Association of Professional Genealogists - Second Life Chapter

This year I assumed the role of President for the Second Life Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). This group meets once a month on the second Thursday. (That's coming up this Thursday, 12 Jan at 5:30 Pacific time).

We meet in Second Life time, which happens to be the same as California time. So if you hear that we're meeting at 5:30 SL time (Second Life time) that is the same as saying we're meeting at 5:30 Pacific time.

You don't have to be a professional. You might just be thinking about making that transition. This would be a great place to ask all the questions you want of people who have made the transition or are in the process of making it. 

You do not need to be a member of APG to join us. But we hope you will consider joining once you see how great our meetings are.


Meeting in Second Life is the perfect way to attend an APG meeting if you don't live anywhere near where your regional meetings are held or if there is not a chapter in your area. It is also a great way to attend a presentation or discussion about genealogy, sort of like attending a webinar. And what a great place to meet other genealogists and talk about problems your having or things you have discovered, as well as get advice from those more experienced then you. We meet at the "Just Genealogy Fire Pit" for the APG meeting. You can also access a calendar there that tells you about other genealogy events in Second Life. 

It's seems a little weird at first since this all takes place in virtual reality. At first, a lot of folks thought that because our "avatars" meet in a gaming like atmosphere that we were "playing games." Nothing could be further from the truth. While we don't believe that having fun and doing genealogy or being professional have to be mutually exclusive, we do take our genealogy pretty seriously. Once you get over the fact that your avatar has a name different from your "real" name, and the fact that you can be forever young and thin, or a teddy bear if you want, then it's just Genealogy from there; something we are all comfortable with. 

Our secretary/treasurer GenuinelyLAF wrote about Second Life in her article Thankful Thursday - Book Club in Second Life on her blog 1 Ancestry 2 Little Time. In that post there is a link to Dear Myrtle's free webinar "How to get a Second Life" which I highly recommend. Dear Myrtle will teach you all the ins and outs of Second Life. The learning curve is not high, even I managed it. You can also get help with how to get around in Second Life from Genie Weezles on Monday nights at the Fire Pit at 5:00 SL Time. (That's Second Life time...are you catching on?) She teaches the "newbies" how to walk and talk and sit and stuff like that. You can contact her on Facebook (she's Tami Glatz in Real Life) and let her know you need to be transported to the FirePit. She can answer your questions too. You do not need a web cam or a microphone to participate. We use a "chat board" that you type your questions and answers into. 

You can also ask questions on the Facebook page "Genealogists in Second Life." There is always someone willing to help. 


Here is the Link to Second Life if you are ready to jump right in. Don't let the vampire on the cover page put you off. We ignore such things for the most part. Genealogy is enough of a virtual reality for me.


Hope to see a whole lot of new folk there either Monday night or on Thursday night. 


~Kim  aka Saraphina Windrum (in SL)