Sometimes the thought of being a family historian can be overwhelming.  Social media can be an excellent way to keep up with our living and deceased family members’ history.  This past week has found me frantically trying to finish up last year’s family events with 2018 posts on Facebook.  One of the reasons I enjoy this is because our family is spread throughout the country and each family has events and interesting things happening.  All three of our adult children have lived internationally at various times while raising their families and have had some incredibly broadening experiences. I want all the grandkids to know about their long-distance cousins.  They don’t get to see each other as often as most grandparents wish.

Sometimes as a grandmother I see myself as the glue that keeps the family connected and informed about the lives of their siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and even us, their grandparents.  I feel these efforts over the years have been very beneficial to the closeness that our ten grandchildren feel for each other.  It has also kept their very busy parents more closely connected to their own siblings.

Social media has been a wonderful way to participate and keep abreast electronically in the activities, joys, and growth experiences of our immediate family.  We all enjoy taking photos with our smartphones and sharing on Facebook or Instagram.  In 2008 I began blogging and have done over 3000 posts about family and other things. Many of those stories have made their way to Facebook in an abbreviated version and have captured many things that occurred long before 2008.

I also use Pinterest as a kind of personal journal.  I post photos of people, places and things that I really love and enjoy.  When I use Pinterest I think to myself, “What would I really love to have known about my own grandmothers and what they liked and enjoyed?  Pinterest is excellent for sharing through pictures of everyday things that mean something to us.  Our interests are very much a part of who we are. Plus it is fun!

Social Media is also a very wonderful way to keep people up to date on immediate situations that people have.  You can create private groups on Facebook just for your own family.  This has been so critical in getting immediate information to our family members and friends about serious medical issues, etc.  Our youngest granddaughter has Spina Bifida and has had more than 20 surgeries in her 11 years of life.  Social media can save you from many hours of phone calls by connecting to everyone at once and in a concise and timely manner.

If you are a person that likes to be organized and likes to dovetail your efforts social media is pretty amazing if you use it in a creative way.  I think the people that think social media is a waste of time, have not explored using it for good and as a way to benefit others.

The reason I have been frantically catching up on my posting for Facebook is that I make a yearbook of our family’s history each year.  I simply sign on to one of the companies and select the dates I want to be included in the book (Jan.1 2018-Dec. 31 2018).  The program automatically goes through my posts in 2018 and selects the posts that had the most likes and comments over the year. I can be reviewing my book within less than 5 minutes after I click the button that says create my book. I then have an option to edit it or print it as is.  It is a very simple process.  I get to select the size, cover, paper quality, etc.  It is so simple and so worthwhile to get this done in such a timely manner and the prices are very reasonable.  I have used a few companies.  My personal favorite is pastbook.com.  I have also used other companies, but I like PastBook because the large book gives your two 5’x7′ photos per single page.  It is strictly my personal preference. Shop around to see what you like best. It’s a good time to get started only 6 days into 2019!  I enjoy that I can now see these photos and events in a hardcover book rather than having them buried in a cell phone by the thousands! I also have access to the link for the books and can share with as many people as I wish.  That way each family member can have a digital copy of their own.  They can also have them printed if they wish.

If you do a FaceBook book you can add in things like old photos of your ancestors as well.  It doesn’t have to be restricted to one year either. My first book covered my first 9 years on Facebook. I added a photo of my husband’s grandmother who died several years ago, as an example.  The possibilities are unending. Now her posterity will all have access to a photo of her.  You also have the exact same options to do this with your Instagram account.

So if you are looking for a fast and relatively easy way to do your family history stories and photos, think of social media.  Captions on your photos are included in the books which makes them excellent for future generations. One week at a time it is pretty easy and quick. If you’d like to learn to use Social Media and need help go to this link in The Family History Guide.  You will find help on several Social Media platforms there. If you have used Social Media in other ways for your own family history please share with the rest of us!  Thanks!