Introducing the Curator Team

Sure, Maria. I think that we need take care with foreign people who has potential too. It is out of focus nowadays.

@Maria, perhaps you should put together a Training Manual -Then the rest of us can quietly check for what we don't know we don't know :-)

Eldon Lester Clark,
That's a nice name.
(14th cousin twice removed)

I am repeating this post from 'Welcome Pam Karp' as it is such an unbelievable moment for me, becoming a curator. I still can’t quite get to grips with it. I am flattered, a bit nervous, thrilled, sobered.

A huge thank you goes to all of you that were responsible for my successful candidacy. Two weeks ago I was humbled by Justin proposing my nomination and now even more so by the support that has been exhibited in the outcome of this coveted purple badge. It always seemed so unattainable.

Justin Durand if not for you I would not be writing this. Not only are you father of the curators (in my eyes anyway), you are the consummate actor, relaying so well the uncertainty of my acceptance. You had me totally fooled and quite philosophic that I would not be a successful candidate. Now you can add that to your list of achievements, effectively pulling the wool over my unsuspecting eyes.

Being a curator is a reminder of the trust placed in me to represent the curatorium and Geni family in whatever I do and say. It is not merely a purple badge to hang as a trophy on my wall. You are all the reason I am where I am in Geni. So many people have helped me through the tangled threads of my own learning processes and have responded to my queries with patience, support and encouragement at all times. Please don’t stop now!

A brief About Me:

I speak English, a little Afrikaans, and less Hebrew. I was born and grew up in Johannesburg, and migrated to Sydney 32 years ago with four adult children and now have nine grandchildren. I do not have the expertise of some that specialise in certain areas, but offset that with a willingness to assist with anything. If I don’t know, I will research and find out. Or ask someone.

Unlike many of you I do not have a degree in technology or law. I have instead a positive attitude and range of experiences in various enterprises. Prior to Australia I held a board position in a retail chain of sports and toys stores in Johannesburg that also supplied arms and ammunition. At the time of the US arms embargo against South Africa a creative solution was required to obtain stock from any country willing to sell. Obtaining supplies via a third party transpired to be one of the major initiatives in which I was involved, while in contrast, working in a voluntary capacity at the Johannesburg General Hospital analysing cancer research data. That was a levelling experience.

I left the corporate world 25 years after founding a direct marketing business in Sydney and am now a full time artist, exhibiting annually both here(Sydney) and in Melbourne, with an occasional foray into the New York art scene. Of course Geni now competes strongly for my painting time (and usually wins).

I love every aspect of Geni, most of all I love the wonderful curators and users with whom I have had the honour to work over the past year or so. Some of us are even related: Adam, Yigal, Ofir, Daniel Botes (the MOTHER of your 6th cousin’s husband) Hatte…. still hoping to find a connection, Marvin no path yet, sorry. My closest notable relative is the flamboyant Norman Mailer, my husband’s first cousin.

Being a member of your established curator group is a daunting prospect, one in which I will endeavour to maintain your confidence while supporting Geni.com and its community. I hope my technical skills grow (as I am sure so does Mike Stangel). It is an area where help is always needed and I will no doubt be asking for assistance at some point.

Thank you again, everyone!

Pam, again: Welcome. There is always a technical doubt about whether Geni will approve a curator nomination, but those of us who supported you never had any doubt you would make it.

I listened yesterday morning (after Heritage Day) over the radio on notable South African Australians and their successes. Hopefully they will add yours soon! ( and my son's in Perth! - grappie!)

I hope so too. There are a lot of them in Sydney !

Pam - congratulation on becoming a Curator.

Thank you Peter.

A question: How many Geni Curators are there?

You find the complete list with public and none public information about all curators in the current curators spreadsheet you have access to as being a curator yourself.

Thank you Bjorn. This is a great answer. Only one tiny little part is missing. I know I have access to the spreadsheet. I have entered it in the past. But now I am missing the link to it

Rafi, this is a public discussion and as I said a lot of the information is not public.

Rafi, there are 123 curators.

Pam Karp - welcome!

Thank you so much Lauri.

Rafi,
Geni's Wiki contains a partial list of Curators visible to everybody. The list is partial, because not all Curators want to exposure.
http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Curators_on_Geni
also of interest is the Curators page, which explains who and what we do.
http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Curators

Unfortunately the Geni Wiki for curators is both incomplete and incorrect.

"Unfortunately the Geni Wiki for curators is both incomplete and incorrect".

Who is the person responsible for upkeep and correction? I tried to login and was denied.

J

We don't add curators to that list unless a curator ask to get added or add him/her self.

Private User - As Bjorn mentioned, not everyone wants to be included and not everyone on the list is an active curator since it's voluntary to be added/add oneself and no one maintains it.

I prefer the project myself to the Wiki. In the project we give areas that we work on.

http://www.geni.com/projects/Geni-Curators/9960

Why does a wiki even exist? is it an artifice of years-gone-by and no one can figure out how to make it go away?

J

We have had way too many instances that curators have been harassed by Geni users both on Geni and in other forums, just because they were curators, and one even almost lost her job because people started to call her job.

So: it is voluntarily to get listed public, and unfortunately that project violated the wish to not be listed for several curators.

We have many curators that work silently in the background as a curators and many base most of their contact with users by personal messages. Not seeing them in discussions is not a sign of inactivity.

Wow, Bjorn, those are tragic tales. Thanks for the update.

J

Thank you Shmuel and Hatte to the links to the wikis and Project about the Curators. Geni has so much information that it is easy to not know or lose track of where some of it is.

You're welcome Private User. I find the project very useful. I agree with you and for me the Wikis are the last place I look...

Re the wiki: I use it as a scratchpad area for things that concern more than one person. I find it far more useful than keeping stuff on my own computers - since I know it's shared, I don't have to worry about who sees it, and since it's in the cloud, I don't have to worry about which computer I kept them on, and since I can link from my personal page, I don't lose track of the notes.
I think it's under-utilized. I would be sad to see it go away.

Good points Harald Tveit Alvestrand but it is the case that Geni has an embarrassment of riches -- both in methods to accomplish something and in information / help sources -- and it makes it very complex even for those who are regular users and not technically naive.

Hi I am a new Curator

I am English speaking South African, but can speak Afrikaans as well.

My occupation is Industrial Design Consultant (consumer product development)

My main genealogical research interests are far reaching. I am interested in the early arrivals in the Cape including researching aspects of the Slave trade especially the history those originating from Madagascar. I am interested in the Anglo Boer war, especially the research of the prisoner of war camps overseas particularly in St Helena and Ceylon. I am interested in the early pioneers in Kimberley and Johannesburg. I am interested in researching the Gold rush to Pilgrims Rest and particularly the minting of the Veldpond during the Anglo Boer war.

I am looking forward to collaborating with the Geni Curator family, and from what from all the discussions I have read, I can see they are a great bunch of people, and I am very happy and proud to be part of the group!