Category Archives: Search

Findmypast.co.uk To Publish Canterbury Cathedral Records Online

findmypast.co.uk, a leading UK family history website, has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Canterbury Cathedral Archives to publish historic records from the archive online. The first phase of the Canterbury Collection project will see an online version of the parish registers of the historic Archdeaconry of Canterbury, to be published in the coming weeks at findmypast.co.uk.

An estimated 270,000 images containing over a million entries will be published on the website, covering parish churches from a wide expanse of East Kent, including:
– the city of Canterbury
– the towns of Faversham, Wye and Elham
– Thanet
– towns along the east Kent coast stretching from Whitstable in the north round to Hythe in the south

The launch has been timed to coincide with the temporary closure of Canterbury Cathedral Archives for refurbishment, so that family historians and local historians can continue to enjoy access to these fascinating records until the Archives reopens in autumn 2012.

From the initial online launch in February, visitors to the findmypast.co.uk website will be able to browse through the scanned pages of the parish records to search for their ancestors. At the same time, findmypast.co.uk will start to transcribe the records, with a view to creating an index and making them fully searchable on the website later this year.

Paul Nixon, Content Licensing Manager for findmypast.co.uk, said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing these invaluable records from Canterbury Cathedral Archives go live on findmypast.co.uk, strengthening the site’s position as the natural home for UK parish records.”

Canterbury Cathedral Archivist Cressida Williams, added: “Working with findmypast has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to expand access to these records to a worldwide audience. This resource will be a great asset for anyone with an interest in the history of this part of Kent.”

The Canterbury Collection will join an impressive array of UK parish records at findmypast.co.uk, including records from Manchester Archives, Cheshire Archives, Plymouth & West Devon Record Office and Welsh Archives, in addition to over 40 million parish records from family history societies throughout the UK in partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies.

Anyone wishing to be notified when the Canterbury Collection becomes available can register online at findmypast.co.uk to receive a newsletter.

Via EPR Network
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Facebook Changes to Business Pages

SEOwhat.com, a national leader in internet marketing, web design, and search optimization company, that specializes in both on-page and off-page optimization is recommending that online retailers stay abreast of the continuing and constant changes to Facebook rules and regulations to ensure sales are not affected by non-compliance. Staying up-to-date of the adjustments to the policies Facebook enforces to the places pages is a necessary part of business these days. Social media marketing is a key part of success for many internet retailers.

The most recent changes to Facebook Pages may affect business negatively if they do not comply. Review the Page Management to make sure the business name accurately reflects the Page content. The name cannot have symbols or all capitals letters, except for acronyms. The name needs to be simply just the name of the business. Name Changes and Migrations cannot lead to an unintended connection, nor can they result in re-categorizing a Page, this may result in a loss of “friends” when a business would like to combine pages.

One of the biggest changes that will affect businesses on Facebook is to the covers. They are a popular place for promotions and Facebook has tightened up these restrictions, they can no longer include price or purchase information. Contact information cannot be included or any references to actions such as, “Like” or“Share”. Promotions must be administered with Apps on Facebook.com. These rules and regulations can be confusing to the business owner and they change frequently. SEOwhat.com has experts in social media services to help ensure the businesses page on Facebook complies with these changes and keeps the client up to date with changes that are coming. Noncompliance can result in the page being rejected or removed from Facebook.

Via EPR Network
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SEO Agency Generates New Visitors For Luxury Hotel Resort

Online marketing agency QueryClick has helped a luxury hotel resort dramatically improve its Natural Search returns by driving over 30,000 new unique visitors to its website between 2011-2012.

One of the specialities of the search marketing firm is to help businesses get better results online through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which ensures that their clients’ websites appear higher and perform better when Internet users make searches on Google.

The Edinburgh-based agency also helped generate 33,824 organic visits to the Rockliffe Hall website – an increase of 50% compared with the previous year. Of those visits, 3,883 came through on non-brand terms compared with 1,999 during the same period of the previous year. This represents a 94% increase in traffic from non-brand, organic keyphrases.

Chris Liversidge, founder of Queryclick, said: “We’re delighted with the success of our work with Rockliffe Hall since we started working on the search engine optimisation of their website in August last year.

“We helped with the design and launch of their new site at the beginning of December and since then it’s gone from strength to strength.

