Q is for Quality Services Posted 20 April 2017 by Peggy ChapmanUnder the resources tab on the menu bar of the website, (you must be logged in), click on Guild Services and find a list of member services, some of which have been covered. But did you know about the Newswatch Project, Mentoring, WARP, Awards of Excellence and many more. Let’s look at a few and see what you might be missing: Mentoring is often what can make the difference between a satisfying experience and a frustrating one. No matter what your challenge is, there may be a member who can help you through it. All you need to do is ask. Newswatch Project refers to other members giving a bit of their time to review their local newspaper for Guild surnames. This is an excellent way to get hard-to-find information from across the world. Check the list of locations and newspapers. Awards of Excellence is what is sounds like. Click on this and see a range of awards that have been given to members for excellence in areas such as, articles, websites, books, blogs completed by Guild members. I like this site because I can access examples of good research and one-name study methods. RAOGK stands for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, a behaviour that seems to come naturally to most family historians, and the Guild is no different. Once logged in, there is a table of Offers and Requests. The requests lag behind the offers so don’t overlook these helping hands. WARP is an acronym for Warning, Advice and Reporting point. What is that you ask? This is a service that focuses on computer and Internet security alerts related to your email alias and other Guild technology. All you need to do is subscribe and if anything does become a concern, you will be in the know.
P is for Profile Page Posted 19 April 2017 by Peggy ChapmanWhen did you last update your one-name study profile page? Does it still contain the same information that you provided when you registered the study? Or even more dismaying, did you completely overlook creating one in the first place? April is the month of spring and renewal: a perfect time to refresh (or create) your profile to match the progress of your study. Despite many of us having websites that serve as the focal point to the study, there are many reasons why an informative profile page is advantageous: in doing a google search on my own study using the very broad search of “Messervey surname”, the Guild profile page was fourth in returned hits. As well, anyone searching the surname on the Guild website will go directly to the profile page. I also find it a way to assess progress: checking the profile page once or twice a year helps to keep focused. If you do have a website, the profile page gives the reader the URL; Facebook groups and contact information for a DNA study is also listed here. Have I convinced you? Why not try a few surnames in the search box on the home page to get an idea of what other members are doing. You will find some with lots of work to do; others have enough information for readers to know the goals of the study, what stage it is, whether there is a DNA project attached, and more. Some members have extensive profile pages that leave no stone unturned! The next step is to find your profile page and do the updates. I don’t need to give you all the information here because the very helpful website team has provided an excellent tool entitled “Managing your One-Name Study profile page”. This is all you need to complete and update your profile: once logged in, you can find this information under the Studies tab on the home page. See the screen shot below. Just click on Profile Page Help and get started.
O is for Other Surnames of Interest Posted 18 April 2017 by Peggy ChapmanDo you have an interest in surnames in addition to the one you registered as your one-name study? Did you know that through your Guild membership, you can register an interest in Other Surnames? Why do this when you perhaps have no intent to ever do a one-name study on that “other” name? It is about making connections: others searching the surname can find you and you can exchange information. In the surname search on the Guild home page, the “other surname” category returns a result that identifies it as not a registered study, but an interest for a member and a contact. This has the benefit of perhaps advancing your personal family history and for some, might eventually mean making the decision to register a second study. There are a couple of caveats: first, if the surname is a registered study by another member, it is not available for “Other Surnames”; second, if at some point in the future a member does register the name, it can no longer be included as an interest. Where do you find this member benefit? It is easily accessed through the member options on the home page (you must be logged in): See the screen shot below. Once you click on “Other Surname Interests”, a simple online registration appears where you can, if you prefer, restrict your interest geographically or by years. The second screen shot below shows the submission form. Only 231 members have taken advantage of this option to date, although they have registered multiple surnames. It is perhaps not a well-known feature, so become part of “those in the know” and register a surname or two!
N is for News Posted 17 April 2017 by Tessa KeoughThe Guild has so much going on, whether that is in person (seminars, conferences, committee and regional meetings) or online (websites, social media, journals, indexes). How is a Guild member to keep up? Why not check out the News where we share all kinds of news with our members and the genealogy public. At the Guild Website simply select News at the drop down menu and then focus on the type of news you are interested in, including General News – all this month using the A to Z Challenge, we are posting an article highlighting a service or benefit found here at our Guild Website. We show you where to find it, how it works, and encourage you to take advantage of it. The rest of year, we post general news of interest to our membership. Regional News – if you want to get information about the various Guild regions or contact information for your regional representative, check out the regional news. When a regional representative publishes a newsletter or email bulletin you should be able to find it here. A shout out to Guild members Ken and Jean Toll who publish regular newsletters that are quite informative! Committee News – want to find out about the agenda or documentation for a committee meeting? Select the Committee News tab and previous meeting information is available for your reading pleasure. Chairman’s Newsletter – although the Chairman’s Newsletter is pushed via email to all members, perhaps you have missed one (check to make sure your email provider hasn’t put it in the spam folder). This is the place to find all previous Chairman’s Newsletters. Media Releases – when the Guild shares publicity items, shares news with the genealogy community, and/or is featured in the news, you should be able to find it here in Media Releases. If you have something for a media release, contact Guild Member Cliff Kemball, our publicity manager. Features – leave it to our webmaster Kim Baldacchino to provide Guild members with a quick and easy way to focus on 6 of the top features at our Website and make them accessible with a simple click. Right now 3 of the features are the Guild Wiki, DNA Kits, and Guild Seminars. If you are wondering what the other 3 features are, why not visit the Features page found at News. Between our social media and the News here at the Website, Guild members should always know what the Guild is up to – you can read all about it! where to find all the news features – an easy way to find some of the freshest news