FGS 2012 Story Ideas | |
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FGS 2012 Story Ideas
Here are some story ideas and angles related to the FGS 2012 conference as well as the soaring popularity of family history among the general population.
- Why Is Family History Popular? Ask any of our FGS 2012 Conference attendees how they got involved in tracing their roots and if they’ve found any interesting ancestors or stories. Also try to get a sense of what their family history means to them personally.
- Caution - US History Anniversaries Ahead! Attention is focused on the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, which produced records like pension files and troop rosters used by genealogists. Did you know that 2012 is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, and that the 1940 US Census was released in April 2012? Ask FGS officers about its “Preserve the Pensions” fundraising efforts to digitize the War of 1812 pension files at the National Archives.
- Who Do You Think You Are? The popular show on NBC recently ended its third season in Spring 2012. Did you know that two of our speakers – D. Joshua Taylor and J. Mark Lowe – are researchers who appeared on several episodes of the show and helped celebrities locate their ancestors?
- This Is Not Your Grandmother’s Genealogy! The face of genealogy is constantly changing and includes a varied demographic. The industry is seeing huge increases in popularity with first-time mothers, Baby Boomers who’ve recently retired as well as the Silver Surfers (seniors on the Internet). Talk with representatives of our Platinum sponsors FamilySearch and findmypast.com about the popularity of its websites, databases and the community of genealogists each of them has built.
- Why Do Genealogy Societies Matter? The Federation of Genealogical Societies is all about helping genealogy societies succeed. Our member societies may focus on specific ethnic groups, specific geographic locations, specific surnames, and more. Genealogy societies are often the first local contact a person interested in family history has with others also interested in genealogy. Several conference lecturers address how societies can attract new members. Visit the Alabama Genealogical Society (AGS) booth to talk with society members about their programs.
- Family History Goes High Tech! 21st Century technology allows genealogists to find out more about their ancestors. Advances in DNA testing provide genealogists a global picture of where they came from. Several DNA-related genealogy vendors are in the Exhibit Hall, available for interviews and more information. Social media has taken the family history world by storm. Various genealogy bloggers will be working in the Media Hub and can help with stories on how they’ve met cousins on Facebook, how they’ve used Twitter to solve family mysteries, and how they’ve used blogs to document the stories of their ancestors. From computer software to electronic databases, online indexing projects to wikis, people are connecting in ways unheard of even a decade ago.