iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/09/2025

I can't believe that I've got a chance to have a whole crew of genealogy experts research my family tree. This is going to be a blast! Thanks @wikitree.bsky.social !

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 02/09/2025

Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten about this!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 07/08/2025

Yes, it’s going to be very difficult to do reliable model testing and comparisons with OpenAI. To say “I did this with ChatGPT 5” doesn’t really mean anything. And, the “I like the cite stuff” crowd is now even one step further from reproducibility.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 11/02/2025

Yearning for a deep dive into Norwegian church records? Join expert genealogist, and President of Scandinavian Family Research, Torhild Shirley, for a virtual workshop on Feb 15, 10am PT. Hosted by the Victoria Genealogical Society for $21CAD (~$15US/Euro). victoriags.org/content.aspx...

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/02/2025

I'm excited to offer 'Excel for Family Archivists' on Feb 22 - one of my favourite topics! If you have a hard time keeping track of the photos, documents, and heirlooms you hold for your extended family, this workshop will help you preserve them (and your sanity!). victoriags.org/content.aspx...

Woman using Excel to keep track of her photos

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 01/02/2025

Thanks Andrew! It was fabulous to have you join @digitalarchivst.bsky.social and I for the AI seminar today. What an awesome day. We'll have to do it again soon!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 26/01/2025

I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/01/2025

My wife and I watched the show last night. It was fantastic! We both had a couple of full-on belly laughs at the portrayal of "the genealogy nerd." Let's just say... it bore striking similarity to some conversations that have happened in our house. :-)

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 26/12/2024

Few truly understand the tools and techniques that they use; from food supply through to air travel. So, they rely on people they “trust” and rules of thumb that they acquire through their own inexpert experience. This works poorly for new tools. It’s called the “bleeding edge” for a reason.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 23/12/2024

Clearly, where all the cool kids are hanging out!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/12/2024

Oh my. Time to clean out the cabinets. Maybe even a fire sale, by which I mean... start a big bonfire in the backyard kind of fire sale. :-)

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/12/2024

For what it's worth, I still go for the add-on DVD/Bluray player. Although, I can't remember the last time I put something in it. Maybe it is a cup holder, afterall?

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/12/2024

I distinctly remember when a media player became an add on to the base model computer. I've got to admit, even as a citizen of the 'net, I was a bit surprised.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/12/2024

It's weird that a vast array of recording options is contributing to the loss of so much of what was recorded. 78s, 45s, super 8s, cassette, betamax, VHS, to name just a few, are getter harder and harder to find playback devices for. How long before they are "lost"? Digitize and share now!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 12/12/2024

Probate documents can be golden! Glad that hear that you're finding good info. The handwriting isn't too painful, I hope. :-)

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 11/12/2024

I can access it on the mobile app, but the website is dead to me!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 11/12/2024

There will definitely be a "which tools are best for what" session!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 11/12/2024

Did Facebook just fall down, go boom?

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 11/12/2024

It makes so much sense, especially once someone else thought of it. :-) Very insightful on their part!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 10/12/2024

OpenAI made programming easier today! ChatGPT can now create, edit, and run Python scripts—perfect for quick data cleanup or analysis tasks, without the need to setup a development environment. #FamilyHistoryNerds will love this. Coding just got more accessible for everyone. #AI #CodingForAll

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 10/12/2024

The research focuses on identifying the most impactful portion of the context window on the LLM's response. Even though they don't go after the source, it's just a short step from where they left off to try to do a web search for the source material. I can see someone else picking it up from here!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 10/12/2024

OpenAI just expanded the "Canvas" feature in ChatGPT. It now works with more models *and* integrates with CustomGPTs. It’s a game-changer for anyone using AI for research or writing support! Edit directly in a Canvas window—by prompt or by keyboard. Skip the copy-paste-a-palooza!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 10/12/2024

Thankfully, several of the chatbots can now identify the sources of the research that they do on your behalf. Perplexity.ai has provided sources for a while now, and GPTSearch (built into ChatGPT) started doing this last month. You can now research with confidence now... but, check those sources!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 10/12/2024

Reminds me of how I felt at the end of two days researching at the Family Search Library last year. Absolutely gassed!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 09/12/2024

It's super exciting to see OpenAI's long-awaited text to video generation model released to the public. I can't wait to see what stories people will be able to tell with this new tool. Please share your experiments here!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 08/12/2024

