May 21, 2013

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A Genealogy App that Can Build and Edit Your Family Tree

January 13, 2013 By

MyHeritage.com has announced the release of the free MyHeritage app version 2.0 for iPad, iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets. Now you can build and edit your family tree, add more information to it, and take your heritage with you anywhere you go.

The app has been optimized for each platform using cutting-edge HTML5 and SVG technologies. Download the new app now, for free, from Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

The app was first launched in December 2011, and has been installed over 1 million times. If you already have an older version, the good new is that the new app will upgrade it seamlessly without affecting your data.

According to MyHeritage.com “The new app version 2.0 lets you create and edit your family tree, add relatives and photos, edit profiles, info and events – wherever you are – in the palm of your hand.  Meeting with family members? Together with your relatives, you can add missing details and correct errors on the spot with new editing screens. Profile pages have also been optimized for mobile devices.”

Get all the details on using the MyHeritage mobile app at the MyHeritage Blog.

Learn more about how to use your iPad for Genealogy research and sharing your family history from my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse.

Filed Under: Mobile, MyHertiage, What's New Tagged With: ,

Who Knew the iPad Could Do This?

January 9, 2013 By

If you got an iPad or tablet for Christmas, you may have spent a good deal of time playing angry birds and checking your email. (Come on, be honest!)

But, if you got a copy of my new book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse,  then you have moved well beyond hurling squawking pudgy red birds at piles of wood, and you are now pivoting to your pad for nearly every area of your family history research.

But who knew that the iPad could do this?!!:

Filed Under: iPad, Mobile, Video, What's New Tagged With: , , ,

5 Reasons You Need the New YouTube App for Family History

January 1, 2013 By

The Genealogy Gems Channel is in the #1 spot when searching “genealogy” in the YouTube app, along with many other excellent family history channels

There’s a new YouTube App for iPad (also available for iPhone and Android) that is a must have for your favorite mobile device.

It’s been a long time coming but worth the wait. Here’s a list of the features you will enjoy:

  • Improved search – New tools include auto-suggestion and the ability to browse for new videos while you watch
  • Faster Loading of videos – We like faster!
  • More Ways to Share Great Video Finds - Share a video on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, email or text message right from the YouTube app
  • Sleek New Design – YouTube Channel Guide allows you to swipe right to see new videos from all your favorite channels
  • More Videos –  Tens of thousands of videos now unlocked for your phone

Still not convinced as a genealogist that you need the new app? Here are 5 reasons you should be using YouTube in conjunction with your family history search:

#1 Learn More about Your Ancestor’s World
Search for clubs, businesses, events and other items that impacted your ancestors’s lives.

#2 Find Your Ancestors in Action
Ever since the Internet came on the scene, genealogists have been searching online for photos (or for the distant cousins possessing photos) of their family.  Apply this strategy to YouTube and video.  Click here to read about how a Genealogy Gems Podcast listener hit pay dirt by following this advice.

#3 Get Quick Answers to Your Genealogy Questions
Got a pressing question on how to fix your Ancestry tree to how to how to create crafty family history gifts? Videos on YouTube not only supply answers, but show you how. When you find a channel that you like, click the Subscribe button. This will set you up to be notified of new videos from that channel as soon as they are published. (Sign in to YouTube with your free Google account because, yep, Google owns YouTube.)

The Genealogy Gems Channel in the YouTube App

#4 Benefit from Genealogy Conferences from the Comfort of Your Home
Not everyone has the time or money to attend a genealogy conference. Conference organizers understand this and are harnessing the power of online video to bring key content to users where they are.  To get started, check out the videos that feature popular conference speakers and the conference experience from channels like SCGS (Jamboree) by searching SCGSgenealogy in the app and NGS  by searching NGSGenealogy.

#5 Learn New Techniques for Sharing Your Family History
Get crafty and creative with project ideas found on YouTube.  Search for keywords such as photos, shadow boxes, quilting, scrapbooking, etc. I’ve set up a special playlist on the Genealogy Gems Channel called Family History Craft and Display Projects that is chock full of videos to get you started. Search “GenealogyGems” in the YouTube app or go directly to the playlist at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE920F093159BD02  

These are just a few ideas for using YouTube and the new YouTube app to enhance your family history adventures. Leave a comment and share the finds you have made.

