Trello - another tool for Genealogy

With a little help from Friends

a great way to collaborate or just get organised

What is Trello ? 

I think the best way to find out is to look at their tour.

DearMYRTLE and Cousin Russ have been using this to help them plan and organise their hangouts for some time now and here is a Mondays with Myrt where they show some of what they do with Trello.

Cousin Russ also recorded a video with genealogy blogger Becky Jamison on 6th May 2016, where they discussed a post she had made on her blog, about how she is using Trello, to help her get things organized. 

She has added some more posts, about using Trello, since recording this, so please take time to look at them all.

I thought that I might be able to make use of this and remembered having a look at Trello in the past. I went to sign up and realised that I had already signed up using my Google account. When I signed in, I found had already set up some boards, so decided it was time I started adding more to them.

Here are 2 short videos I have made explaining how I have set things up and what I am planning to do to make good use of this tool.

If you are not already using Trello and are thinking of trying it out please use this link to join it is FREE.

The Genealogy Do-over and Genealogy Software

The Genealogy Do-Over has certainly been creating a storm of commentary.  Observing the comments has proved a shiny distraction that has lead me away from the research I had planned. 

The good stuff

Whether you are participating as a do-over, a go-over/review-over/do-better, have pressed the pause button, or are a spectator,  I think you cannot deny that the lively discussions, sharing of tips and resources, and learning something new are all good things.  I can't even begin to keep up with the volume of traffic of the Genealogy Do-Over Facebook Group. I am pleased to see Thomas MacEntee has created a Genealogy Do-Over Bag-the-web page  to bring together the now over 200 participant's blog posts, and Pintrest board but am not sure he has everything.

There has been some very interesting assessment and documentation of research processes going on:

• Jenny Lanctot shared her process map in Genealogy Do-Over: Prep Time, which involves using Dropbox, Evidentia, RootsMagic, and Wikitree.
  
• Claire Butler advocated using a research report template rather than traditional genealogy software in Genealogy Do-Over Week 1 or Why I’m Abandoning my Genealogy Software.
• Yvette Hoitink explained how she uses research reports as mini Do-Overs and argued against the full blown Do-Over in Why the Genealogy Do-Over is not for me.
  
• Sue McCormick converted Thomas MacEntee's research log spreadsheet into a database in Spreadsheets and Databases.
  
• Carrie Norwood compared the checklist capabilities Legacy Family Tree, Gensmarts and Google spreadsheet in Genealogy Do-Over - Week Something - Research Checklist.  She decided she preferred her own spreadsheet.
  
• Louis Kessler proposed the Source-Based Incremental Genealogy Fix in To Do- or Not To Genealogy Do-Over.  He lays blame at the door of traditional genealogy software, which makes source citation and documentation of reasoning onerous.

An indictment on the genealogy software industry?

Have you noticed the variety of tools used by authors of the above blog posts?  There has been an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with traditional genealogy software for some years now.  Back in 2009 I posted Data entombed in Family Tree Maker in which I described difficulties in transferring data from one program to another.  The outdated and unsupported GEDCOM data exchange format has still not been replaced.

As genealogical education becomes ever more widely available, it is not surprising that many researchers strive to do quality research.  Paradigms have shifted toward the Genealogical Proof Standard and source-centric methods.  Genealogical software lags behind the thinking of genealogists.

Tony Proctor's Hierarchical Sources explores how software might support research processes, which is much more than just a source citation.

Is your head spinning?  Yes - excellent, you have been thinking.  Welcome to the thinking person's pursuit - genealogy.