“The site has already reported a significant rise in total and organic traffic and in January the site achieved the highest level of traffic in 12 months with a total of over 48,500 hits with over 20,000 new visitors which is a massive achievement.”

Rockliffe Hall is the newest and most exciting 5-star luxury hotel resort to open in North East England and is set on a magnificent restored 18th century estate on the banks of River Tees. With there being strong competition in the hospitality industry success is increasingly linked to online performance.

Over the course of the campaign Queryclick ensured that Rockliffe Hall achieved a total of 82,926 organic SEO visits between January and March this year which is an increase of 23,008 during the same period in 2011.

Chris Liversidge added: “The results speak for themselves here and when you consider that since the new website went live in December there has been over 97,000 organic visits compared to 73,000 in the three months prior to launch, the value our expertise has brought the business is invaluable.”

“Going forward we’re eager to further improve website functionality and help increase traffic levels and conversion rates by implementing E-Commerce tracking, as well as completing outstanding page title and meta description updates.”

Via EPR Network
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Google To Move Underwater And Take Internet Surfers For A Dive, Says SEO Company SachaMango

From September, the Catlin Seaview Survey, run by the University of Queensland in conjunction with insurers the Caitlin Group, will take to the water to conduct 360 degree panoramic filming of the greatest reef on earth, with Google making all 50,000 images available on Google Results, Google Earth and Google Maps through a new feature in Panaramio. There will also be a dedicated YouTube channel and live streams of the expedition team at work.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg, Director of the Global Chane Institute and Chief Scientist on the project, said “The Catlin Seaview Survey comprises a series of studies which will reveal to the public one of the last frontiers on Earth: the oceans.

“For the first time in history, we have the technology to broadcast the findings and expedition through Google. Millions of people will be able to experience the life, the science and the magic that exists under the surface of our oceans. This project is very exciting.”

The survey will take place in three stages; a shallow reef survey of 20 sites across the2300km of the reef, a deep water survey using robots to depths of 30-100 metres, and finally a mega-fauna survey that will explore how green turtles, tiger sharks and manta rays migrate in response to ocean temperatures.

A spokesperson for SEO Company SachaMango Media, said: “This is a great example of how technology can be used to not only to help make ground-breaking research a reality, but also to educate and inspire the public to learn more about the underwater world around us. It forms an important link between scientific knowledge and public awareness, and gives people an opportunity to see rare sites that they might never get to see unless they actually visited Australia and went underwater themselves. The project will allow us all to go for a virtual dive without ever leaving the comfort of our own armchairs!

The survey is set to begin in September, although the project’s website already has some images from initial equipment testing and a demo of how the panaramio images will be viewed. However, there are already plans underway to document some of the most important oceans in the rest of the world.

“It’s no surprise that Google has got involved,” said the spokesperson.” As the biggest occupier of search space in the UK – some 93% – and with the features like Google Results, Earth and Maps already popular with the public, it makes sense they should be the partner of choice to develop the applications needed on its advanced platforms to view the incredible images that will come from the project.”

Via EPR Network
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Findmypast.ie announces 1.2 million Irish Petty Session Records now searchable online

findmypast.ie, the Irish family history website, has launched the Petty Sessions Order Books (1850-1910) online for the first time, one of the greatest untapped resources for those tracing their Irish roots.

The original Petty Sessions records are held at the National Archives of Ireland were scanned by Family Search and have now been transcribed and made fully searchable by findmypast.ie. They cover all types of cases, from allowing trespass of cattle to being drunk in charge of an ass and cart. These were the lowest courts in the country who dealt with the vast bulk of legal cases, both civil and criminal. This first batch of entries contains details of 1.2 million cases, with most records giving comprehensive details of the case including: name of complainant, name of defendant, names of witnesses, cause of complaint, details of the judgement, details of a fine if any, and details of a sentence passed down if any. Another 15 million cases are to follow throughout 2012.

This first batch of records is particularly useful for areas of the country for which family history records are notoriously sparse such as Connaught and Donegal.

The reasons for cases being brought before the Petty Sessions Court are incredibly varied, but unsurprisingly the most common offence was drunkenness, which accounted for over a third of all cases. The top five offences tried before the courts were:
Drunkenness – 33%
Revenue/Tax offences – 21%
Assault – 16%
Local acts of nuisance – 5%
Destruction of property – 4%

The nature of these cases was significantly different from those in England. Figures show that the rate of conviction for drunkenness was three times greater, four times greater for tax offences, 65% higher for assault, and twice as likely for “malicious and wilful destruction of property” than that of our nearest neighbours*.