Learn more about YouTube in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 140

 

 

Filed Under: Google Gem, Mobile, Uncategorized, Video Tagged With:

Internet and Mobile Trends, and Rumors of the Next Mobile Gadget

December 31, 2012 By


When I published my book Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse (and tablets too!) some folks in the genealogy
community asked me if I really thought there were many family historians out there who would use an iPad or tablet.

My emphatic answer was “yes,” and as I travel and speak to live audiences around the U.S. and internationally they prove me right. It’s amazing how many tablets are carefully pulled out of bags and fired up when my presentations begin.

To put the increase in mobile device usage in perspective, check out this cool infographic on the mobile trends of 2012.

2012 Internet & Mobile Trends

Infographic courtesy of BackgroundCheck.org

Of particular note is the dominance of the iPad over the iPhone and iPod.  And while “iPhone” is a household term, Android smartphones far outsell them.

Bottom Line: Mobile is here and throwing its weight around.

And if genealogists have proven anything, it is that they are often leading the pack in using technology to accomplish their goals. (Tap into the newest genealogical tech at the upcoming RootsTech 2013 conference. Get more info here.)

And what can we look for in the future? Here’s an article about some rumors being whispered about the next big mobile gadget.  Shhhhhhhh….

 

Filed Under: Mobile, Tech Topics, Uncategorized, What's New Tagged With: , , ,

Texting fave OMG! has Roots Back to World War I

August 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you have teens in your family then chances are you have heard the phrase OMG which stands for oh my God. But have you ever wondered who started it? You may have thought it was Alicia Silverstone in the 1995 movie Clueless, but actually you have to dig much further back in history to find its origins. All the way back to 1917 in fact.

George Mason’s University’s History News Network website says that the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary discovered a use of “OMG” from 1917. It comes in a letter by British Admiral John”Jacky” Fisher, who wrote and I quote:

“I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis—O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)—Shower it on the Admiralty!”

According to the site “Fisher was famous for being the driving force behind the creation of the HMS Dreadnought, an advanced capital ship which, when it was launched in 1906, seemed revolutionary. This, the world navies agreed, made all other capital ships obsolete, but, distressingly to the British, destroyed their long-standing lead in naval power, if temporarily. The result was an enormously expensive Anglo-German naval race, which did much to bring on World War I.”

The letter was published in his book  Memories, published in 1919 (below in Google Books. Enter OMG into the search box to see it for yourself)

Filed Under: Humor, Mobile, What's New Tagged With: , ,

MyHeritage releases mobile app for searching the 1940 census and more (4/15/12)

April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here is a nifty new tool for family history research on the go!

From the MyHeritage press release:
 
MyHeritage, the popular online family network, has announced the ability to search billions of historical records, including the 1940 U.S. Census, on-the-go via a new version of the free MyHeritage Mobile App for iPhone, Android and iPad. The new version 1.2 of the MyHeritage App also searches more than 22 million family trees, helping users with their family history research. 

The MyHeritage Mobile App was first introduced in December 15, 2011 and has since amassed an install base of more than 500,000. In addition to searching historical content, it allows users to take their family tree on-the-go with an attractive display specially suited for mobile devices, capture family moments for future generations and stay in touch with family anytime, anywhere.

As millions of people rush to satisfy their curiosity and access the 1940 US census – one of the most significant sets of historical records ever to be released – MyHeritage is currently the only commercial player offering both a complete set of images from all US states and a preliminary searchable index, available via the new MyHeritage App and on www.myheritage.com/1940census. Access is completely free and no registration is required.

