Saturday, February 13, 2010

Follow Saturday – Patten : Genealogy

My selection of the blog featured in this “Follow” feature is based in part on an inadvertent omission. I had meant to mention John Patten’s article, “Restricted Web Searching” on Patten : Genealogy, in my last Family and Friends Newsletter Friday but forgot to include it.

John is Australian and has both Aboriginal and colonial ancestry; he writes that the surprising thing is that his Aboriginal ancestry is better documented than his European ancestry.

In the article I mentioned John brings up the recent decision by Murdoch News not to allow Google to index its websites and makes some good points about our reliance on Google as “a universal font of knowledge, and one that is too easily trusted” and our “illusion of universal record.” So, while it is important to know how to make the best and maximum use of such a powerful search tool, it is also important to be aware that there are still many things that are on the web that cannot be found through this means and to figure out alternate routes to find them.

John is one of the “younger generation” of GeneaBloggers and has just had a new addition to his family: son Tiriki, who was born on January 21. Congratulations, John, and we look forward to hearing more from you on Patten : Genealogy.

1 comment:

  1. A long overdue reply, but I'm sure you'll understand, given my focus recently turning to changing wet nappies. Thanks for the kind words Greta, much appreciated! :)

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