The records are full of the minor incidents which are representative of the vast majority of cases which were brought before the Resident Magistrates. For example, Michael Downey of Athlone, Co. Westmeath was charged with being “drunk while in charge of an ass and cart in a public area” and Pat Curley of Cloonakilla, Co. Westmeath who was charged with causing “malicious injury to a bicycle”.

Brian Donovan, Director of findmypast.ie, commented: “These court records open up a unique window into Irish society in the 19th century. Most families interacted with the law in one way or another, being perpetrators or victims of petty crime, resolving civil disputes, to applying for a dog licence. The records are full of the trauma and tragedy of local life, as family members squabbled, shop keepers recovered debt, and the police imposed order. These records help fulfil our mission to provide more than just names and dates, to get to the stories of our ancestors’ lives.”

Via EPR Network
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Ikroh SEO Rank 6th Best Enterprise SEO Company In February 2012

Ikroh SEO has once again ranked 6th on this month’s list of the best enterprise SEO companies. topseos release monthly rankings lists following rigorous evaluations, delivering a list of the best of the best internet marketing vendors working in the SEO industry in the United Kingdom.

“It is always a great honor for Ikroh SEO to be presented with such an acknowledgement. We hold topseos in high regard and being part of this ranking is an indication of our hard work and efforts,” said Daniel Wright, Managing Director.

Ikroh SEO has been included in this list for some time due to our consistent performance and the delivery of superior services to our clients. As always, this doesn’t mean Ikroh SEO are planning to stand still – they intend to continue to strive to be even better. The staff at Ikroh SEO prize customer service and want their clients to be happy with the services they receive as well as the way those services are delivered. Despite being the smallest company in the top ten, that definitely doesn’t reflect the size of Ikroh’s aspirations, so they have every intention of continuing to move up that list!

Via EPR Network
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New Player in the Market Will Compete with LinkedIn

Rumors have abounded about Masterseek.com’s professional profile site’s imminent introduction to the World Wide Web. Still under development, it boasts the world’s largest business database with over 145 million personal professional profiles from around the world—that’s more than LinkedIn which is currently estimated to have just over 125 million professional profiles.

What makes Masterseek’s profile database so competitive?
Masterseek is already the largest B2B search engine, with 40 million more businesses listed than the nearest competitor and growing at a faster pace. Masterseek.com’s service is free, like most similar databases. Where it differes is in its ability to allow businesses full control over their profile. In addition the actual search functions are more intuitve, with more accurate local results or global results if that is the user’s search preference.

This is what has attracted so many businesses, and so many professionals to the website. Upon launch Masterseek.com’s professional profile section is fully expected to perform as well as the business search portion of the site. It seems to be the natural evolution of a business search engine, that it should incorporate professional profiles as well. However other sites have not done so, at least not to this degree. There in lies the power of Masterseek, and why it is expected to replace LinkedIn at some point in the near future.

How will Masterseek’s professional profiles work?
Currently it is very similar to LinkedIn it looks like. As of now the primary difference is in the numbers. Masterseek already has more, and if past growth is any evidence it will soon be one of the new places to search for professionals. Masterseek’s site is also free and it gives users control over their own profile. It is expected to use Masterseek’s primary search engine application from the business listing side of the site. If so expect it to have faster, more complete, more specific and more accurate search functionality both locally or for any specified geographic search.

We got a hold of Masterseek President Rasmus Refer who preferred not to comment on current plans,

“We are working on many new activities with the objective to become the largest global provider of business information, but cannot tell you more about our plans right now” –Rasmus Refer

Despite details being kept close to the vest, we have dug up a number of key points:

• Masterseek will have more profiles right off the bat as mentioned, 145M to LinkedIn’s 125M.
• It will use a different search platform, if it is the same as the Business Listings section it will be faster, more accurate and more comprehensive locally and globally.
• Listings will be 100% free.
• Those making a profile will have as much or more control to share information than those using LinkedIn.

Via EPR Network
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The Google Homepage Redesign Explained

QueryClick advise users on the recent changes to the Google homepage as part of its ongoing revamp.

