Building a Useful Beast
By Beau SharbroughWalMart changed the South. We still talk slow. We still like loud cars and dogs. But small towns all over the South have seen dozens of family businesses shuttered.Since 1980, more town squares are empty. Meanwhile, out on the edge of town sits a super center—one that uses technology to quickly and affordably get us the products we once bought from those family businesses. That’s where the jobs went. That’s where the customers go.
Those changes might be a good thing, or they might be a bad thing. It’s hard not to take sides when you’re losing something that matters to you. Still, it’s inevitable that new technologies will present the potential for changes in the ways that products are delivered, and by implication, changes in the social context that frames the marketplace.
Technology can be used to create different ways of doing things. In the case of the Big Boxes—the WalMarts, the Targets, and the warehouse stores—their massive buying power results in lower prices from suppliers and creates an opportunity for each one to sell goods for less. But without some considerable order processing–,budgeting–, distribution–, and communication–technology, nothing the size of WalMart would work.
The same theory can be applied to genealogy.
For example, membership in genealogy societies is declining. It has been for years. Attendance at genealogy conferences is also dropping, and has also been doing so for years (the recent turnout in Maine is a surprising aberration in this trend).
Are people less interested in family history than they were five or ten years ago? Indications are that they are just as interested as ever. However, it appears that the world wide web has made it possible for newcomers to satisfy their jones for genealogy without having to commit to an old “standard” method of participation. Instead of joining a society, they go to RootsWeb, or Genes Reunited. Instead of attending a conference, they study Cyndi’s List, the National Genealogy Society, or some other site that teaches research methods. People subscribe to the online record collection at Ancestry.com instead of poring over census microfilm at the local library.
Just like the super center, it’s not automatically a bad thing. If people feel like they’re getting what they want, it’s hard to tell them that they are mistaken. I wouldn’t want to speculate on whether more good genealogy or bad genealogy is taking place this year. Heck, I wouldn’t even want to try to set the standard that defined the difference.
Size and technology are neither good nor bad. They are tools and advantages that vendors can leverage to deliver value to customers, whether it’s fried chicken, televisions, Hawaiian shirts, or family group sheets. It starts with an idea, and then someone buys something, and then someone offers more for sale, and a virtuous cycle builds up, where suppliers and customers both participate. WalMart didn’t order a single bicycle shop or dime store closed. Instead, customer defections required it. Any busine ss of any size has to meet that same test.
Without doubt, as technology creates opportunities for new ways to deliver microwave ovens and bicycles to people, it also creates opportunities for new ways to help people connect with their families.
People don’t buy from WalMart because of WalMart’s size. They buy from WalMart because WalMart offers low prices. People don’t choose to use new genealogy technology because they like the photo of the corporate headquarters. They use it because it gives them ease, convenience. Because they like the choice.
Technically a Monster
There was a time in early 2000 when I believed that AOL would control everything. They would be the front door to genealogy all over the world. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.Like me five years ago, there are people today who believe that the Internet threatens traditional genealogy. What would prevent a website from building some kind of Frankensteinian robot that could spew out useless histories of the Smith family, as if someone connected Halbert’s to a nuclear power plant and created an evil mutant that devoured the world? What barriers prevent flooding the world with cheap products that push quality products right out of the marketplace?The threat of technology ruining the world is not a new fear. From what I can tell, it goes back to the story of Pandora’s Box, wherein a world with no troubles was suddenly visited with all of them. Paradise was lost. I think it’s a great story because the last thing out of the box was Hope. When dealing with world-changing threats, it helps to have an ample supply of hope on hand.
Hope That Helps
Computers and networks are very cool toys. But they have limitations.The world is still relatively inexperienced in technological matters, and the things that one can do online are limited because of it. Most online experiences are “mass produced” activities, things that only require a producer to develop relatively small amounts of code to satisfy large audiences. To that extent, online searching, message boards, and databases work nicely. But they can’t do genealogy.To date, computers haven’t figured out anything but the most basic research tasks. Experienced genealogists assault high brick walls by searching records for brothers or analyzing estate and probate records. It’s really hard for a census database to be used to produce a list of brothers.
If a person doesn’t “get it” for whatever reason, genealogical sites can be confusing. If a person’s situation isn’t standard—if they don’t have a lot of New England ancestors, or there are adoptions and other brick walls—a website might not be much help. Sometimes you need a person who has already “been there and done that” to look at your situation and help you decide what to do next.
Some people are interested in their families, but not enough to learn the difference between a census record and a probate record. Those people can still connect with their families with the help of a professional. There are also people who like to do things in groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Utah Pioneers, or the First Families of Ohio. All of these groups could benefit from an improved alliance between genealogists, genealogy societies, genealogy hobbyists, an d commercial genealogy companies. That’s where technology can really help.
Building a Good Idea
It makes too much sense—people who care about the beginning genealogy experience should actively promote a future where cooperation between groups with different skills results in more choices and better family connections.What might that look like? Look around the Internet—companies like eBay, for example, bring buyers and sellers together by creating a culture of trust through feedback and activity measures. What if a beginner could find a place online to choose a professional genealogist to work with? Wouldn’t some information like that found on eBay make the decision easier? Wouldn’t knowing what professional affiliations a genealogist has, his work performance, and style help a person choose?Genealogists know research and compilation strategies that big websites don’t. Societies have local records that big websites don’t. Big websites have large groups of customers and prospects and only a narrow range of solutions to offer them. Doesn’t it make sense that these groups combine their strengths, produce a better outcome for more customers, and promote their continued survival?
There are thousands of genealogists and local societies who see large online genealogy sites as a threat to their way of life, the same way southerners saw the super center in the 1980s. But instead of competing, they could be cooperating, and providing better benefits for customers who are trying to connect with their families. It’s a scary idea that isn’t automatically going to work for everyone. What comes of this opportunity is up to the people involved. And what y ou choose to do with this opportunity will impact the future for many families you don’t already know.
Beau Sharbrough is an employee of MyFamily.com, Inc. He lives in Provo, Utah, and writes the RootsWorks articles for the Ancestry Daily News.
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