“Get started with your family history on . . .”

That television ad was playing in the background as I started this post. Most of us have seen or heard the ads for Ancestry.com and if you’re interested in names, dates and other data, Ancestry has lots to offer. I visit the site often to update my family tree which now links to dozens of other trees because of mutual ancestors.

But families comprise much more than the names, addresses and U.S. Census data provided on Ancestry. The facts and figures might tell you that my great-grandparents lived on Chestnut Avenue in Kingston, Penna., in 1910, but they won’t reveal that since then, the house has been home to four generations of our family or that our great-grandfather wrote countless letters to the editor and mediocre poems about his dog Sam and his rose garden within its walls. The data provide the bones for the family history, but the stories̶—well, the stories bring the skeletons to life.

Many of us have already started sharing family stories using digital media. Earlier today, my cousin’s son posted photos of his baby daughter on FaceBook. Another cousin’s daughter posted photos from her school formal. YouTube boasts an endless stream of baby’s first videos, many of which have so much appeal that they’ve “gone viral” and been viewed by millions. The 1,000 Stories blog started by my friend and high school classmate Ken Gresh offers a written narrative of life events.

There is no right or wrong way to get started and the application you start with may not be where you land down the road. The key is starting and sometimes that’s that hardest part.

Next time, we’ll take a look at a few of the resources available for sharing photos online. In the meantime, think about where your family is already sharing stories online and build from there.