The Genealogy Gems Channel is in the #1 spot when searching “genealogy” in the YouTube app, along with many other excellent family history channels
A new YouTube App for iPad (also available for iPhone and Android) is a must have for your favorite mobile device. Why? So you can use YouTube for family history!
It’s been a long time coming but worth the wait. Here’s a list of the features you will enjoy:
- Improved search – New tools include auto-suggestion and the ability to browse for new videos while you watch
- Faster Loading of videos – We like faster!
- More Ways to Share Great Video Finds – Share a video on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, email or text message right from the YouTube app
- Sleek New Design – YouTube Channel Guide allows you to swipe right to see new videos from all your favorite channels
- More Videos – Tens of thousands of videos now unlocked for your phone
Still not convinced as a genealogist that you need the new app? Here are 5 reasons you should be using YouTube for family history research and to share your family’s stories:
#1 Learn More about Your Ancestor’s World
Search for clubs, businesses, events and other items that impacted your ancestors’s lives.
#2 Find Your Ancestors in Action
Ever since the Internet came on the scene, genealogists have been searching online for photos (or for the distant cousins possessing photos) of their family. Apply this strategy to YouTube and video. Click here to read about how a Genealogy Gems Podcast listener hit pay dirt by following this advice.
#3 Get Quick Answers to Your Genealogy Questions
Got a pressing question on how to fix your Ancestry tree to how to how to create crafty family history gifts? Videos on YouTube not only supply answers, but show you how. When you find a channel that you like, click the Subscribe button. This will set you up to be notified of new videos from that channel as soon as they are published. (Sign in to YouTube with your free Google account because, yep, Google owns YouTube.)
The Genealogy Gems Channel in the YouTube App
#4 Benefit from Genealogy Conferences from the Comfort of Your Home
Not everyone has the time or money to attend a genealogy conference. Conference organizers understand this and are harnessing the power of online video to bring key content to users where they are. To get started, check out the videos that feature popular conference speakers and the conference experience from channels like SCGS (Jamboree) by searching SCGSgenealogy in the app and NGS by searching NGSGenealogy.
#5 Learn New Techniques for Sharing Your Family History
Get crafty and creative with project ideas found on YouTube. Search for keywords such as photos, shadow boxes, quilting, scrapbooking, etc. I’ve set up a special playlist on the Genealogy Gems Channel called Family History Craft and Display Projects that is chock full of videos to get you started. Search “GenealogyGems” in the YouTube app or go directly to the playlist at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE920F093159BD02
These are just a few ideas for using YouTube and the new YouTube app to enhance your family history adventures. Leave a comment and share the finds you have made.
Learn more about YouTube in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 140 and in The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox.
