Multi-media me!

It just struck me that I am communicating with the outside world in a whole variety of ways right now. Apart from writing this blog, my first post as one of  the contributors to The National Archives official blog will appear on Monday.

This morning I answered questions from members of the public as part of The National Archives Live Chat pilot scheme. And if America thinks it saw the back of me when I boarded my plane home last week, think again. Tonight I shall be one of the guests on Geneabloggers Radio, talking to tonight's host, my good friend Dear Myrtle, in an edition called  'Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor: 19th Century US Immigration'. (I'll be the one in the jammies, as it's the middle of the night in my time zone).

This will be a live session, but I'm also used to being recorded, and some of the talks I have given as part of my job live on as podcasts at The National Archives new media hub where you can listen to or download individual podcasts, or subscribe to the series via iTunes or RSS feed. Using the media hub you can search by subject or presenter, and when you have listened you can mark each podcast by clicking on the star ratings, or leave comments.  

Meanwhile, I am working on a presentation for next week's 'Who Do You Think You Are? - Live' event at Olympia, where I shall also spend some time giving one-to-one consultations in the 'Ask the Experts' area. Back at the day job, I take my turn at answering email and phone enquiries, as well as shifts at the enquiry points in the Research and Enquiries Room.

Some of my deathless prose also appears in old-fashioned print, too. I wrote a piece in the Irish Family and Local History Handbook to be launched in the UK at Who Do You Think You Are? Live, and (fingers crossed) a new book which Dave Annal and I wrote will also be out then. I'll post the details when I know it's definitely going to happen. I have written for a number of family history magazines, although nothing very recent. I have been quoted in a few, though, and contributed the odd paragraph, so I think I can claim magazines as a medium too.

If there is a moral to this tale, it is that THERE IS NO ESCAPE. You are probably safe watching the TV or listening to the radio, but there are very occasional fleeting glimpses or soundbites of me there too.

But apart from being an excuse for a relentless round of shameless self-promotion, this is a way of making a serious point too; there are now so many ways that we can send and receive genealogical information, ther must be at least one that is available to you. And of course when I hit the 'Publish post' button, notifications will be sent out via Facebook, Twitter and Google+...