I am no longer sleeping very much. And if you've ever been hooked on genealogy, you know exactly what I am referring to.
Ever since Kathy Meade's webinar on beginning Swedish genealogy, I've gone to bed late and have woken up early. I've gone from not even knowing I had Swedish ancestors a month ago to learning a new language, discovering new records, and subscribing to ArkivDigital which has the best collection of genealogy records I have ever seen. I can't wait for today's work day to be done so I can get going on it again!
In my early efforts to learn how to do Swedish research I have stumbled. Trying to learn the language and analyze the different markings and abbreviations is challenging. When I've hit these roadblocks, I've turned to something I learned in Thomas MacEntee's new Facebook webinar. Thomas taught about new ways of searching Facebook, as well as the power of Facebook Groups. Using his techniques, I searched Facebook to see if there were any good groups on Swedish Genealogy.
I quickly found the Swedish Genealogy public group and submitted my request to join. Within minutes my request was approved. I noticed there were nearly 1,900 members in the group already, and the questions being asked and the answers that were given seemed to be very helpful. Being a "greenie" to Swedish genealogy and to the group, I was a little shy to ask my first question, but I'm glad I did. The question I posted was about a phrase that I wasn't yet familiar with. I posted it at 1:49pm and by 3:02 I had the first answer.
Today was even more amazing. I posted a question at 8:45am, and by 9:30 there were eight comments. My immediate problem was solved – in less than an hour!
Technology, and the wonderful community of genealogists is really shining!
The power of the hivemind!