I’ve been interested in genealogy since I was young. I watched my father review the records he had, and I asked and learned what I knew from him. The Internet has made it much easier to post and share information online. I’ve been lucky to grasp this in a way that can be applied to genealogy, and I’ve continued to learn and grow as a result. I’ve taken what I’ve found back home to share with family – and now I do the same with my wife and other friends and colleagues.

I expect this blog will continue to carry a share – a growing share – of genealogy posts. But I’m about to get some other topics to delve into.

The past few months have been filled with research, analysis, and observation. It’s also set me down several new courses in life. I’ll have plenty to share as I publish what I’ve learned – and, hopefully, learn from what I publish.

Expanding on their website launched in 1999 (actually, expanding on the book published that expanded on the website), the four authors add additional commentary to their original work(s) and review how the Internet has changed business.

There are some good nuggets aboard this train.

First, you have to get past the voices. Oh, the writers are very proud of their voices. They explain how humanity hid its voices for The Corporation. They explain how the Web will free voices – has freed voices – and how if you don’t find A Voice and talk in A Voice, then your business will fail.

Perhaps they’re making up for lost time for their many years of hiding their voices. The voices must be stretched to check for their limits – the same way a 42-year-old at his college reunion tries to tailgate the same way he did as a senior.

You must also get through the tone, which can rail against business the same way a jilted lover proclaims all the failures of his or her beloved.

At times, the authors strike a tone similar to teenagers who sneaked into the office, turned on the P.A. system, and barricaded the doors – determined to have as much fun as they can squeeze into their minutes in the Sun.

That said, I’m convinced that markets are conversations. I’m convinced that conversations sound humans, and that ignoring those conversations means missing opportunities. I’m convinced that hyperlinks mean that networks can be as powerful as hierarchies within organizations. That smart companies can connect conversations that occur inside and outside the corporate firewall. That one of the changes wrought by the Internet and the World Wide Web is the lack of scarcity. That this abundance and this connectedness offer unique possibilities and challenges for all of the “people of Earth” – business and market.

So don’t misread my warning about voice and tone. Set those aside as you read it. This book offers four viewpoints (eight, now, with the new chapters and forward) of how to use the power of the Web to listen and to speak with your customers.

Earlier today, the chairman of the Federal Reserve said the recession was probably finished. He may have missed yesterday’s Times, which reported the job losses continued – 5,500 positions at Eli Lilly. (The Federal Reserve isn’t the official arbiter of a recession anyway – that’s left to a council of economists to measure the country’s economic growth.)

The slow recovery matches so many descriptions of an economy being reset.

So is there a recovery or a reset? Can Americans keep up their increased savings? Will they want to? What changes in spending habits do you plan to make?

I’m completing a graduate degree this semester at Marywood University; I expect to receive my degree in December. I’m looking for a full time position for after graduation. If the right spot is available, I’d be happy to start before then while I finish my studies. I’m looking for contract, freelance, part time, and independent work to carry through the next few months.

But I’m also looking to use this time to complete some personal projects. Yes, I’m looking for professional opportunities and writing papers and projects. I’ve also given myself seven weeks to tackle a to-do list of items that have nagged me for years. There will always be projects, but this is my personal sabbatical.

I’ve tracked my diet and exercise for a year and a half as I’ve worked to be healthier. I’ve gotten close to my target weight, but I picked up a few pounds during the summer. These seven weeks give me the opportunity to drop the final few pounds. They give me the chance to work on my complexion. To do a better job digitizing notes, files, and photos. To organize and back-up that data. To fill in some missing information on my family history and to compile and organize my wife’s genealogy. There are more traditional projects too – getting our house ready for winter and transitioning the local SAR chapter to a new set of officers.

I hope to use this space to track my progress and to spur myself onward. These seven weeks equate to about 1,200 hours. That isn’t much time to change habits, to complete long-simmering projects, and to start new trends. Time to get to work.

The Diocese of Scranton's Mother Church

After covering the press conference, each news outlet produced a similar reaction piece from around the Diocese. (The results were easy to figure out: Catholics who stopped going to church are glad he’s gone; Catholics interviewed on their way into Noon Mass think he did well in a tough job.) Then each newspaper and television station produced a piece highlighting the history of the Diocese of Scranton and its nine bishops. One television station went through the work to put together a piece on the challenges of leading a Diocese with changing demographics. (This is just a sampling of the coverage. You can find all of the articles from each outlet through the initial main news articles.)

I’m always interested in following the news, and I watched and read the coverage Monday evening. The tidbit of resigning because of insomnia at 63 – more than a decade before he’d normally retire – makes for a great twist too. (The auxiliary is retiring at 77.)

I’m sure Sunday will bring more man-on-the-street interviews and look-back pieces. Beyond that, I’m curious to see the additional local coverage. (About 325,000 of the 1 million residents is Catholic. That 30 percent figure is higher than the 22 percent nationwide so this is a big deal here. This is also a community that is big on religion, whichever one you follow.)

There is an additional, well-informed source to follow if you happen to be interested in the process of filling the seat. That blog, in fact, carried three stories as the drama played out to its final press conference on Monday.

Thanks to patwalsh_2000 for the Creative Commons picture via Flickr.

The idea of Who Is Listening is that the way the message is framed is important. It isn’t enough to say it – you have to say it in a way that connects with the audience. This is no less true in video as it is in audio.

New GM appears to want to be more responsive and transparent to the consumer. (Comments about the American consumer/taxpayer being a de facto owner and entitled to transparency are fine. Go ahead and add comments below.) The company is launching an online suggestion box. It has a website dedicated as the home of its blog collection. And it launched a spiffy new commercial detailing how new the New GM is going to be.

