Tag Archives: Technology

Jocelyn Salada and Georgia Higher Education Resource Query – Did You Get An Email Like This?

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online schools

And the spamming “let’s exchange links” aka “here’s recognition for your blog” aka “we have an award for your blog” game continues!

The Pitch From Online Schools

Have any of our members of GeneaBloggers or other bloggers received the following email from Jocelyn Salada lately?

From: Jocelyn Salada [mailto:jocelynsalada99@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 1:23 AM
To: there
Subject: Georgia Higher Education Resource Query

Hi there,

I had a question about the listed college and career web resources for prospective students on the http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-beat-sunday-february-12-2012 website. I would love to hear back from you, and if there is someone else I should be emailing, could you direct me to the appropriate contact?

Of course your results may vary.  These spammers are oh-so-clever at using different names, different emails, etc.  Same baloney, just dressed up with different condiments.

Why Was I Suspicious?

For you new bloggers and perhaps all bloggers, here is why I got suspicious . . . first, the email was addressed to “there” as in Hi There.  LOL.  Really?

Second, I went and looked at the link at GeneaBloggers and there was no reference to “college and career web resources for prospective students.”  I knew this already.  I figure Jocleyn tried to leave a spammy comment on the post, but WordPress let’s me disable commenting on any post older than 14 days at GeneaBloggers. I give Jocelyn an “A” for effort.

I Took The Bait – Sort Of

I figured I’d play along, so I emailed back and told Jocelyn I was interest.  I was surprised it took two days to get back to me, but here is what I got:

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for your response. I’m emailing to see how an online project that I’ve been working on for that past year can be included and shared as a resource for students and parents on your website. This resource, is a compilation of every college program offered online in Georgia that is offered full and part time.

For the past year, we’ve been crawling through thousands of college catalogs to compile this information because many students that visit our website have requested a directory of all college programs that they can take online apart from the more well known online schools.  Many of our students didn’t even know that their local colleges offer many online programs until this database was built!

This database will be updated yearly and will always remain free and open.  Higher education for all students is a passion of mine, and passing knowledge to what types of programs exist out there in hopes that students will find a higher education program that excites them is our goal. I hope that your school, counselors, advisors, parents and students will find it useful.

So far, school districts and high schools throughout the State of Georgia have added the project as a resource for their students and parents to refer too. If you think it could be of use and value to those who visit your site, I would be honored it you would also add a link to the page for others to refer to.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Jocelyn

Just as I suspected – a link exchange.  Also Jocelyn sent me some links that I could add to my blog if I wanted to. As you can see I am not using any Online Schools links so as not to send them “link juice.”

I told Jocelyn that I wasn’t interested, that I didn’t do link exchanges and that I would make sure I put the word out at my blogging community.

Don’t Buy Into Link Exchanges

Recently I had someone tell me that asking for link exchanges was not a black hat SEO technique.  Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter – I still think it is sleazy and I still won’t accept a link from a website that doesn’t deal directly with genealogy or from a company about which I know nothing.  I also take a dim view to companies that just do “cold calling” via email.

All that these sites are doing – and the online school type sites do it all the time – is this: they are trying to game the system over at Google and other search engines to get a higher page rank by building links to their sites.  They don’t care if you are selling genealogy or polished dinosaur turds that look like jewelry.  They’ll take anything – they aren’t picky. I call them Link Sluts.

Remember that you can’t control the site to which you link, so who knows what kind of content one of these sites will put up in the future.  Make sure you know who you are linking to and the best way to build you niche is to keep the focus on your direct subject matter, such as genealogy.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

New Ancestry DNA Features at 23andMe

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23andMe

23andMe is proud to announce four new ancestry DNA features to be released in beta by the end of June, 2012. Below is information about the new features from 23andMe.

According to 23andMe, these features are in the early development phases and the images for each are approximations intended to illustrate the anticipated aspects of each feature; the final product may differ from what is depicted. In addition, all of these features should be available for beta testing in late June 2012 except for the Ancestry Painting Update.

23andMe Ancestry Painting

Ancestry Painting Update

Currently our site provides an Ancestry Painting that displays 3 major world regions (European, African and Asian). We are refining this feature to provide Ancestry Paintings based on approximately 20 world regions. The attached example features the real data of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. host of “Finding Your Roots on PBS.” For Dr. Gates, the updated Ancestry Painting shows more detail between his Northern and Southern European ancestry and is able to distinguish his Native American heritage from Asian.

23andMe - My Ancestry Page

My Ancestry Page

One of our most exciting new features. This page will pull the highlights from each individual’s ancestry and surfaces them on one easy page – no need to go digging around for special labs or tools. From Countries of Origin to how much Neanderthal DNA you have – it will all be conveniently displayed on one page.

23andMe - Relative Finder Map

Relative Finder – Map View

Forget “Where’s Waldo,” now you can see where in the world all your 23andMe Relative Finder matches are. Individuals can also add details to their profile so you can see not just where they are living now but known locations of family in the past so you can better zero in on family searches by location.