All 3.8 million images of the 1940 U.S. Census, and the initial collection of indexed records searchable by names, facts and other criteria, are now available to explore for free on the MyHeritage App, downloadable from the App Store or Google Play (formerly Android Market). The app can search the entire MyHeritage data collection of more than four billion records, many exclusive to MyHeritage, including birth, marriage, death, immigration and military records, census records, newspapers, yearbooks and much more. Available in more than 20 languages, the app enables family history lovers all over the world to explore their family’s history.


Filed Under: Census, Mobile, Research, Tech Topics

FamilySearch Launches Mobile Indexing App (2/12/12)

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

FamilySearch launched its much-anticipated mobile device for indexing. The device will expand the capability of volunteers to help make the world’s historic records searchable online.  The mobile device app works on Apple iPads, iPhones, and Droid smartphones. 

 To download the free app, search for the FamilySearch Indexing app in the Apple app store or Droid Market store online.

Filed Under: Mobile, Tech Topics

Genealogy Gems Goodness for the Droid Now Available! 12/13/10

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ever since we launched the Genealogy Gems Podcast App for the iPhone and iPod Touch earlier this year, we’ve heard from Android users that they want to be able to stream the show on their mobile devices too. And now they can! The Genealogy Gems Podcast Companion App for Android is now LIVE in the Android marketplace!

Genealogy Gems is the only genealogy podcast to enter the app market, and we’re thrilled at the overwhelming response from our listeners:
Susan H. wrote on Facebook: “Wow, you granted my wish! Lisa, you are awesome! Going to install it right now. Thanks for the early Christmas present.”

And Mary L. emailed exclaiming, “The Genealogy Gems Podcast is now on my Droid phone! It was very easy to download and install, and, it works like a charm! Best $2.99 I’ve spent in a long time. Thank you for making this available.”

The Genealogy Gems Podcast App for Android allows genealogists to stream the entire catalogue of podcast episodes (which has just topped 100!) as well have exclusive access to bonus content such as videos, pdf files and much more. The new app is compatible with OS 1.6 or later.

Downloading this little gem is easy as going to the Android Marketplace and doing a quick search on Genealogy Gems Podcast. Or check it out at the AppBrain website.

Harnessing emerging technology for genealogy is my passion, and I’m committed to staying on the cutting edge. My hope is that our iPhone and Android apps will help genealogists around the world find it even easier to listen to the show so they can stay up to date on the latest genealogy news, research tips, interviews and project.

Filed Under: Mobile

Family History Comes to Your BlackBerry with Genealogy Gems Podcast 8/12/10

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We are happy to announce that you can now download Genealogy Gems podcast episodes on your BlackBerry! 

Today Research In Motion (RIM) launched BlackBerry Podcasts, a free application and service that allows BlackBerry smartphone users to gain access to free audio and video content that can be downloaded and then enjoyed on a BlackBerry media player.

In a press release, Alistair Mitchell, Vice President, Multimedia Integration said that “The new BlackBerry Podcasts app and service makes it easier than ever to discover and download a wide range of content directly from a BlackBerry smartphone, and users can even subscribe to their favorite podcasts and receive an alert when new content is available.”

We are excited that the Genealogy Gems Podcast is among the first 1000 shows available through this service.

To get the free app for your BlackBerry, go to www.blackberry.com/appworld  You will need a BlackBerry smartphone running BlackBerry OS v4.6 or higher.

Filed Under: Mobile

Genealogy Gems on Your iPad! 5/3/10

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hello readers, I’m Vienna Thomas from the Genealogy Gems team, and I have an exciting announcement to share.  The iBooks store has just released Lisa’s book Genealogy Gems for the iPad, available for purchase for only $9.99!

We are really excited to be able to participate at such an early stage in this new technology that has already sold over one million devices across the country.  So if you are a lucky owner of the iPad, be sure to download your copy of Genealogy Gems today!

I also want to remind everyone that the Genealogy Gems Podcast App is available for purchase in the iTunes store.  This app brings the Genealogy Gems Podcast to your iPhone or iTouch, and gives you access to great bonus material.  Go to the iTunes store and search “Genealogy Gems,” or click on the link here.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-genealogy-gems-podcast/id337736531?mt=8

Filed Under: Mobile