This is my favourite Bluesky tip this week!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 08/12/2024

Write the way I say, not how I do!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

It looks like the biggest improvements in ChatGPT o1 over o1-preview are in math and coding. Not surprisingly, these kinds of problems benefit from the reasoning inherent in this model. Challenge out to the family history community to find any use cases that can take proper advantage of o1!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

ChatGPT's o1-preview model is all grown up. It came out of preview today and is now called "o1" (oh one). Early testing confirms that it is faster than o1-preview and also gives better, more reasoned, responses. More important for most, it also accepts files and images as input now! Love this!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

OpenAI released a new subscription tier today that targets the professional/technical/researcher called "ChatGPT Pro." Pro provides advanced reasoning (think "o1" on steroids), more computing power, and unlimited prompts. It'll be interesting to see how much uptake they get at $US 200 per month.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

I'm a huge fan of old software packaging. I had a filing cabinet drawer dedicated to old floppies and discs until my last move, which was a bit of a downsize. I'm quite nostalgic about the old 70/80/90's era fonts (not to mention the physical media).

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

There are two parts to this that I was wondering about. The first is on your side… can you create a subdomain with your service provider? The second is, can the AT protocol authorize against a subdomain? I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work, but… stranger things have happened.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

I love this song, but I’ve never thought of it as a Christmas song. Although, my January visa bill does break my heart sometimes. :-)

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

Interested to hear if this works!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

The person who administers this bluesky account would have to have access to the DNS server at "reclaimtherecords.org" in order to have it as their bluesky handle. So, it's likely that this is the "real" account.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 06/12/2024

This isn’t the best genealogical reason to get more cousins to do a DNA test for you, but it is one of the most entertaining reasons I’ve heard of.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

"generate a map of western Europe with 'London' and 'Paris' indicated on them" vs "Provide me with two free alternatives for creating a map. Both options should allow me to identify specific cities that will show on the map"

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

"How many times does the letter 'r' appear in strawberry?" vs. "Use the word 'strawberry' in a sentence"

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

“Transcribe this handwritten document” vs “review my transcription of the attached document and provide me with the three most likely words every time you see a transcribed word that contains question marks”

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

Skircle is an engagement diagramming tool I just heard about from @dearmyrtle.bsky.social . Reason number 452 that I love Bluesky is that it is open, so anyone can build a cool tool that benefits the community! Skircle shows the people I have interacted with the most over the past 22 days.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 05/12/2024

People often use AI tools for tasks that require accuracy, and are disappointed with the results. They might consider using it for tasks that benefit from direction setting. If hallucination rates are getting in your way, maybe you’re using your AI for the wrong type of task.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 04/12/2024

Learn how to turn your family history facts into compelling stories! Join Prof. @aktange.bsky.social for 'Filling the Silences in Family Stories' - a virtual workshop on crafting family memoirs. See how old photos, letters & recipes can reveal hidden narratives. Dec 7, 10am PT @ VGS. Details:

victoriags.org

Filling the Silences in Family Stories: how to move from data to narrative - Events - Victoria Genealogical Society

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 04/12/2024

This week's episode of the Family History AI Show podcast counts down 2024's top 5 AI breakthroughs in genealogy. Did we miss any? @digitalarchivst.bsky.social and I also explore MyHeritage's viral LiveMemory tool, bringing photos to life using AI + use AI to research ancestral homelands.

podcasts.apple.com

The Family History AI Show

How To Podcast · 19 Episodes · Updated Weekly

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 04/12/2024

This is the best summary of Bluesky’s features I’ve seen yet. Do you have any to add to the list we should know?

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 04/12/2024

Reason number 492 why I like Bluesky. And number 493 is that I get to hear about 492 from one of my favourite authors.

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 04/12/2024

Tremendous news that David Vance recently accepted the position of General Manager for FamilyTreeDNA. He will be a fantastic addition to the already great team of people that bring DNA testing tools to genealogists around the world. blog.familytreedna.com/dave-vance-n...

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 03/12/2024

I spent some quality time doing AI-enhanced research in Germany/Poland. Made some great headway on the project, and had a blast doing it!

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Mark Thompson @makingfamilyhistory.com · 03/12/2024

Massive murmurations are marvellous!

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