Today’s Release: Enhancements to Project Images

Posted March 20, 2012 by Amanda | 11 Comments

Today we are rolling out the latest enhancements to Geni Projects. Now there are even more picture and video options for projects! Read more about these changes below.

Add More Pictures and Videos

You can now add multiple pictures and videos to projects. Click on Photos & Documents to view all the photos, documents and videos tagged to a project.

Here you can easily view all the photos, documents and videos that have been tagged to the project. And now you can add multiple images, documents and videos right from the project itself! Only project collaborators will be able to add, edit and tag/untag photos on a project.

You can also choose which photo to use for the project’s image.

Navigate to the photo page
Click “Set as Project Photo” to set the project image

We have more project enhancements coming soon! For today’s full release notes, please visit the Announcements section in our Help Center.

Post written by Amanda

Amanda is the Social Media Coordinator at Geni. If you need any assistance, she will be happy to help!

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Ken

It is disappointing that Geni is expending this effort on Projects, to give them the same features that already exist in Timeline Events.

If this effort had been redirected to adding revisions to Timeline Events and including them in gedcoms, Geni would have come closer to genealogical conventions and accomplished the same outcome, if it is intended that it is a means of linking many people to the same event.

Projects, which are still described by Geni as a work-space and a forum for people of like interests (which has a temporary and disposable connotation), have now become a permanent and integral part of the tree. I doubt that Projects could ever be included in gedcoms, which means that a now-important part of the tree would be missing.

To my mind, a better result would be achieved by inserting a link to the relevant Timeline Event at the top of the Project, using the Timeline Event for information that is intended to be permanent, and using the Project space for discussions and a forum setting.

http://twitter.com/nataliemac NatalieMac

A project is basically a collection of profiles that share a common thread. That common thread might be a shared event, but it can also be based on occupation, geography, family relationships, beliefs, or any other number of things. The work done in a project is done on the profiles themselves, and is therefore available and preserved outside of the confines of the project.

The advantage of a project is that it allows the collaborators working on those profiles to share a workspace where they can have discussions and organize and plan their work on profiles.The photos, documents, and videos shared as part of a project still can and should be tagged with the names of the profiles mentioned or included in that media, attaching those media items to the profiles as well. Work done as part of a project is not done at the expense of work on profiles – it *is* work on profiles.

Ken

You have just described a Timeline Event. A Timeline Event can be anything from a ship’s voyage, to the occupants of a village. Photos, documents and videos can be added.

Timeline Events, to the best of my knowledge, have been there since the dawn of Geni. Can you explain why this feature has now been duplicated with Projects, and the advantage of using a Project over Timeline Events.

Olav Linno Poëll

… how about renaming the project section “Photos and Documents” (that is actually docs + images + video) to “Media Items”, or something appropriate, thus also enabling the use of a counter for the bulk of the contents? I love counters. You can never go wrong with a counter! Counters FTW!
Dave

I disagree. I like the idea of the Projects. Geni has become a meeting place for my family, both close and distant. To have a place to share events and discussions outside the tree is a good idea! Glad you have it, Geni!

Ken

Dave. This was the original intended purpose of Projects. The extended features that Geni has now included in Projects gives them another purpose, and makes them part of the tree.
Ken

Projects are now being used to group multiple profiles together if there is a common thread. This function was previously served by Timeline Events. Now neither function is fully complete.

geniblog

Hi Ken,

The Timeline shows important events that have happened during a person’s life. These events can include births, marriages, deaths, baptisms etc. People who were present during those events can be tagged to it.

Projects serve as a workspace for users who are interested in working together on a particular area or subject. With projects, users can work on a collection of profiles centered around a common theme. There is no limit as to what a project can be about. If you take a look at a few projects, many will even state the goal they wish to accomplish with the project.

As Natalie pointed out - ”Work done as part of a project is not done at the expense of work on profiles – it *is* work on profiles.”

Ken

Taking ‘The Titanic’ as an example, photos, a detailed description and other items are slowly building up in the Project area. These are clearly intended to be a permanent part of Geni – far more than just a work area and forum.

If a ‘Titanic’ Timeline Event was created, all of these these items could be included, and the passengers/crew tagged to the event. Now, the only way to see the passengers is via the Project, which is being used to link the passengers together. It is no longer just the workspace you are mentioning.

If a profile of a Titanic passenger is viewed, the only way to link to the other passengers is via the Project.

If you see the Projects as just a workspace, then you had better inform Geni members, as it is being used as an integral part of the tree.

Including the Titanic info in a Timeline Event means that it would be automatically contained within the relevant profiles, without reliance on the Project. Presumably, a Project comes to an end and can be removed – it’s just a workspace, isn’t it?