Social Networking Technology Resources for Genealogical Societies

= Purpose =

The purpose of this page is to serve as a focal point for technological resources that may be used by Genealogical Societies to create and enhance their virtual presence.

= Existing Resources =

There are already some good resources available:

The Power of Community and the Web 2.0

Popular Social Networks for Genealogy

Use the Internet for Family History Research - This one needs some updating

All aTwitter about Wave: Ten Disruptive New Web Services

= Areas To Be Developed =

As might be expected, a search of the FamilySearch Wiki using terms like Unix, shell, vi, htaccess, Perl, PHP and other 'technological' terms does not result in many hits. However, there is a need for a genealogy focused presentation of technical materials for members of genealogical societies to use to create and enhance their on-line presence. Some of the topics that could be useful are listed below. Many of the topics could/should become stand alone pages as the content is developed.

Operating a web site in a Unix environment

 * Things to think about in choosing a web hosting service
 * Fundamental security issues
 * How to schedule and perform backups
 * Basic Shell Programming
 * Understanding and using the vi editor
 * Understanding and using .htaccess to enhance your sites security
 * The value of using Google Analytics to measure the utilization of your web site
 * CSS, XML or HTML information - www.w3schools.com is a must see site
 * PuTTi is a free terminal emulation software package that allows you to establish telnet or ssh sessions from your PC. See this outstanding web site for more information about this useful tool.
 * RSS - Really Simple Syndication
 * MySQL - Popular Relational Database

PHP
PHP is a powerful language that can be used to enhance your web pages. It is also commonly used to create many of the powerful applications (such as Blogs, Wiki's and entire Content Management System) that you may use on your web site so even a high level understanding of PHP can be very useful.


 * php.net has a simple tutorial
 * w3schools.com has a great reference and a PHP Tutorial

Content Management Software
As the name implies, a Content Management Software (CMS) package provides a framework that is used to create the web site. Once the initial structure is created this allows users to focus on the content rather than on the mechanics of presenting the information. This has several advantages:


 * They provide a very consistent look and feel for the entire web site.
 * Web sites tend to be very standards compliant. This means that the content will be displayed 'correctly' on all browsers and all types of devices (including often overlooked smart phones).
 * Since knowledge of HTML and CSS is not required, it 'lowers the barrier' for creating and managing content. This may make it possible for a society to have more people creating content.

Popular Freeware

 * Joomla - See the Dallas Genealogical Society web site for one example of a web site created using this CMS.

Wiki's
A wiki is nothing more than a web page that can be modified by anybody who can view it. This page is a wiki: register with Family Search, click on the 'Edit This Page' button at the top of your screen and you can change this page!

Obviously there is a lot more that that to know... one place to start is this Wiki Overview page.

Popular Wiki's

 * MediaWiki - What Wikipedia uses...
 * WikkaWiki - One attraction is the ability to create private/closed wiki's

Blogs
A Blog is just a specialized web page. The name 'Blog' is short for WeB log. Characteristics include the following:


 * A Blog is usually focused on a specific topic
 * It consists of a series of posts that are usually brief
 * The most recent post is displayed first
 * Posts are organized by topics
 * Older posts are archived
 * Tags can be assigned to posts to facilitate searching
 * Readers may be allowed to post and/or comment on posts

For a more in-depth exlanation see this Blog Overview page.

Popular Blogging Software

 * eBlogger - Free, provided (and hosted) by Google
 * WordPress - Also free, although you must have your own server or a web hosting service to load it

For more information see BlogBasics. They have more tutorials and discussions about hosting options.

Related pages on Family Search
Blog Your Way to Genealogical Success

Facebook
Discussions about how to utilize FaceBook

Creating Effective Web-Based Presentations
Creating Flash Presentations using PowerPoint and AuthorPoint (free software): Overview

Personal Digital Archiving
What it is and why it is important: Overview

'Back End' Services
Some aspects of running a society may be too important or too complicated for home grown solutions... There are alternatives focused on the not for profit organization.

Neon

 * Stands for 'Nonprofit Enterprise Online Network'. A package of services offered by Z2 Systems. They charge for their services but you can choose the modules you want, and the fee is based on the size of your organization.