Time to double check my website for spelling errors... ;). I agree with everything Dee said. Honesty, and the perception of it, is very important in this field. Intimating credentials you don't have demeans those who have worked so hard to get them as well as demeaning the value of these credentials in the eyes of the public. I am taking this day to reevaluate my business plan...what's working good and what's not. I'm moving in a few new directions which will have to be added to the plan. Anyone else evaluating their business plan today? Sincerely, Melanie D. Holtz, CG Holtz Research Services Melanie@holtzresearch.com www.holtzresearch.com On Jan 1, 2013, at 12:38 PM, "Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist" <king@forensicgenealogyservices.com> wrote: > Today is a good day to add 2013 copyright notices on my websites. This started recirculating some observations from the last couple of months. > > The most prevalent way we "see" up-and-coming professionals these days is electronically through their social media posts and their websites. > > Our website should make us transparent, not create ambiguity. We all need to be careful with how we word the content. We all need another set of eyes to proofread. Here are a few things that convince me a person would not be on my go-to list. > > A couple of pages of terrible spelling, worse grammar and punctuation, and misuse of words or terms stops me from looking any further. > > It's better to clearly list memberships than to say "numerous memberships" without being specific. It makes me suspicious to see that kind of broad statement accompanied by references to organizations to which, upon further checking, the person does not belong. Is this just a lapse in good content, or an attempt to create the perception that the website owner is actually a member of an organization when they are not? > > I REALLY question motive when the person has copied and pasted to their website whole blocks of text from other organizations in what is apparently an attempt to make it appear the person is a member of, is endorsed by, or that the person adheres to the philosophy of that organization. > > Oblique references to credentials are especially irksome. The genealogist has "certifications and accreditations." However, none are listed and the content includes references to ICAPGen or BCG. The name doesn't show up in member rosters and no credentials follow the name. Lapse or intent? > > Affiliates and affiliations. Several websites I've looked at recently used affiliates when the owner meant affiliations. We're affiliated with or affiliates of APG, Ancestry.com, Family Tree DNA, etc. These are not our affiliates. > > Some websites really overstate qualifications and experience. "Our experience and education makes us uniquely qualified" for this particular specialty. No education or experience is defined on the website. I keep a running list of folks I'd never ask to help on a project because queries about education and experience showed the folks had not been honest in their self-promotion. Red flags go up when the site obviously has hype written about the genealogist, BY the genealogist. > > Taking credit for someone else's work or position. A couple of months ago some friends and I found a website in which a person made it appear they were a lead genealogist "working with another genealogist" to solve a military repatriation case. The "other" genealogist was actually the credentialed sub-contracting genealogist who asked this person to do ONE vital record retrieval.... The person also published private info shared by the sub-contractor genealogist to make it easier for the person to retrieve the record. > > These are things that can really hamstring a potential career. And tarnish a reputation among colleagues. Most folks on this list are probably snickering, "Someone would REALLY do these things?" Yep, real examples from real websites. > > best regards and a prosperous New Year, > > Dee > > > > -- > Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist (sm), Certificate 903 > Contract Genealogist, US Navy Casualty POW/MIA Branch > Co-Director, Forensic Genealogy Institute http://www.forensicgenealogists.com/forensic-genealogy-institute.html > Mail address - PO Box 1085, Manvel TX 77578 > Telephone/fax 281-595-3090 > www.forensicgenealogyservices.com/NavyCasualty.html > www.facebook.com/forensicgenealogist > > Certified Genealogist (CG) is a service mark (sm) of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, conferred to associates who consistently meet ethical and competency standards in accord with peer-reviewed evaluations every five years, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Yes, glancing at the business plan, but working on a budget first. Yuk. :-) Dee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Melanie D. Holtz CG" <melanie_holtz@hotmail.com> To: "Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist" <king@forensicgenealogyservices.com> Cc: "Transitional Genealogists forum" <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 12:26:58 PM Subject: Re: [TGF] Thoughts for 2013 Time to double check my website for