| Favorite Finds on Social Media |
| The term “social media” can sometimes carry a connotation of chaos and general unpleasantness. However, as the social media editor here at Family Tree Magazine, I’ve had the pleasure of discovering a few accounts that never fail to brighten our feeds. What follows are just a few of the accounts I’ve found that are informative, nice to look at and make good use of the platforms themselves. First up: the National Archives. The National Archives is one of my favorite accounts to follow on Twitter, and one of the main reasons why is their monthly Archive Hashtag Party. This is a monthly Twitter event the New York Times called “The Record-Keepers Rave.” The theme for May was #ArchivesTrees and so we were treated to a frenzy of tree-related tweets from archival institutions, some of them family trees! (See here, here and here.) Another reason I like following the National Archives is their regular HistoryHub tweets, in which they share a user-submitted question related to current events or observances (see the most recent here). There are plenty of Instagram accounts that offer genealogy research tips (Findmypast had a good one recently). However, my favorite accounts on Instagram are the ones that are first and foremost visually stunning. As you scroll through accounts like the Newberry Library or the Getty Museum, you'll be treated to beautiful closeups of art, books, photos and more. You'll also find some historical tidbits, like how to read a medieval calendar or see microfilm being spliced together. If you're into maps, another beautiful account on Instagram worth following is the David Rumsey Map Collection. Finally...TikTok. Yes, TikTok. The social media platform that makes me, a millennial, feel old! Family Tree is relatively new to TikTok but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the historical/genealogical gems I’ve found there. For example, check out Caitlin Abrams (@manicpixiemom) who posts narrated gravestone cleaning videos that are informative, relaxing and just a pleasure to watch. (We profiled her for our May/June issue!) For more of our favorite genealogy accounts, check out the articles below. Happy exploring! |
