TGP 26 Thomas MacEntee – The Genealogy Ninja
Featured Guest
Thomas MacEntee
What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get, Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional who’s also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, marketer, network builder and more.
Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started building his own genealogy-related business called High Definition Genealogy. He also created an online community of over 3,000 family history bloggers known as GeneaBloggers. His most recent endeavor, Hack Genealogy, is an attempt to “re-purpose today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy.”
Thomas is a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics and I’ve finally figured out what he does best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration. He believes in success, and that we all succeed when we help each other find success.
He sees things differently than most in the genealogy field; He is almost never content with the status quo. That doesn’t mean he chases after change just for the sake of change; but when he sees an opportunity to improve something and to bring more people into the genealogy sphere, that’s where you’ll find him.
Contact Links
Thomas MacEntee on Twitter – @tmacentee
Other Links
Adventures in Genealogy Education blog by Angela Packer-McGhie
One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now
“Check out the great educational opportunities that you can find on the Adventures in Genealogy Education blog.”
Recommended Book
The Power of Unpopular by Erika Napoletano
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Productivity Tool
Excel Project Management spreadsheet available at Hack Genealogy (there’s a video to help you get started).
Advice
“Do a lot of reading and vary your reading lists.”
Action Item
Thomas MacEntee’s career benefits from his habit of seeking expert sources of information for the topics he follows so he can keep up on the latest developments. He then curates and shares the cream of the crop with the genealogy community so that we all benefit. Our own businesses could benefit from seeking out information from outside experts in areas where we need more knowledge, know-how or expertise.
ACTION:
Choose an area of your business where your knowledge of a subject or skill is weaker than you would like. That could be social media, website design, using mailing lists, filing taxes, or any area where you could use more help. Then spend some time on the internet searching for experts on blogs, websites, YouTube videos or podcasts in iTunes or Stitcher. Find some reputable sources and then spend some time diving into the topic. Better yet, add a new folder to your RSS Reader and start following some of the sources so that you can keep up-to-date on a regular basis. If you find some great sources, share them in the comments.
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