be to provide everything to every attendee. I believe that basic level of education can best come from a smaller, local group. James suggested FamilySearch Centers offering such classes, which is a good idea, but do we need to reinvent the wheel?


Look to your public library system. There is a good chance they are providing this basic level of education to patrons. I visited my library's event page and I was pleasantly surprised (I don't know why because they are awesome) to see just how much the Mid-Continent Library System provides in the way of basic technological related education.

Don't reinvent the wheel and don't take patrons away from area library systems. Encourage patrons to look at this resource. If it's not available talk to the library director and see if it can be added. Library systems count on funding to operate and use attendance numbers to legitimize their funding needs. Help them out while helping those beginners cross the technological divide as well.