Google has unveiled a new look for its homepage in what is being described as one of the firms ‘biggest changes to date of its homepage’. The revamp, which has been rolled out to a few selected users, has been designed to showcase all of Google’s other products to users – without having taking up too much of the homepage.

Christopher Liversidge, Managing Director of QueryClick explains: “The revamp of Google’s homepage is something that’s been around for a few weeks, and essentially it has been created in order to streamline and ‘tidy up’ Google’s homepage. Currently a user may see the ‘revamp strip’ along the top of the Google homepage, and when this strip is clicked, it reveals seven different Google products, such as Maps, YouTube, Images and Google+ to the user, with the option to reveal another eight related topics, including Calendar, Translate and Reader.”

This revamp, which Google has explained has been created in order to promote all of Google’s services to users in the most accessible and tidiest way possible, unlike some of the other search engines available, such as Yahoo’s infamously ‘busy’ design. Users will also be able to navigate to certain Google services much more easily as this redesign means a maximum of two clicks is all that is needed for a user to move from the homepage to another Google page, such as News or YouTube.

Christopher continues: “The Google homepage had undergone various redesigns since 1998, but the homepage has always stuck to the original format, that is the Google logo, the search bar and the list of all Google’s other services. However, this is the first time that Google has moved away from this design, and it;s very likely that these changes will have come about because of user feedback and case studies, and at QueryClick we know how important SEO case studies are to the search industry, so we’re really looking forward to seeing how this redesign will be received by users.”

Via EPR Network
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Beyonce’s Baby Bump, Justin Bieber and Tigerblood: What the World Tweeted in 2011

A recent industry survey has revealed the most popular subjects for Twitter users last year, but what does this mean for 2012, ask QueryClick.

With 2012 just beginning, new online industry figures have revealed the topics that dominated Twitter throughout 2011 – and the results are rather surprising. The results, which were put into an infographic by the financial advice website, FrugalDad have revealed that 2011 was truly the year of the celebrity on Twitter, with events such as the singer Beyonce Knowles announcing her pregnancy at the MTV Music Awards generating an incredible 8,696 tweets per second.

Christopher Liversidge, Managing Director of the UK SEO agency, QueryClick comments: “2011 really was a very interesting year for Twitter, as a number of breaking news stories, such as the Japanese tsunami in March and the revolution in Egypt, were widely reported on using Twitter,in fact the hashtag #Egypt was the most used hashtag last year. However, celebrities dominated Twitter throughout most of 2011, with Justin Bieber’s tweets being the most retweeted, with 5 million retweets on average, compared to Barack Obama’s tweets receiving an average of 250,000 retweets.”

In terms of celebrities and Twitter, 2011 was the year that Charlie Sheen joined the social networking site, and broke the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers, as after joining on the 1st of March, Sheen hit an impressive 1.2 million followers in a mere 25 hours and 17 minutes. The second most popular hashtag of the year was Sheen’s infamous #tigerblood catchphrase, which was closely followed by the #Japan hashtag.

Christopher continues: “While last year was a very interesting year in terms of politics, international events and revolutions, it would appear that users are still using Twitter to follow their favourite celebrities. While this is probably one of the best ways to find out what famous people are doing, and stay on top of all the breaking gossip, it’s also a great tool for breaking news stories and other big events. Last year was a very important year for the social network, and while it has been dominated by famous names, we at QueryClick believe that in 2012 Twitter will be seen as a more reliable news source for users, and that it will will help them find out about important world events, which is a great use of this unique social network.”

Via EPR Network
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Findmypast.ie Launches Family Tree Builder

findmypast.ie has become the first Irish family history website to offer its users family tree builder software, greatly enhancing its offering to Irish family history enthusiasts.

One of the most important elements in researching family history is the ability to form a visual representation of the years of hard work and research. Findmypast.ie’s free online application allows users to easily create a family tree from scratch and add some of 10 million records now available on findmypast.ie to their existing research.

When compared to using traditional software, findmypast.ie’s web-based program presents many advantages such as allowing users to access the latest version of their family tree from any computer and share their family tree with invited members of their family or fellow researchers. Some of the main features of the software include:
– Add, edit, update and delete relations
– Add partners, parents and children
– Members can view their immediate family, ancestors, descendants or whole family tree

This is merely the first step in findmypast.ie’s development of a fully integrated family tree program on which users will be able to store photos and historical references, helping to preserve the story of their ancestors. Future features will also include greatly enhanced social functionality, such as the ability to search other users’ trees and inviting other users to collaborate on a tree.

