Zero to 6434, writing a genealogy blog

 

This is not me, I do not have a beard but I do have two monitors and a lot of books. 

When I saw the number of blog articles I have posted over the years (6434) and considering it is nearing the end of another year, I decided to write a bit of a retrospective. When I started doing genealogical research back in 1982, home computers were still a new oddity and the internet was still a year away. I had my first interaction with a computer in the 1970s with the mainframe at the University of Utah. I bought my first Apple II computer shortly after they became available in Arizona. Since that time I, computers, and genealogy have been pretty much constantly together. Because most of the early genealogy software was programmed for PCs, we also owned a series of PCs along with our Apple computers. By the time the Macintosh computers came out in 1984, I was well into putting all my research on a computer. As the genealogy programs continued to be developed, I worked with Personal Ancestral File and RootsMagic with all the limitations of storage capacity and speed. 

I was teaching at Scottsdale Community College when I heard about a new connection available in a study area. It turned out to be the World Wide Web, marking my first encounter with the internet. There were only six websites online at the time. The major turning point for genealogical research began with the first online historical records with Ancestry.com in 1996. I also worked with the first volunteer/free website, RootsWeb. I was also online with FamilySearch on May 24, 1999 when it offered 390 million searchable names for free, which overwhelmed the servers

What makes this retrospective interesting is the advent of usable AI in 2022 with ChatGPT. Even with Star Trek and Star Wars, we never imagined that AI would be a common reality. Now, I effectively have my own Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (reference to the books by Douglas Adams). From that first Apple II to my current Mac Mini M4 with Google Fiber, I am still looking for ways to do more even faster. I often speculate how different my life would be if I had a computer on the internet with today's AI apps when I was in high school. Now, I am taking advantage of the time I have left in this life, to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can.  

Genealogy continues to be challenging even with all the bells and whistles of AI. I have to admit that I have my Google Gemini Chatbot open here as I write to supply me with dates and such but I have learned a significant lesson in the last few months as AI moved onto center stage. Even with all the advances in technology, if you don't know enough to understand and utilize the tech, it is of no use to you. What is amazing, however, is that now I can ask questions, even complex and difficult questions, and get almost instant answers. I can also effectively do research in dozens if not hundreds of languages. 

I continue to watch the news for new developments in AI and other technology that may yet solve some of my most difficult genealogical challenges. Let's see what tomorrow brings and Don' Panic. I finally know the answer "42" but I am still waiting for the question.