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

Blog Your Way to Genealogical Success

= 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.

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) so even a high level understanding can be very useful.


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

Content Management Software
What are they and why use them

Popular Freeware

 * Joomla

Wiki's
What are they and why use them: Wiki Overview

Popular Wiki's

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

Blogs
Basics - what are they and why use them: Blog Overview

Popular Blogging Software

 * WordPress

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