Footnote Pages

As everyone in the universe knows, Footnote.com yesterday launched a new area on the website called Footnote Pages.  I was a little disappointed because it wasn't quite what I expected.  Of course I really didn't know what to expect so I guess the announcement was a surprise.  After taking it for a test drive, I believe they've developed a useful function.  The biggest plus in my book is that Footnote Pages doesn't involve family trees in anyway.  For many reasons, I just don't like family trees.  I know my attitude goes against the grain, but most family trees I find on the Internet contain very little useful information.  Footnote Pages will basically allow you to develop a full biography on an individual to include a timeline, maps, facts, links, stories and reader comments.  You can develop the page yourself, or open it up for collaboration.  Finally, as we have come to expect with Footnote, the interface is easy to use.

I do have a one complaint.  I created a page for my grandfather Antonio Agazio.  I uploaded a photo, entered some facts, links and was preparing to add a few stories to his page.  Later in the day when I came back to Footnote to enter some more information, my grandfather was nowhere to be seen.  I initially thought it may be attached to my account, but apparently not.  I entered my grandfather's name in the search box and was told it couldn't be found.  I tried a bunch of different search terms, but never found him again.  I just can't seem to figure out how to retrieve the page so I can continue working on it.  Now it's possible the problem is with me, but I have the feeling there's a glitch in the system.  I sure would like to find his page again.

I like Footnote Pages.  It may be the one genealogy "social networking" thing I will actually use...and thank you, Footnote, for not making it a tree.

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Comments

[Peter at Footnote]

Thanks for the nice post and the good feedback.

During the beta period the Pages aren't as integrated with the site as we'd like. The losing a page that you just created phenomenon was a consequence we didn't think through enough before we launched.

We're working on a short term fix, which we hope to roll in the next few days, which will add a "My Pages" link to the drop down menu next to your membername up in the header.

In the mean time, we do plan to index Pages daily, So, your page should start to show up in search within a day or two of creating it.

Sorry for that hassle. Again, thanks for the feedback and we hope you'll send us any more you come up with.

[Teresa]

I love your blog. You are tagged!

See details at http://generationsgoneby.wordpress.com/

[Denise Olson]

I also had a problem returning to a page I created. There is a "Bookmark" option for each page, but I don't see a place that lists my bookmarks. My suggestion is that until they get the bookmark thing working you "Watch" every page you're working on.

While it still needs work, I think Footnote's Pages can be a valuable asset to the site. I agree with you about the tree thing. The "Web World" doesn't need trees to connect people.

I do like the ability to link articles from my blog to the pages. That is a plus. It's still a beta so let them know your concerns/wants. I'm very impressed by the ways Footnote reaches out to its users and offers us a lot of value for our subscription dollars.

[Tim Agazio]

Randolph, I appreciate the help, but this is not my grandfather and this is not the page I created. This "Agazio" is from Michigan and the family comes from a different part of Italy.

Tim

[Randolph Clark]

It would seem to be here.
http://www.footnote.com/page/46254581_anthony_p_agazio/