The commercial has attracted commentary from the blogosphere (who believe it is cliche), journalists (who pen how the mighty have fallen), and wrestling fans (who don’t like the final line). Nevermind the spoof ad that has more views than the actual ad on YouTube.

The problem with the commercial? Watch it and take a look at some of the images. Tattered American flag. Hockey player pinned to the ice. Lots of unsold vehicles. Some of the images invoke thoughts of worn, old, outdated, and defeated. That’s not the message GM should want to convey.

It’s important to think about more than who is listening – or in this case, watching. You have to think about what they hear and see as well. Make sure that is in line with your message.

But is it really best to run from Room to Room – or network to network – in an attempt to stay current with what’s cool? Isn’t it better to take advantage of the unique capabilities of each network and make that part of your strategy? (Note: a “Facebook Strategy” is more than “we should do that” just as a “Twitter Strategy” is more than “OMG can I Twitter all day!”)

Isn’t it better to use the real-time broadcast capability of Twitter, the scale of Facebook, and the embedding capability (and brand name) of YouTube when communicating? Only by breaking down the walls of these networks, can we use their full capability to communicate as widely as possible. Think of the sites as real world infrastructure sites. You’re taking on big infrastructure upkeep costs if you don’t want to be seen as an absentee landlord.

MySpace will continue to hold avid users, but will it be worth your time and effort to dedicate the resources needed to have a vibrant presence in that network? (Would you remain in Friendster if you had joined it in 2002?) Shutting down – or significantly scaling back – in these networks can alienate dedicated users. Don’t tell me that it’s expected to lose some people, and that you’re OK with it. You joined these networks to chase these people – you’re not OK with getting them angry at you.

Whatever you build or whatever you join isn’t a magic bullet. They offer something – even if it’s a unique way to connect to your audience. Figure out what that unique strength is, and incorporate your strategy around that. Jump on the new opportunities quickly, but know that you’re leaping at the capability and not the shiny toy.

Shiny toys are tossed aside when the next cool thing comes along. And in such a rapid environment, the next cool thing will be out before you build a big following in the old thing. Watch the Did You Know video as a reminder of the speed of change. (Then, think about how much that video reminds you of Sprint’s new What’s Happening commercials.

Now, think about how both videos reflect on individuals and what you’re doing right now. That’s kind of what Twitter’s about. What are you doing to use the things happening now in your communications?

A pair of events in 1959 highlight the change between the early and late 20th Century – changes that had been building in preceding years. These two events weren’t responsible for the economic shift, but they illustrate Scranton’s changing fortunes.

The Knox Mine Disaster (January 22) hastened the end of anthracite mining in the area. The bankruptcy of Scranton Lace (April 3), once one of the most prominent of the region’s laceworks and silk mills, indicated the impending end of another key industry in the region’s economy.

Interested in learning more? Contact the Lackawanna Historical Society to inquire about membership and request a copy of the Spring 2009 edition of The Lackawanna Historical Society Journal.

I’m not sure whether this is an economic slowdown, recession, reset, or whatever word you want to call it.

Sure, it’s bad. And every commentator wants to compare it to something: Early 1990s, Early 80s, 70s stagflation, Great Depression, Panic of 1873, etc. There’s no doubt that folks are aware – very aware – that the economy is in a difficult stretch. Not that we’re oblivious to past recessions, but this one has some teeth.

Maybe I’m paying more attention. But maybe there is something to all the talk that this is a turning point that will change how our system works.

I made some decisions to alter my saving and buying habits before everyone started to feel it. I’m looking at our apartment and wondering whether we should opt for a place that has a bit better infrastructure – say at least insulation in the attic. We’ve passed up a few of the kitchen gadgets. We’re paying down debt. We’re seeking our masters degrees. We’re trying to stay ahead of the knowledge economy.

I’m hoping we use the opportunity to make other changes though. Advanced degrees makes us look smarter, but dropping the land line for cell only makes sense. I’d love to back up my computer files to the cloud AND be able to get rid of all the paper I’ve lugged from apartment to apartment. I’d like to reduce our energy bills (and consumption) – through insulation and by monitoring when we run the washer and dryer. I’d like to eat out less and eat healthier at home.

As for the news? One of my colleagues was talking about something else, but could have been talking about this today: This is a great time to keep your head down. Keep busy and don’t look up.

The Digital TV switchover has been sitting out there for years now. A year ago, television stations went frantic in trying to convince millions of Americans to race out for special receivers and converter boxes to avoid a blank television on February 17. A few weeks ago, Congress and the President even changed the law to delay the mandated shut-off date for broadcasting on analog. The stations in my market went ahead with the switchover today anyways. I doubt many noticed.

More than half of Americans have cable and aren’t affected. And even more have bought a television recently enough to catch the digital signals without a special piece of equipment. How many Americans might be affected? 14 percent. If they all have really old TVs. Leave No Television View Behind. (They might start reading.)

Lots of fear, because without urgency I might miss my third-rate newscast. DTV-2K. Hype overblown.

We missed a great chance to stimulate the economy today because of months and months (and months) of breathless DTV hype. We should have had broadcasting television stations make the change without any announcements. Then we might have had hundreds of thousands of Americans scrambling for new televisions today and placing calls to repairmen. The result would have been a huge spending spree and millions of dollars of retail purchases. Could have started an economic turnaround if somebody would have thought it out. Instead, those millions of purchases were spread out over 12 months – diluting their impact and leaving us to wait for small tax refunds, rebates, and reductions.