The old adage is right: Two heads ARE better than one. And social media provide the opportunity for us to put our heads together and collaborate at every turn. Even more, social media enable us to partner whether we’re in the same room or distant corners of the world.
What does that have to do with telling your family story? Everything. For example: There was a bit of mis-information in my post earlier this week. I posted information I thought was correct, based on what I’ve always heard. The next day, one of my uncles called to give me more accurate information. I shared the basics and now my uncle, who’s been collecting family documents and information for many years, can add to it. Perhaps someone from the local historical society or a distant relative who’s working on their own family tree will add more. Those collaborations will help our family better understand who Archie L. Parrish was and preserve that information for generations to come.
Social media enable collaboration with others no matter where they are located, with close family members and strangers alike. What incredible opportunity this offers—the chance to record history, with accuracy and from differing points of view, in real time.
In the coming weeks and months, Family Stories will address the myriad social media tools and applications available; how to choose the right one, or ones, for your family or community; and how to get started and keep things going. We’ll add resources and tutorials and will offer web-based training for those who need it.
But for tonight, understand that through collaboration with Uncle Deed (a.k.a., Floyd Parrish MacIntyre), I can state more accurately that my great-grandfather, Archie L. Parrish, was not a coal miner as I reported. Instead, he designed and supervised construction of breakers for a number of coal companies in the Wyoming Valley. I’m glad to have the correct information and to share it–and even happier to have a fantastic collaborator to set me straight!
Sue Stine Consulting 
Hi Sue,
This is terriffic. I have tried to do for years to document the stories of my family. I have a few but now that my father has passed I realize there are so many I didn’t record and they exist only in my memory and no one left to confirm them. Hopefully I can piece it all together before I forget them and they are lost for ever.
Best to you. Looking forward to hearing and learning more.
Johnny Revel
Thanks Johnny! Take a look at the blog 1000 Stories in the blog roll. Maybe you could start using a blogging platform (easy, free, lots of templates) and keep it private while you get some of the ideas together. We’ll be talking about other options in the coming weeks too. Probably the toughest part is getting started.
Hi Sue — I’m so excited to see you begin this new journey and doing something that I know is so close to your heart. Like Johnny, I aim to collect the stories but fall so short of actually getting that to happen. It seems when the family is together there is so much going on and it is easy to overlook.
Question. Often when my family gathers it is noisy and busy and some “holders of stories” are shy about speaking up when you hit the record button … I’d love some tips for planning, organizing and collecting stories and for making it an inviting, comfortable process for those who feel a bit technophobic when it comes to video or audio recordings?
Thanks LaDonna! So much to write!! This blog will address the storytelling angle of family stories as well as looking at the social media applications families can use to preserve and share the stories. Over the next weeks we will talk about how to nudge stories out of those who hold the knowledge, how families can collaborate to tell stories of specific events or people and how to keep those stories as public or private as individuals want.