Wednesday, 17 APRIL – TECH DAY
NERGC’s first Tech Day will be held on Wednesday, 17 April 2013 at the Manchester Radisson. This event is focused on demonstrations of intermediate and advanced technology that is both helpful and timesaving during genealogical research and writing. Tech Day provides the opportunity for genealogists to review items that are focused on a technically oriented audience and might not otherwise be included in a general conference trying to reach a broad audience. The cost is $40 per person for four seminars, a lunchtime presentation, and full lunch compliments of FindMyPast.com.
8:45 A.M – 9:30 A.M.
Registration and Welcome
9:30 A.M. – 10:30 A.M.
Deep Linking and Deeper Linking: How I Get the Most Out of Existing Search Applications
Stephen P. Morse, PhD
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| Stephen P. Morse, PhD |
Deep linking provides a means of optimizing the information extracted from existing third-party websites in general, and from search applications in particular. Various means of deep linking are introduced such as URL editing, using search forms, and placing a man in the middle. Then the tables are turned and methods of blocking others from deep linking to your website are described. The legalities of deep linking are also discussed.
10:45 A.M. – 11:45 A.M.
Publish Your Genealogy Online
Laura G. Prescott
Discover the options for publishing your genealogy online. Explore choices you can make for appearance, access, costs, and privacy. Learn simple, attractive solutions to show off your research.
12:00 NOON – 1:45 P.M.
Lunch, Courtesy of FindMyPast
What’s Coming to findmypast.com
D. Joshua Taylor
2:00 P.M.- 3:00 P.M.
Phonetic Matching: An Alternative to Soundex with Fewer False Hits
Stephen P. Morse, PhD
Searching for names in large databases containing spelling variations has always been a problem. One solution, known as soundex, is to encode each name into a number such that names that sound alike will encode to the same number. The search would then be based on finding matching numbers, which results in finding all names that sound like the target name. The “sound-alike” criteria used in soundex is based on the spelling, without no regard to how the name might be pronounced in a particular language. The phonetic encoding described here incorporates rules for determining the language based on the spelling of the name, along with pronunciation rules for the common languages. This has the advantage of eliminating matches that might appear to “sound-alike” under the pure spelling criteria of soundex, but are phonetically quite unrelated.
3:15 P.M.- 4:15 P.M.
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| D. Joshua Taylor |
Sharing Genealogy in the 21st Century: Wikis, Blogs, Twitter, and More
D. Joshua Taylor
Over the past few years, social networking has become a foundation for genealogists – yet the full potential of many tools remain untapped. Discover potential strategies for using wiki-based technologies and cloud computing to share and preserve family history in the 21st century, including resources for sharing digital objects (including videos, audio, and interactive resources) to wider audiences.
The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) is being held April 17-21, 2013 in Manchester, NH. More information is available from the conference website.