Sunday, March 14, 2010

8 Ways Genealogy Could Help You Survive a Zombie Outbreak



This post title is catchy, isn't it? Well it really is just an experiment - I don't believe there are 8 Ways Genealogy Could Help You Survive a Zombie Outbreak.

Over at makeuseof.com - one of my favorite tech blogs - they highlighted a site called LinkbaitGenerator which will supposedly help you as a blogger compose "attractive" post titles.  All in the hopes of getting others to link back to you.

I think "sensational" is a better way to describe the output, rather than "attractive."  Here is a sample of what LinkbaitGenerator spit out with the word genealogy:
  • 8 reasons to fear genealogy
  • 7 bizarre ways genealogy can kill you suddenly
  • 10 ways genealogy can help you get a date
  • 6 shockingly evil things about genealogy
  • 8 horrible lessons about genealogy that Hollywood teaches kids
And then there are the post titles that I believe are accurate and most genealogists could find items to populate these lists:
  • 15 must see websites about genealogy
  • 10 common misconceptions about genealogy
  • 10 under-appreciated things about genealogy
  • 5 insane but true things about genealogy
And finally there are the posts that I wish were true:
  • 9 crazy ways that genealogy is infiltrating pop culture
  • 7 ways genealogy could cure cancer
  • 10 of the biggest genealogy screw ups of all time
  • 8 genealogy-themed Halloween costumes
  • 10 ways people have gotten rich exploiting genealogy
  • 8 ways genealogy could help you survive a zombie outbreak
  • 10 of the best genealogy movies of all time
Photo:  Zombies as portrayed in the movie Night of the Living Dead, public domain (published without copyright between 1923 and 1977).

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

9 comments:

Donna said...

Thomas,

I don't know about genealogy helping you get a date (it sure hasn't for me), but two of my EX-boyfriends were introduced to genealogy thanks to me (so they say) and later thanked me for it!

As for the final list of titles you wish were true...I think each of us probably has ten personal screw-ups in our own research (at least!). That final list sounds like some titles Chris Dunham would use!!!

Love it,
Donna

Unknown said...

Genealogy could help save us from zombies if all those people who can go back 30+ generations printed out their trees, then hurled them at the approaching zombies - obviously aiming for their heads lol

Thanks for the link, that looks like a useful site if you ignore the tabloid-style titles :-)

Elizabeth said...

Dang! I was looking forward to this post based on the headline, so it worked on me! Following on headline, how about this: if rule #1 for surviving a zombie outbreak is cardio, you will definitely build that running up and down the stairs in all the old courthouses you need to visit to get your hands on that elusive vital record.

Elizabeth (aka: genealogy geek)

Diana Ritchie said...

Well, I must say the title DID cause me to want to read you post - if only because I thought if anyone could come up with "8 Ways Genealogy Could Help You Survive a Zombie Outbreak" it would be you! :-)

As for genealogy and dating, I once saw a tee shirt that said something like, "The cemetery is not a normal rendezvous point for a first date." Should have bought that shirt...

Greta Koehl said...

I think we should incorporate the first five, and maybe that last group as well, as blogging prompts, maybe a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun assignment or something.

Sheri Fenley said...

Oh I really liked a few of them:

10 surprising ways Boobs will be different in 20 years

or

8 ways mustaches can help you survive a plane crash

or

5 reasons prostitution is the new herion

oh what fun it is to ride. . .

Thanks Thomas for giving me yet another tool to get in trouble with! LOL

Susi's Quarter said...

Thanks Thomas been busy this afternoon sending things to you. Acting on other things. Lots happening and thought this was a good break. Definitely will go read it next. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Is the Granite Mountain Record Vault zombie proof? Seems to me that it would be the ideal place to shelter from a zombie outbreak!

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault said...

Thomas, you already know how much I admire and appreciate you for the support you provide to genealogy and family history bloggers, but this is just to let you know that you are now the recipient of the Janice Puckerbrush Award for Excellence in writing, which you can read about here:
http://wp.me/pp92w-87R
Thank you again for everything you do for the community. We would never have progressed so far, so fast, without you!
Evelyn in Montreal