Jalapenos, Ranch, and Facebook

It's 10pm on a Friday night, the dogs are sleeping, the baby is sleeping, the husband is at work... what's a lady to do? Grab some jalapenos and ranch and hit the Facebook Genealogy groups! Weird snack, yes, I know and no, not pregnant. Much to my chagrin.

I am fairly new to the Facebook side of genealogy. I have a few distant family members on my friends list and some of the genealogical societies that are close to me. What I have recently found to actually be of some use is joining groups that are genealogy driven. Tonight I helped a prefect stranger with a lookup on a $40 cd that turned out to be (so far) completely useless to me. At least there was *a* record pull from it!

Thing is, I am a member of so many other groups- moms that help moms, crafters, photographers, on and on. I never ONCE thought- hey there is probably a group of peopel that are helping others with their research. *DING* Of course there would be. Facebook may have turned out to be less of a great family networking and family group page that I was hoping it to be but it HAS turned out to be a wonderful place to find others that are willing to help. This is so refreshing!

Lately, I have had a terrible time finding others that are willing to share what they have. Now with these wonderful groups you can find someone that is willing to do a look-up for you without the hassle of going through, say, the clerk of court ignoring your phone calls, letters, etc. (I have had a great time with this.) If you are looking for that help- by all means try the Facebook groups. Please do so with one note: Someone is quite possibly going out of their way to help you with your search. Do not join and request info if you are not willing to do the same. Keep the sharing and giving atmosphere going. This is the heart of the genealogical community. If no one shares, no one gains- even you. Help people as you are able, do not ask more than you are willing to give, and remember your p's and q's!

Hope you all have a great night with your family- whether they be living or not!