Voices of the Past Video Netcast: Genealogy Gems’ Lisa Louise Cooke on establishing roots in the social web

In this edition of the Voices of the Past Netcast, we’ll meet Lisa Louise Cooke. Lisa created and maintains Genealogy Gems–one of the world’s most popular genealogy websites. She’ll tell us about the learning curve involved in using online media, and how she uses the web to create a deeper connection to her audience.

Podcast: Michael Phillips on creating Sense of Place with video “iGuidez”

For three years now, Michael Phillips has had a dream that he hopes will someday spread to the rest of the world: to create “sense of place” with video. It seems the tech world has helped set the stage for that dream, incorporating video functionality into everything from mobile phones and music players. With his website and blog, iGuidez, Phillips provides a template for capturing and sharing special sites for netizens everywhere to enjoy. In this interview, Michael Phillips talks about how he developed iGuidez, and the challenges of running a heritage website.

The 1st Law of Hometown Dynamics: You ALWAYS go home again

By Jeff Guin

So many people fight to be something or somewhere else that what they know. That includes me. We chafe against everything we are and ever knew. We only want whatever the opposite might be. Somehow the struggle seems even more heated for those of us raised “down home” where ideals are passed-down, deepfried and embedded in concrete.

Social media for a cause: How "Invisible Children" can serve as a model for the heritage field

On April 25th, thousands of people abducted themselves in solidarity in partnership with a San Diego based non-profit organization called Invisible Children. The event was organized through social media to make a statement. Has the time come for similar measures for the cause of heritage?

How to promote your heritage event using the web

By Jeff Guin
This past week, I attended WordCamp Dallas, a meeting of bloggers and web professionals who are using the WordPress platform. WordCamp was phenomenal both in terms of the information delivered and the wonderful people who were there.

Seeing all the fabulous strategies used to make this event happen on a registration fee of just $30 per person, it got me to thinking, how could these strategies be applied to make heritage events more accessible and successful?

Podcast: Nina Simon on museum participation and curating a second life in the social space

Nina Simon, the blogger behind the popular Museum 2.0 site, talks about why she believes social media is the key to helping museums and heritage groups connect their constituents with their content. Among the topics covered our the time investment required for social media as well as how to use social media philosophies to better visitor experiences without necessarily using the web tools.

Twitter and microblogging: Instant communication with your community

“What are you up to?”

It’s how we greet friends and strangers alike everyday. It’s also the question behind one of the web’s most popular social networking sites: Twitter. Voices of the Past posts links to its news, along with other community announcements, at www.twitter.com/ptnews. So what is microblogging, and what can you gain from it?

Preservation Today: Past Horizons Magazine, Heritage Travel Community, Smithsonian 2.0

Past Horizons Magazine now published; U.S. National Trust launches social network, Facebook marketplace page

Smithsonian holds “2.0 conference”; UNESCO looking for site evaluators for Peru heritage sites; Obama administration unveils new Whitehouse.gov site; Preservation Today starts “Friendfeed” room for heritage discussions.

Preserving Our Global Heritage through Volunteer Archeology

by Dylan Staley

Past Horizons is a service that seeks to aggregate many different archeological opportunities for people of all skill ranges to get involved with the field of archeology and heritage preservation. The website is host to countless descriptions of projects going on around the globe. It’s not limited to the United States or The United Kingdom; its project listing includes projects from Belgium, Romania, Tunisia, Bulgaria, and numerous other countries (around sixty-five in all!)

Heritage DIY: Create and Preserve your Family Tree the Web 2.0 Way

By Dylan Staley

Geni is a web based family tree maker that is using the idea of Web 2.0 and collaboration to make finding your long lost relatives easier. Geni, built by some of the people that brought you PayPal, eGroups, eBay, and Tribe, allows you to work with your family members on building your family tree. So, you may not know your second great grandmother’s husband’s name, but your grandmother’s sister may know, and Geni provides the platform to allow this knowledge to travel the great distances that often separate families.

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