The news that F&W Media – the publishers of Family Tree Magazine – has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy has been quite a shock. It appears they are planning liquidation rather than trying to renegotiate terms. That is sad news for the genealogy community. Yes, there are other magazines but not many and most are more expensive that FTM.
Magazines are not our only option. There is an impressive number of genealogy writers who share their knowledge by blogging. They aren’t alone either. Most of the genealogy archives and services also use blogs to keep their users informed. The challenge is finding a way to collect these blog sites in one place so that new posts are delivered to your desktop.
Actually it’s easier than you think. Thanks to newsreader platforms and apps, you can build your own magazine by subscribing to blog sites you find interesting. Once you are set up, new content is delivered to your desktop or mobile device through the newsreader.
This example is the feedly.com newsreader. In the column on the left you see part of the list of genealogy blog sites I subscribe to. In the main column you see several articles.
Getting started with a newsreader is really quite easy. Check out the Toolbox – Newsreader member guide in SAGS Support. It tells you how to create an account with feedly.com, how to find and subscribe to feeds you find interesting and how to take you newsreader with you on your mobile devices.
Ancestry recently introduced MyTreeTags™. Crista Cowan demonstrates how to access them, what each tag means, and some tips for creating custom tags. She will also share best practices for using them to organize information in your family tree and make new discoveries. You can watch her demonstration on YouTube.
The SAGS Research Desk at MeWe offers lots of research goodness. The Tags box on the right serves as the index to the group’s content. Click on any tag and the screen will redraw to display all posts assigned that tag. We’re adding more content every day to make this a useful research resource for our members.
The Research Desk is a private group for members of the St. Augustine Genealogical Society. Send your request to join the group to sags.publications@yahoo.com. MeWe.com will then send you an invitation to join the group. Follow the instructions to create your MeWe.com account and sign in.
Final Notes
Each new post published at SAGS Support is automatically emailed to member subscribers and/or delivered to their newsreader. Research Notes is published every Monday morning and other articles are posted during the week. Subscribers have the option to control how often these updates are delivered. Look down at the bottom of this message and you will find a Manage Subscriptions link in the fine print as you see in this example. Click it and you will be taken to the WordPress.com Subscription Management page. Use the Delivery Frequency column to change your delivery options from “Immediate” to either “Daily” or “Weekly”.
Sample of the “fine print” at the bottom of each post.
Also down at the bottom of each delivered post is a Comment button. If you would like to comment on something discussed in a post or ask a question, just click the Comment button and you will be taken online to the comment section of the post where you can share your thoughts and read what others have shared.
To learn more, download a copy of the SAGS Support Guide.
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