Cliona Weldon, General Manager of findmypast.ie, comments: “Our family tree building software is equally adept at helping the novice family historian and experienced genealogist alike to store all the names on their family tree in one place. We’ve made the web based program as easy to use as possible and most importantly it’s free.”

Via EPR Network
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Clickwork Media Has Search Visibility Covered For The Fitted Wardrobe Company

The Fitted Wardrobe Company, a leading provider of custom fitted wardrobes, has today announced it has selected Clickwork Media, an SEO Agency based in Manchester specialising in providing tailored SEO training and link building services, to spearhead its SEO Campaign.

The Fitted Wardrobe Company, led by CEO Mark Assani, has a careful focus on not only providing bespoke fitted Wardrobes which integrate perfectly into their customers rooms, but also their lifestyles, too.

They offer functional solutions to customers in London and set themselves aside in the marketplace by offering a professional standard of service every step along the way, a service which is tailored precisely to the needs and wants of their customers.

“We chose Clickwork Media because we have become increasingly aware and fine tuned to the fact that our customers are searching for our services online – we know the customer-base is there, and we know that with the help of Gareth and the team at Clickwork Media, we will be better positioned to tap into the online market and generate more sales through our web presence.”

The Fitted Wardrobe Company is a brand with a careful emphasis on customer satisfaction – they provide customers with the ultimate storage solution, and one that is carefully crafted to meet their exact lifestyle and aesthetic requirements.

“We were delighted when Mark got in touch, simply because we have experience working in similar industries in the past, and we are very confident that we can help Mark and the team increase the visibility of TheFittedWardrobe.com in search and ultimately, make their website more profitable”, said Gareth Mailer, an SEO Professional at Clickwork Media.

“We know and understand the challenges which are presented in-front of us in this niche and we look forward to ultimately devising a strategy which will position TheFittedWardrobe.com not only ahead of the competition, but in a position to drive more sales. That, after all, is the ultimate aim for any SEO Campaign”.

Via EPR Network
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idott Choose Clickwork Media to Boost Online Visibility

idott, a leading IT support company based in Manchester, has today announced that it has tasked Clickwork Media, an SEO agency based in Manchester specialising in link building services and Search Engine Optimisation Training, with its visibility in search.

idott specialises in providing a range of IT support services to clients based in Manchester– these services includes the provision of small business servers, cloud services and security services. Idott has set itself aside in a crowded marketplace by always putting the customer at the heart of IT support, and crafting it solutions according to customer demands and needs. It has tasked Clickwork Media with cultivating and expanding its already powerful offline reputation into the online space.

“The decision to choose Clickwork Media was a simple one – we have seen the results Gareth and the team has achieved for their clients, and we want to share in that success”, said Lee Wrall, CEO of idott.co.uk. “We know that our industry is a very crowded marketplace online, and more than anything else we were drawn by Gareth’s sensible and sales-focussed approach of targeting the granular level of search”.

idott.co.uk is a relatively new web presence but has been set-up with everything in place to maximise the potential of an SEO Campaign. “We are delighted to have Lee on-board. Above all else we appreciate the vision he has for idott.co.uk online, and we know that with the right strategy in place, he and the rest of the team at idott.co.uk can achieve the visibility they deserve from their web presence” Said Gareth Mailer, an SEO professional at Clickwork Media.

“It’s never easy starting with a brand new website in such a congested marketplace, however with Lee’s standard of service and his enthusiasm for developing the visibility of idott.co.uk online, we are really looking forward to making the campaign a massive success and developing a long-term relationship with the idott.co.uk team”.

Via EPR Network
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Warren Phillips Web Design Chooses Clickwork Media to Manage Online Visibility

Warren Phillips Web Design, a leading web design company in Manchester, has announced today that it has chosen Clickwork Media, an SEO training and link building Company based in Chorlton, Manchester, to manage its visibility in search.

WarrenPhillipsWebDesign.co.uk has already established some visibility around some of its main target terms in search e.g. “web design Manchester”, however the decision to choose Clickwork Media was borne out of a desire to build upon this and really ramp up the effort to increase visibility around a wider range of terms.

