Make the most of Facebook

The social media platform Facebook ( facebook.com) includes a great bite-sized way to keep people engaged on a part-time basis with your latest family findings. The site offers a facility to create a ‘Family’ category list from your contacts (see ‘About’, then ‘Family and Relationships’), so that you can post messages to relatives only. But why not create a dedicated private Facebook group this Christmas on the theme of your family history, and encourage your relatives to share any resources that they may be able to uncover from their own drawers and cupboards?

You can also use family history software such as TreeView ( treeview.co.uk) to create a tree using your Facebook contacts, and to invite your relatives to view your tree online (find out more at thegenealogist.co.uk/ researchguide/treeview/treeview-on-facebook-206).