Announcing: New User Profiles on FamilyTreeCircles
Scott_J
FamilyTreeCircles.com has been around for over 7 years now, and has been in a constant state of development.
I'll be the first to admit that most poorly crafted area of FamilyTreeCircles has been the user profile pages. And as I've been making improvements to the platform, I'd also say that it's been the most neglected.
This week I've taken steps to resolve that with an entirely newly designed user profile.
### Your Own Home Page
Your user profile on FamilyTreeCircles is now *your* genealogy homepage. Your own journals and posts are featured prominently in chronological order, newest first. Until now, your own journals were relegated to a list, and reading them was an exercise in clicking around a lot.
Now your homepage is a very easy-to-read list of all your journals. As you post journals, your latest ones appear at the top.
This makes it very easy for other FamilyTreeCircles members, and even people searching the Internet for the information that you write about, to find and read your journals.
That means more people see your journals, which means that your information and your own queries are seen by more people, resulting in a higher chance that you'll connect with distant cousins and researchers looking for the same ancestors.
Here's what the new profile page looks like:
<img src="https://img.skitch.com/20111123-rx8i4dn9ccer5esjpt8hymdh6c.png">
### Hey, This Sounds and Looks Like a Blog
Essentially, your FamilyTreeCircles profile page is a blog. Blog comes from the words Web Log. A blog is quite simply a **web** page containing a **log** of your writing. Web log...weblog...'blog.
The writing activity that you do posting Journals on FamilyTreeCircles is no different than that of "bloggers" that we hear so much about.
Now in addition to how your journals were seen before in the activity lists, your information is organized like a blog and you get all the benefits of blogging:
* **Research**: By getting your and your genealogy research out there, people who are researching the same ancestors will find you. You may even break down some brick walls just by posting them for others to find and help you out.
* **Sharing**: Posting your genealogy information helps others, and many times it comes back
* **Connecting**: There are countless connections that people make with distant and lost relatives through publishing a blog.
* **Community**: The genealogy blogging community is a friendly, helpful group of genealogists, professionals and hobbyists alike. By starting a blog of your own
* **Fun**: Writing can be a fun, creative way to express yourself. Some people even think it's therapeutic.
The good news is that just by signing up for FamilyTreeCircles, you now have a blog.
How cool does that make you?
<a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/">View your new profile here.</a> Or click on the "Your Home" link in the header.
### Examples?
Here are a few great FamilyTreeCircles profiles to take a look at for inspiration:
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/janilye/">Janilye</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/ngairedith/">Ngairedith</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/tonkin/">Tonkin</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/poorone/">PoorOne</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/mrdarlin/">MrDarlin</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/Popey/">Popey</a>
* <a href="http://www.familytreecircles.com/u/Scott_J/">Scott_J</a> (that's me!)
by Scott_J
Profile | 
Research |
Contact | Subscribe | Block this user on 2011-11-23 13:09:56
Scott Jangro is the owner of FamilyTreeCircles.com and has documented roots back to Mayflower passengers Stephen Hopkins and William Brewster. If you're wondering what he's doing when he's mysteriously absent, here's some links to other stuff he's responsible for: about.me/jangro.
Comments
janilye on 2011-11-26 17:42:49There is one thing about it 'I don't like".
I want to find a certain journal written by another member about 2 months ago.
I click on the name and I can't find that person's research list.
It brings up their journals, which is fine when that person only writes a few but is hard going when over a month it can be 50 or 100.
If I am looking for a journal of my own I am able to click on 'the old way' and alphabetise but I can't seem to be able to do that with other people's.
The other thing is the button 'Your Home'
I keep clicking that when I don't want my home I want your's.
Scott_J on 2011-11-26 18:04:00OK, thanks for the feedback Jan. I will work on that.
As long as you guys tell me what you don't like, I can try to address it. :)
ngairedith on 2011-11-26 18:56:16jan, what IF, when you are looking for a certain journal, you search for some content that you want, for example,just say :) you were looking for Dongara Cemetery.