“We decided to choose Clickwork Media for a number of reasons – we have worked with other SEO Companies in the past, but in this instance the decision was made not just on the quality of the link building packages, but also on the training element”, said Warren Phillips, CEO of WarrenPhillipsWebDesign.co.uk.

“We had seen Gareth and the team at Clickwork Media before, they came up for quite a few search terms when we were last in the market for an SEO Company – the decision was made after we got in touch, and we’re looking forward to starting what we’re sure will be a successful and mutually profitable SEO Campaign”.

WarrenPhillipsWebDesign.co.uk has undergone redevelopment over the last few weeks, and in particular the marketing strategy has been expanded with a revised focus on both Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media.

“We were delighted to hear from Warren and the team at Warren Phillips Web Design. One of the main things which made Warren stand out is that he got the “process” from the very beginning and he understands what needs to be done to launch and maintain a successful SEO Campaign”, said Gareth Mailer, Head of SEO at Clickwork Media.

“We are really enthusiastic about getting the campaign up and running and watching as the results unfold over the coming months of the campaign”.

Via EPR Network
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Findmypast.co.uk Reveals Unusual Discoveries From Cheshire ‘s Local Records

Findmypast.co.uk has announced several unique discoveries found in the newly available local records from Cheshire. Workhouse records, parish registers, bishop’s transcripts and electoral registers from Cheshire went online for the first time ever recently in what findmypast.co.uk has titled ‘The Cheshire Collection.’ The collection is a series of over 10 million historic records provided by Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, covering over 350 years of history.

Some of the most interesting findings contained within The Cheshire Collection include:

– Lewis Carroll’s baptism was in Daresbury on11 July 1832
– An earthquake hit Cheshire on 18 March 1612
– Ancestors of James Bond actor Daniel Craig sold coal and were iron moulders

An unusual occurrence revealed in the records was the ‘peculiar marriage’ between Daniel Broadbent and Martha Cheetham in Mottram-in-Longdendale on 9 March 1780. Daniel was 23 and Martha was 83 years old. However, fate soon intervened to part this unlikely couple with the Mottram registers for the following year showing that Daniel Broadbent of Hattersley was buried on 30 May 1781. Furthermore, on 6 May 1776, 105 year-old George Harding married Jane Darlington, 75, at St Oswald, Chester.

These unusual marriage records show that, in the 18th century, one could find love at any age. However, the records also reveal a darker side of Cheshire’s past, telling several tales of death from the plague.

In 1625 the UK was hit by an outbreak of the plague which killed 35,000 people. Malpas in Cheshire was badly affected and the online records reveal harrowing accounts of those who were killed by the disease. One such example is that of Richard Dawson of Bradley, whose story, found among The Cheshire Collection, goes as follows:

“…being sick of the plague and perceiving that he must die at that time arose out of his bed and made his grave and caused his nephew to cast straw into the grave… and went and lay him down in the said grave, and caused clothes to be laid upon and so departed out of this world… he died about 28th august, this much I was credibly told.”

Family history records from the ancestors of Daniel Craig and the discovery of the Cheshire earthquake surprised Debra Chatfield, marketing manager at findmypast.co.uk. She commented: “These records make it possible for family historians and local history researchers to delve as far back as 1538, unearthing all sorts of unusual finds quickly and easily at their fingertips. Who would have known that Cheshire was hit by an earthquake in 1612 or that James Bond’s ancestors sold lumps of coal?”

Via EPR Network
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findmypast.ie Aims To Help The Diaspora Discover Their Irish Roots

Findmypast.ie, the world’s newest family history site, is aiming to provide the 80 million people that are part of the Irish Diaspora with the easiest possible way of researching their Irish roots.

Findmypast.ie is a joint venture between brightsolid, the Scottish based experts in the digitisation of precious records who own and/or operate a family of sites including findmypast.co.uk, ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk as well as the Friends Reunited Group, and Eneclann, an award-winning Trinity College Campus Company based in Dublin. In 2009 Eneclann made it their objective to digitise what they felt was the greatest untapped Irish genealogical resource, The Landed Estate Court Rentals. They approached brightsolid online publishing with their proposal and from this, findmypast.ie was born.

Launched in Dublin in May by the Irish Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan, the new site aims to increase its current collection of records from almost 10 million to over 50 million within the next 12 months, making it the world’s most comprehensive online database for Irish family history research.