spelling errors... ;). I agree with everything Dee said. Honesty, and the perception of it, is very important in this field. Intimating credentials you don't have demeans those who have worked so hard to get them as well as demeaning the value of these credentials in the eyes of the public. I am taking this day to reevaluate my business plan...what's working good and what's not. I'm moving in a few new directions which will have to be added to the plan. Anyone else evaluating their business plan today? Sincerely, Melanie D. Holtz, CG Holtz Research Services Melanie@holtzresearch.com www.holtzresearch.com On Jan 1, 2013, at 12:38 PM, "Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist" <king@forensicgenealogyservices.com> wrote: > Today is a good day to add 2013 copyright notices on my websites. This started recirculating some observations from the last couple of months. > > The most prevalent way we "see" up-and-coming professionals these days is electronically through their social media posts and their websites. > > Our website should make us transparent, not create ambiguity. We all need to be careful with how we word the content. We all need another set of eyes to proofread. Here are a few things that convince me a person would not be on my go-to list. > > A couple of pages of terrible spelling, worse grammar and punctuation, and misuse of words or terms stops me from looking any further. > > It's better to clearly list memberships than to say "numerous memberships" without being specific. It makes me suspicious to see that kind of broad statement accompanied by references to organizations to which, upon further checking, the person does not belong. Is this just a lapse in good content, or an attempt to create the perception that the website owner is actually a member of an organization when they are not? > > I REALLY question motive when the person has copied and pasted to their website whole blocks of text from other organizations in what is apparently an attempt to make it appear the person is a member of, is endorsed by, or that the person adheres to the philosophy of that organization. > > Oblique references to credentials are especially irksome. The genealogist has "certifications and accreditations." However, none are listed and the content includes references to ICAPGen or BCG. The name doesn't show up in member rosters and no credentials follow the name. Lapse or intent? > > Affiliates and affiliations. Several websites I've looked at recently used affiliates when the owner meant affiliations. We're affiliated with or affiliates of APG, Ancestry.com, Family Tree DNA, etc. These are not our affiliates. > > Some websites really overstate qualifications and experience. "Our experience and education makes us uniquely qualified" for this particular specialty. No education or experience is defined on the website. I keep a running list of folks I'd never ask to help on a project because queries about education and experience showed the folks had not been honest in their self-promotion. Red flags go up when the site obviously has hype written about the genealogist, BY the genealogist. > > Taking credit for someone else's work or position. A couple of months ago some friends and I found a website in which a person made it appear they were a lead genealogist "working with another genealogist" to solve a military repatriation case. The "other" genealogist was actually the credentialed sub-contracting genealogist who asked this person to do ONE vital record retrieval.... The person also published private info shared by the sub-contractor genealogist to make it easier for the person to retrieve the record. > > These are things that can really hamstring a potential career. And tarnish a reputation among colleagues. Most folks on this list are probably snickering, "Someone would REALLY do these things?" Yep, real examples from real websites. > > best regards and a prosperous New Year, > > Dee > > > > -- > Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist (sm), Certificate 903 > Contract Genealogist, US Navy Casualty POW/MIA Branch > Co-Director, Forensic Genealogy Institute http://www.forensicgenealogists.com/forensic-genealogy-institute.html > Mail address - PO Box 1085, Manvel TX 77578 > Telephone/fax 281-595-3090 > www.forensicgenealogyservices.com/NavyCasualty.html > www.facebook.com/forensicgenealogist > > Certified Genealogist (CG) is a service mark (sm) of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, conferred to associates who consistently meet ethical and competency standards in accord with peer-reviewed evaluations every five years, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Melanie said: > Anyone else evaluating their business plan today? I started Friday to evaluate my business plan, marketing strategies, and operating budgets. Last year was my first one and this year I plan to make my goals more measurable to I can more easily determine what worked and what didn't. This will make it easier to keep tracking records. Eileen _______________________________ Eileen A Souza Eldersburg, MD Old Bones Genealogy LLC info@oldbonesgenealogy.com www.oldbonesgenealogy.com