If you put Dongara up in the search box it will short list every journal with the word Dongara in it (which just happens to be 83 at this time).
journal number 41 and journal no 72 then show as likely ...
maybe Scott will come up with another way but this is a good interim
janilye on 2011-11-26 19:03:42The name is Byrne and I know you wrote something about them. I tried the search box and my eyes are still rolling around.
janilye on 2011-11-27 02:54:02I figured out how to do it. Click on the heading of a journal in the profile. ( Instead of the id name)At the bottom of the journal where the comments go is 'Research'
So simple when you know how-- now I feel silly
ngairedith on 2011-11-27 03:10:11mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !!
janilye on 2011-11-27 03:20:54what's the mmmmmmmmm for ng. I know it's a roundabout way but it's a solution.
tonkin on 2011-11-27 03:32:50Never swim across a river when there is a bridge.
janilye on 2011-11-27 03:40:45okay here's another one with it all under control! I couldn't find the bridge Tonkin. By the way I thought they must have locked you in that library for the weekend. Did you find what you were looking for?
ngairedith on 2011-11-27 03:44:48let's go meet in the chat room you 2, that's what it's for
janilye on 2011-11-27 03:45:06I wonder does Scott gets an email from himself every time we type on here.
Good reason to get the chatroom up and running Scott.
janilye on 2011-11-27 03:48:12where is it?
I forgot what page
Scott_J on 2011-11-27 08:01:53Sorry I missed you guys this morning.
I had put a link to the chatroom in the Help/FAQ page.
Scott_J on 2011-11-27 10:01:13I've added a few updates to the profile this morning, addressing some of these issues...
1. You can now view a member's posts in their profile in "list" or "full" format. List format is much easier to scan, like the old "Research" page that you mentioned above, Jan.
2. The Journals tab can now be sorted by date or alphabetically.
3. I've added a "Favorites" tab, listing any posts that you've favorited.
janilye on 2011-11-27 13:12:47Wow thank you Scott.That's great.
One other thing is (I know I'm a pain) but the journals on my profile page are showing – instead of a dash between birth - date, like this 1875 – 1958 and a of ? in front of the ? sign. It is only on my profile page when the story heading is clicked to view they go away.
Thank you Scott :)
ngairedith on 2011-11-27 13:17:19re the Journals & Posts: now THAT is a very useful addition Scott, the list format (in alphabetical order) is such an easy way to find journals you're looking for
Scott_J on 2011-11-27 13:21:56I do see that Jan, and I'm struggling to understand why the characters are showing like that in some places, but not others.
I'll figure it out! Thanks for your patience.
1bobbylee on 2011-11-27 15:05:47I've got confidence in you Scott! You will figure it out. You are one tough, computer intelligent Hombre... I knew the answer all along but have enjoyed immensely these comments. If anyone believes all along that I had the answer, "Raise you hands" What?? Only my hand went up. Oh well....
Scott_J on 2011-11-27 15:23:18My hand went up Bob. ;)
1bobbylee on 2011-11-27 16:52:40Your hand should not have gone up Scott... I am struggling with computer illiteracy. Hee Hee
Scott_J on 2011-11-27 17:39:05I had an itch.
1bobbylee on 2011-11-27 19:13:46Ha Ha I won't ask the question I'm thinking of.
Scott_J on 2011-11-30 12:02:28I figured out the problem with the funny characters (no, not you Bob -- the typographical characters), so Jan, your posts should display properly now.
Thanks to katmcghee1951 for unknowingly nudging me in the right direction to figure it out. :-)
janilye on 2011-11-30 17:43:04Thank you Scott and KatMcGhee1951.
One other thing! (don't roll your eyes) When I click my 'profile', it goes straight to journals and posts and seems to skip over another page, which flashes but does not hold. Is this right? Jan
Scott_J on 2011-11-30 18:20:41It is right, Jan. The page you're landing on /u/janilye/ replaces the old profile page /user/janilye/. you probably see it passing through your old profile page to the new one.
I'll be getting things cleaned up so that jump doesn't happen.
janilye on 2011-11-30 19:19:37Well it's all good then. Thanks Scott, I'm happy. :)
tonkin on 2013-03-18 03:41:17Bumped up for new members.
tonkin on 2013-08-13 06:58:18Bumped up for new members.
janilye on 2015-01-01 20:04:08Welcome all new Members.
Share the results of your research.
Remember to include your sources.
Gepeto on 2015-01-02 23:47:49I know I'm only new here and still finding my way around but how did you pick my Profile ? The one showing is the one I replaced.
If it is going to stay there then that is okay, but is the other (Pinochio) now Gone for good?
janilye on 2015-01-03 00:42:54