23andMe - Family Tree

Family Tree

Watch your family tree grow with 23andMe. Build and share your family tree. Add in details for individuals that include places, life events, traits, skills and fun facts.

Visit the 23andMe Booth at Jamboree!

Stop by the 23andMe booths (#706 and 707) at this weekend’s Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, June 8 through 10, 2012, in Burbank and sign up to be a beta tester for these new features!

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Mocavo Search Widget – Why I’ve Added It To My Genealogy Sites

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Mocavo

You may have noticed a new item in the sidebar at GeneaBloggers.com and my other genealogy sites: the Mocavo Search Widget.  While there are many ways I could add a search function on this blog and other sites (including the search function built-in with the WordPress template or a customized Google search bar), there are some good reasons why I chose the Mocavo Search Widget from Mocavo:

  • Results are genealogy and family history oriented. When you set up a search using Google, you end up with results that may not be related to genealogy. This means searching for those common surnames like Smith and Jones or even Page will return findings that you have to wade through to get to what you want. By using a search within Mocavo, you get more directed results and better results for your research.
  • Great results mean great progress with your genealogy research. It seems that I always find something new in all my searches at Mocavo. The reason is that each day new genealogy and family history-related sites are being indexed by Mocavo.  So besides submitting your own blog or website to be indexed and adding the Mocavo Search Widget, take some time to search for your surnames or other information. You never know if Mocavo holds the key to breaking down that brick wall!

By adding a Mocavo Search Widget, not only do you offer a great way for your blog or website visitors to search your content, but here’s a bonus: if you add the Mocavo Search Widget and enter the Mocavo Search Widget Contest here at GeneaBloggers from June 4 through 11, 2012, you could win both a free one-year Mocavo Plus subscription AND a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner! Stay tuned for details right here at GeneaBloggers later today.

Sign Up for a Free Mocavo Account

While signing up for a free Mocavo account is not necessary, you should take a minute to do so in order to keep up with the latest news and innovations from the Mocavo team. Simply go to http://www.mocavo.com and click Sign Up For Free.

Mocavo - Sign Up for Free

Click to embiggen

What’s Mocavo Plus?

Mocavo Plus offers ways for you to expand the search capabilities of Mocavo including:

  • Automated Finds: With automated family tree connections, just upload your GEDCOM files to Mocavo Plus and every week we’ll send you multiple new matches for your ancestors.
  • Advanced Search Features: More relevant searches with features including first name alternatives, sounds like, intelligent date searching, date ranges, Geosearching (US only), and exclusions.
  • New Content Email Alerts: Every week, Mocavo adds hundreds of sites to our index. The moment we think we’ve got something that matches one of your ancestors, we’ll send it right to your inbox.

Attention APG members! Did you know that a benefit of your membership with the Association of Professional Genealogists is a free one-year Mocavo Plus subscription? Visit the APG website at http://www.apgen.org/members/mocavo.html for more information on how to activate your Mocavo Plus subscription.

Submit Your Site or Blog to be Indexed

In order for the Mocavo Search Widget to display results from your blog or website, you must submit your site to be indexed at Mocavo. Go to http://www.mocavo.com/suggest and fill out the form shown below. It should take less than 24 hours for a complete index of your site to be completed by Mocavo.

Submit Your Site to Mocavo

Click to embiggen

Select and Preview Your Mocavo Search Widget

Go to http://www.mocavo.com/widgets and scroll down to Step Two of the process. Select a widget size (sizes are shown in pixels and width x length). Then enter your website URL.

Select and preview your Mocavo search widget

Click to embiggen

Next, you will see a preview of the widget which you can use to perform a live search of your website (this is a good way to test if Mocavo has finished indexing your site).

Preview Mocavo search widget

Click to embiggen

Snag the Code for Your Mocavo Search Widget

The last step is to get the HTML code to embed in your blog or website. Scroll to the bottom of the screen, highlight the code, right-click with your mouse (or press Shift + F10) and select Copy.

Paste Mocavo search widget code

Now proceed to the section of your blog where you add sidebar items:

For Blogger:

  1. In Blogger, go to Design.  Select the Page Elements tab.
  2. Select Add A Gadget.
  3. Select HTML/Javascript.
  4. In the Content area, right-click and select Paste.
  5. Click Save.

For WordPress:

  1. In WordPress, go to Admin.
  2. Select Widgets.
  3. Locate the Text widget and select Add.
  4. In the list of Widgets, locate new widget and click Edit.
  5. Right-click and select Paste.
  6. Click Done.
  7. Click Save Changes.

Add the Mocavo Search Widget and Enter to Win a Mocavo Plus Subscription AND a Flip-Pal mobile scanner

So add the Mocavo Search Widget to your blog or website today and then get ready to enter and possibly win a one-year Mocavo Plus subscription a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner in the Mocavo Search Widget Contest.

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DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: I was contacted by Mocavo to learn more about the Mocavo widgets. In addition, I was given the opportunity to give away a Mocavo Plus subscription and a Flip-Pal® mobile scanner in a contest of my own design and execution. To review the other material connections I have with genealogy vendors, please see Disclosure Statements.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee