About GenealogyWise and Frequently Asked Questions

GenealogyWise.com/Genealogy Social is a service of the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. GenealogyWise is migrating over the next year to become fully Genealogy Social. 

Genealogy Social is a social network for genealogists that allows members to connect with other members, post content, participate in chats, and seek assistance for genealogy research problems.

Basic membership on this website is free. Links to the International Institute of Genealogical Studies are posted. The International Institute of Genealogical Studies offers education courses for a fee.

You provide personal information to GenealogyWise.com/Genealogy Social in order to become a member. This information may include name, age, residential city, email address, and genealogy surnames/places researching. At any point, you can change, delete, or remove your membership by going to your Settings. This information is available to the International Institute of Genealogical Studies and may be used to send our newsletter or emailed information. 

We do not sell your information to any third party.

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Adding the Genealogy Social Badge to Your Blog

To add the Genealogy Social Badge, located at the bottom right of the GenealogyWise.com homepage, to your blog follow these steps:

1. Log into GenealogyWise.com
2. Scroll down on the page until you see the "Badge" section.
3. Click on "Get Badge".
4. Select the size of the badge you want.
5. Towards the bottom of the page you will see a text box with <embed wmcode="opaque...
6. Right-click in the box and choose copy.
7. Go to your blogger blog and click on the Design button.
8. Click to add a new gadget.
9. Choose the "HTML/JavaScript" gadget.
10. Click in the Content section and paste the code that you copied back in step 6.
11. Click Save.
You should now have the Genealogy Social badge on your Google blog.

Having trouble with the size of the Badge? Try these steps by Genealogy Social member Gus Marsh.

1 . Go to your Badge and click on "Get Badge". Don't worry about size, but look down towards the bottom for "Embed Code"

2.  Copy that code.
3 . Now go to Google Blog, and select Design.
4 . In Design, select "Add A Gadget."
5 . Look for HTML / Java Script, usually the sixth one down from the top.
6 . Leave the Title blank and paste your code into the "Content" box.
7 . Be sure to Save, and then check your blog.
8 . If your image is to big or to small, go back to your HTML / Java Script and click on edit, look for width="206" and make it smaller or larger, depending on your blog. Be sure to "Save" If you make a mistake, you can always go back to HTML edit and correct your mistake. If you blow the HTML code out of the water you can always go to Genealogy Social found at GenealogyWise.com, and copy the Embed Code again.

Internet Browser

Having trouble accessing Genealogy Social? The internet browser you use can make all the difference. Mozilla's Firefox, http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html, is the browser we recommend for GenealogyWise.com You can download Firefox and still use Internet Explorer on other websites. Downloading Firefox is very easy and only takes a matter of minutes.

While it's true you may be able to use Internet Explorer without any problems, if you do have a problem at some point, it's most likely because of Internet Explorer.

Please try any web browser you like. Many people also use Brave, Safari, and Chrome.

Member Page

The Status Update can be found on each individual member's page. This is another way that you can let your friends and the GS community know what you are researching. For those who also Twitter, this feature will look very familiar. The Status Update box allows you to answer the question, "What brings you here" in 140 characters or less. Use this to let others know what you are doing, about a new website you found, or a genealogy tip. You can also add a website link to your statement.

Genealogy Social Homepage

Are you looking for the latest news from the world of genealogy? Just go to Genealogy Social home page, on GenealogyWise.com, and scroll down the page. On the left hand side is a column that says Genealogy News. By clicking on any of the headline links you will be taken to the website with the original article. These are updated often so make sure to check it regularly.

By clicking on the more link at the bottom of the Genealogy News section, you will be taken to Google News where you can read the current news headlines or do a search for keywords like "genealogy" and "family history.”

Members

Finding Genealogy Social members in a specific locality

Genealogy Social member and chat host Jim Avery points out a way to use the member search to find Genealogy Social members living in a specific location.

From the Genealogy Social homepage, click on the link for Members, located on the green toolbar. Under the heading All Members there is a search box. In this search box you can type in a location like a city, state or a country. (If you type a city and state like Austin, Texas you will not find any results. The US states in Genealogy Social are listed as 2-letter abbreviations.)

Why search or get to know other Genealogy Social members?
Jim says, "You might find someone who actually lives in the area you're researching. That person might be willing to do a cemetery look up for you or answer questions about libraries and other resources in the area."

You can also use the Advanced Member Search Engine to find members living in a specific locality. Access the Advanced Search Engine in two ways.

First, go to http://www.genealogywise.com/profiles/members/advancedSearch (also available from the homepage by placing your curser over Members in the green toolbar.)

Second, access it from the Member Search.


Groups

Joining a Group
After you become a new member of Genealogy Social go to the Groups tab and search on the localities and surnames you're researching. By joining these Groups you can post information about your research, ask for help, or even lookups.

If there is not a Group available for your surname, consider starting one. Genealogy Social makes it a quick and easy to start your own Group. Ideas include a Surname Group and a Descendent Group. Do you have a common surname and only want to connect with people descended from you great-great grandfather? Then start a Descendant Group for those interested in only researching that direct line.

Other group ideas are study groups for course work on https://GenealogicalStudies.com, one place study groups to unravel and investigate research of a particular location, and translation/transcription groups.

After searching through the Groups, go to the Members tab and search for others who are researching the same surname. You can then invite these members to be your friend. This way you can connect with other who might share a family connection to you.

Creating a Group

Before creating a group, please make sure a similar group doesn't already exist. On the Genealogy Social's homepage main menu, place your mouse over Groups and then go down to All Groups. Using the search box underneath the Featured Groups, insert the key words for the group you want to create and click on the magnifying glass. If you don't find a group that is a good match, then create your own.

To add a new group, put your mouse over Groups on the main menu and then go down to Add a group. Start by filling in the group information. You can upload an image for your group by clicking on the black camera icon next to the Image label. Next, you will choose the desired features, privacy, and messages. You may choose to set the privacy at Moderated Membership but you will not be able to change it later. When you are done, click on the Add Group button.

The next screen provides you with a variety of ways to invite others to your group. You can choose any of the options, or click on the Skip button underneath the group description. You will then be able to view your newly created group.


Chat Room

The Genealogy Social Chat Room can be accessed two ways. One, clicking on the gray bar at the bottom of your screen when signed into GenealogyWise.com. You can also access the room by clicking on the Chat link at the top toolbar on Genealogy Social.

The Genealogy Social Chat Room serves two purposes.

The first, provide a place for members to network, ask questions, receive and give genealogical help.

The second purpose of the Chat Room is to provide educational, scheduled chats where members can learn about different topics from our Chat Hosts. You can find the chat schedule under the Chat link on the Genealogy Social homepage. We ask that during schedule chats, avoid posting comments until after the conclusion of the chat.

You can also chat one-to-one, privately with a member by finding their profile picture on the right hand side of the Chat Room. Click on their name and then click on Private Chat. This is a good option in cases where someone is helping you with some research and you don't want to give out private information in the public Chat Room.

Whether you chat publicly with other members, attend a scheduled chat, or chat privately with a genealogy friend, the Genealogy Social Chat Room is there to help you network and stay informed.

Photos

Uploading

To upload a photo go to My Page, scroll down to My Photos and click on Add photos. Click on the Click to Add Photos link in the middle of the screen. A box will open showing files from your computer. Browse to where your photos are saved, select the photo(s) you want to upload and click open. The photo(s) will then be added to a list showing the file name and size. If you want to add more photos you can click on the Add More button. When you have selected the photo(s) you want to upload click on the Upload button. After the photo(s) upload, the system will give you the option of creating an album for the photo(s) you uploaded, or choosing an existing album. If you would like to keep certain photos together in an album, fill out the form with the desired information or choose an album that you have already created. You can also add a title, description, and tags for the photo(s) by clicking Add more details for these photos. When you are finished click on the Save button. If you don't want to create an album, click on one of the links just below the main menu bar to look at your photos. Genealogy Social supports photos in the .jpg, .gif, and .png file formats. Individual photos can be up to 10MB in size and you can add up to 100 photos.

Deleting To delete a photo go to My Page, scroll down to My Photos and click on View All. A page will come up with your photo(s). Click on the one you wish to delete. Below the photo on the right hand side there is a list of different actions you can perform. Click on Delete Photo, and then Ok and the photo will be removed from the site.

Videos

Uploading

To upload a video go to Videos and click on Add Videos. Click on the Click to Add Videos link in the middle of the screen. A box will open showing files from your computer. Browse to where your videos are saved, select the video(s) you want to upload and click Open. The video(s) will be added to a list showing the file name and size. If you want to add additional videos you can click on the Add More button. When you've selected the video(s) to upload, click on the Upload button. After the video(s) upload, the system will give you the option to add a title, description, and tags for the video(s). When finished click on the Save button.

Genealogy Social supports videos in the .mov, .mp4, .mpg, .avi, .wmv, .3gp, and .3g2 file formats. Individual videos can be up to 100MB in size and you can add up to 30 videos.

Deleting

To delete a video go to Videos and click on My Videos. A page will come up with your video(s). Click on the one you wish to delete. Below the video on the right hand side there is a list of different actions you can perform. Click on Delete Video, and then Ok and the video will be removed from the site.


Newsletter

To access our Genealogy Social Newsletter Archive, place your mouse on More on the top right side of the Genealogy Social toolbar. From the More menu, click on Newsletter Archive.

The Newsletter Archive is accessible to non-members as well, so if you have a friend or a society you want to share the newsletter with, they can access it from the GenealogyWise.com website or at http://www.genealogywise.com/page/genealogywise-newsletter.


Problems/Suggestions

On GenealogyWise.com there is a Report an Issue link that you can submit problems and questions.

You can also email us at genwise@genealogicalstudies.com.

We love to hear from members. Feel free to ask questions, provide feedback or report problems with GenealogyWise.com/Genealogy Social


Spam

Occasionally, we do get members on Genealogy Social who are here to do one thing, spam other members. Ning, the platform we currently use, has no way to detect a spammer prior to them bothering our members. The only way we have to find spammers and terminate their membership, for the most part, is for us to find them after they have spammed our members. Please let us know so we can act quickly to remove that spammer. Email: genwise@genealogicalstudies.com with any details that will help us find and remove the spammer.

No website is immune from those who would bother other people. We believe our members experience is important and we do all we can to look out for potential spammers and terminate their membership. In some cases, members will alert us to spammers before we have the chance to find them.

If you receive a message that you believe is a form of spam please notify us by clicking on the "Report and Issue" button located at the bottom of the GenealogyWise.com website. We will take care of the issue as soon as possible.

When we terminate a membership on GenealogyWise.com, it does take some time before all of their messages are erased. We may have already terminated the membership of a spamming member, but you still may see a link from them on your Member Page or receive an email from GenealogyWise.com about a comment posted to your Member Page from that member for a few hours after we have terminated that member. When you click on that message link, you will see a message that that member or comment cannot be found.