Jammies & Pink Bunny Slippers

Before the internet became such an integral part of genealogy and family history research, all research had to be done offline back before there was even a distinction between offline and online.  [Shocker, I know.]  People actually had to get dressed and go down to places like the libraries, the archives, and the courthouses.  [That's right.  No surfing the internet in your jammies and your pink bunny slippers.]

Now?  Well, the the computer and internet have enhanced our ability to find information both online and offline.

But don't get suckered into believing that all your research can be done online.  It can't.  Let me repeat that.  Not all your research can be done online.  If you try researching this way, you are going to run into brick walls very quickly, get frustrated, and probably quit looking.  Or settle for information that was found online, but not credible.  Online and offline research work together to provide the most complete research experience.

Together "online and offline" are like...


The yin and the yang.
Salt and Pepper.
Sugar and spice.
Sonny and Cher.
The Captain and Tennille.
Cookies and Milk.
Chocolate and peanut butter.
Jammies and pink bunny slippers.

They belong together.  Until, of course, every single document has been scanned and every family artifact has been photographed and every old photo has been scanned.  Which, the chances of that happening are, um slim to none.  [And Slim just left the room.]  So, it would be more accurate to say that, today, genealogy and family history research is a hybrid type of research that involves combining offline and online resources.

And this hybrid approach has vastly influenced the way we organize our information, and can also be called hybrid as well ~ involving the computer and paper.

And all the information that you are looking for can be categorized in 2 ways:

• Information that you are looking for and
• Information that you find.

And each one can be broken down into online and offline resources and strategies.

So next week, starting on Monday, that's what we'll be going over.   The first one will be how to organize your search online and your computer.  Riveting.  I know.  But once we get it set-up, then it's just a matter of putting the paper and the file into the right folder.  The real folder and the digital folder.  And hey, don't forget.  While going to the library in your jammies and pink bunny slippers is out of the question  [No.  Really it is.], you can always read my blog in them.  [Really.  I don't mind.]