Carnival is Back!

The 47th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is posted at Jasia's Creative Gene. The theme this time was "A Place Called Home," and thirty-two writers have described places that their ancestors called home. The submissions are very diverse, ranging from the now-extinct Markham Township, Ontario, to Weaver's Creek Bottom, Mississippi, to towns in Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland.

I didn't play this time because of time constraints. But I have been planning for awhile to do a series on places.

All of the Carnival articles this time are very informative and well-written. I would urge each writer to consider taking the basic facts of their piece and creating or adding to a Wikipedia article.

Having just done it a few weeks ago, I know that Wikipedia writing may not appeal to everyone, but for those who find it doable, it would be a great service to other researchers.

Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: Mom, how'd you get so smart? We'll examine our mothers' education. What schools did your mom attend? Did she graduate high school or attend the school of hard knocks? Did she attend a one room school house or was she home-schooled? Was she the first in the family to attend college? Maybe your mom took self-study courses or was an avid reader. Tell us all about how a mother figure (mother, grandmother, mother in law, godmother, etc.) in your life became so brilliant! The deadline for submissions is May 15th.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

How 'bout Giving a Little WikiLove?

Almost everyone who uses the Internet has heard of Wikipedia. I love it and use it quite a bit. I find that the "collaborative anarchy" keeps it up to date and accurate for the most part. But Wikipedia will exist only as long as people do find it useful and accurate.

I came across a Wikipedia article about a place I once lived. The article was extremely brief and had at least one error in it. So I'm revising it.

Writing for Wikipedia is different from other writing. It is, after all, an encyclopedia. And Wikipedia has a unique culture that one should become familiar with before leaping into writing or revisnig an article. That said, if you use Wikipedia, support it with your knowledge and skills!