Who Do You Think You Are? Season 2 Episode 4 - My Thoughts

[Editor's Note: I realize I have not yet posted my review of the Tim McGraw and Rosie O'Donnell episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? but they will be posted soon - I promise!]

Last night, February 25, 2011, NBC broadcast the fourth episode of Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? which featured the actress Kim Cattrall.  Here is my take on the episode:

• There was a real mystery, a real story here. And an emotional one at that. I am hoping that the "newbies" to genealogy and family history realize that they will find skeletons in the family closet and they will need to record the facts and not embellish them or hide them because they make others in the family uncomfortable.

• This wasn't really genealogy although genealogical records and search practices were used.  Most of us who have been involved with genealogy for many years or those of us who are professional realize that what was shown on the Kim Cattrall episode was more private investigator work or more specifically, forensic genealogy.

• Abandonment of a family by a mother or father was somewhat common in the 1900 - 1940 period for several reasons: economic conditions, two major world wars, strict divorce laws, etc. And this issue cuts across cultural lines - no family was really immune from it.

• This was a difficult episode for me personally since my family has a history of men abandoning families. My family history speaks to the strong and determined women who were forced to keep the family unit together.

• I liked that the story started with a simple newspaper clipping and that resources such as phone books were utilized.  I noticed there was little "online" research per se - Kim actually went to a pub and did some sleuthing!  

• What was up with the "Cattrall Family Tree" on Ancestry when Kim located her grandfather having died in Australia in 1974? I looked on Ancestry last night but couldn't find the tree - perhaps it was just a "mock up" for the show.  Still, this was just sloppy work in my opinion. 

• I realize this was a "re-hashing" of the BBC episode Kim Cattrall did over in the UK but it isn't clear to me if original footage from that version was used or if these scenes were "re-staged" for the American version.

Overall, I think this episode had the emotional pull that can really attract a person to researching their family history, even when the stories and circumstances are sad.  And while the research techniques used were typical ones used by genealogists, I'm not sure the general viewing public realizes that this was more of a "private investigator" show than a genealogy show.

During last night's GeneaBloggers Radio show which I hosted last night after WDYTYA, we discussed the idea of a future episode having to deal with adoption.  I think that it would be an eye opener for many viewers to understand how and what records are created once an adoption takes place and how an adoptee can find his or her birth parents. Also, I would like WDYTYA to cover some of the important adoption scandals in US history including the Orphan Trains and Georgia Tann of Tennessee.

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee

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How Social Media Helped Give Me a New Career

I was recently interviewed for a news article about social media at the website Second Act (which bills itself as an "online destination uniquely tailored to the needs and interests of readers over age 40."). In her piece entitled, Are You Google-able?,  the author Melinda Emerson interviewed several people who had undertaken a "midcareer makeover" like me.

Most of you know that back in late 2008, I was laid off from my job in the information technology field. After several months of looking for work and ending up back at another global law firm (and working with attorneys who are always the "smartest ones in the room"), I decided to "repurpose" myself and create a career in the genealogy field.

Eighteen months later, I have no regrets and am enjoying the fact that I've been able to turn an avocation into a vocation. So, everyone wants to know, "how did he do it?" Mostly with social media - the focus of the Are You Google-able? article.

In the article, Emerson and I spoke mainly about Twitter and how I have been able to leverage it to my advantage:

Thomas MacEntee, the 48-year-old founder of High-Definition Genealogy, says its best to think of social media as a garden you have to tend.

Laid off from his tech job in Chicago in late 2008, MacEntee reinvented himself as a family historian -- helping people investigate their family trees -- and utilizes social media to connect with clients. It took MacEntee about a year to build his business.

He's been so successful mastering the intricacies of Twitter -- the free service that allows users to share information in 140 characters or less -- that he now teaches a social media class for baby boomers called "Twitter: It's not just what I had for breakfast anymore."

He says the key to Twitter is giving as much as you get, and listening as much as you speak. He says some boomers have a problem with these concepts. "They think they are giving away their work for free, but it's part of building yourself as a brand and an expert," says MacEntee.

Take a look at the entire article since I feel it is spot on in terms of advice from the other experts, especially concerning LinkedIn. Did you know that one of my current and largest consulting clients found me because I had a LinkedIn profile complete with my resume?

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee

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Who Do You Think You Are? Season 2 Episode 1 - My Thoughts

Last night, the premiere episode of Season 2 of  Who Do You Think You Are? aired on NBC here in Chicago at 7:00 PM CST (after which I conducted a two-hour radio show. More about that in a bit!). The episode starred Vanessa Williams and the audience followed along as she traced her ancestors from New York to Tennessee and other parts of the United States.

• PLUS: I was so happy to see that NBC and the producers listened to the genealogical community (at least I hope so) and removed the inane recaps after the show returned from a commercial.  My big complaint last season for WDYTYA was that you could come in at the last 20 minutes and understand everything that was going on.  Also, it seemed to reduce a one-hour show to less than 30 minutes of actually viewing time.

• MINUS: the "coming ups" are still there but they seemed less annoying and less noticeable.  Perhaps I watch too much PBS and other television with little or no commercials and thus I am spoiled.

• PLUS: I greatly appreciated the overall "tone" of the episode in terms of being serious about genealogy and family history research. Perhaps it was Williams using a notebook and taking notes. But there was less of that "poof" here are your records and here is your family tree.  It appeared more realistic and you could actually sense the excitement when discoveries were made. Let's hope this seriousness carries through to all the episodes.

• MINUS: Williams sat down to do a search on Ancestry.com and BAM! she found what she wanted.  I wished they had prefaced that with some realistic information - this doesn't have to detract from the Ancestry.com databases but more serious genealogists know that it takes time, effort and good search skills to find what is needed.  

• PLUS: The stories of Williams' ancestors were engaging and I appreciate the fact that they selected an African-American woman to start off the series during Black History Month. I also greatly appreciate the Civil War tie-ins since the American Civil War will be at the forefront of US genealogy for the next five years due to the 150th anniversary of that conflict.

• MINUS: During the media call about the episode (I participated in the call on January 24, 2011), Williams did say that some of what they discovered during the research was not depicted in the show due to time constraints. If there is such footage, it would be nice if NBC could post snippets at the WDYTYA website or perhaps incorporate it as a special feature in the DVD set of Season 2. 

Overall, the hour seemed to just fly by and before I knew it, I had to get ready for my radio show! I was very impressed and, in my opinion, NBC hit it out of the ballpark with this episode of Who Do You Think You Are? While I realize you can't hit a home run each time a bat, let's hope that each of the remaining episodes is at least a hit.

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee

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