At the launch Brian Donovan, Director of findmypast Ireland, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.co.uk and brightsolid, we are bringing Irish history to life for millions. These remarkable records are available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. We are committed to publishing family history records which provide more than simply names and dates, instead describing what your ancestors did and how they lived.”

One of the most significant set of records available on findmypast.ie is the Landed Estate Court Rentals records. Up until now, the biggest problem with the Landed Estate Court rentals has been access. Although used by professional Irish genealogists, the microfilm records stored at the National Archive of Ireland were difficult to use unless the name of an ancestor’s landowner was known.

With the permission of the National Archives and an agreement to allow free access to the digitised images in five years’ time, the 100,000 microfilm images were taken, digitised, indexed and placed online at findmypast.ie.

The critical information contained in these catalogues are the rentals, especially the lot descriptions. The details often include:

– Names of tenants
– Map reference
– Yearly rent in pounds, shillings and pence
– Day rent is due: labelled as “Gale days”
– Size of plot: in acres, roods and perches
– Length of tenure
– Observations

Previously, the amateur family historian would have been content to discover names and dates associated with their ancestors, but genealogists have now found new windows into the past. The Landed Estate Court records are an example of this as they provide not only names and dates but key facts about ancestors’ lives. These land and estate records include information on where they lived, who they lived with, what their lodgings were like and what the area in which they lived was like.

Via EPR Network
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findmypast.ie Publishes Irish Prison Registers Online

findmypast.ie has launched the Irish Prison Registers 1790-1920 online for the first time, an untapped resource for those tracing their Irish roots.

The original Prison Registers, held at the National Archives of Ireland, cover all types of custodial institutions, from bridewells, to county prisons, to sanatoriums for alcoholics. They contain over 3.5 million entries, spread over 130,000 pages, with most records giving comprehensive details of the prisoner, including the name, address, place of birth, occupation, religion, education, age, physical description, name and address of next of kin, the crime committed, the sentence, dates of committal and release/decease.

The registers offer a real insight into 18th – 19th century Ireland and present evidence of a society of rebellion and social confrontation, where rioting and assault of police officers were everyday occurrences. They also reveal the rampant poverty and destitution that many faced, with the theft of everything from handkerchiefs to turnips.

The reasons for incarceration cover all types of crime but the most common offence was drunkenness, which accounted for over 30% of all crimes reported and over 25% of incarcerations. The top five offences recorded in the registers are:

– Drunkenness – 25%
– Theft – 16%
– Assault – 12%
– Vagrancy – 8%
– Rioting – 4%

The nature of these crimes was significantly different from those in England. Figures show that the rate of conviction for drunkenness and tax evasion was 3 times greater, and the rate of both destruction of property and prostitution were double what they were for the same time period in England.

The records are full of individuals who were arrested for very minor offences. For example, a record from the Cork City Gaol Court Book lists an arrest for Giles O’Sullivan (26), with no education and no previous convictions, on the 30th of March 1848 for being “a dangerous and suspicious character”. Other examples of the heavy hand of the law can be seen in the case of John Cunningham from Finglas (21) who was arrested for “Washing a car on a thoroughfare” and young Christopher Doyle (14) arrested “for being an idle, disorderly rogue and vagabond”.

With the Irish population averaging 4.08 million each year for this time period and over 3.5 million names in the records, it would suffice to say that almost every family in Ireland was touched by these records, as offenders, their relatives or victims of crime.

Brian Donovan, Director of findmypast Ireland, commented: “These records provide an invaluable resource for anyone tracing their Irish ancestors as during the period covered almost every household in Ireland had a convict in their family. These records provide such a wealth of information that they are sure to shock and surprise almost anyone looking for the missing links in their Irish family tree.”

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Facebook Could Soon Have a ‘Dislike’ Button

Following recent speculation in the online industry, QueryClick comment on the news that Facebook have made a few changes to their Open Graph that could let users have the much wanted, ‘Dislike Button’.

At the recent F8 conference in September, a lot of publicity surrounded the announcements of some of Facebook’s biggest changes to date, such as Facebook’s new Timeline feature. However, this was not the only change to that users could experience, as developments have led to as a change in the Open Graph has opened up a whole lot of opportunities for users to express their opinions one their friends’ posts, say QueryClick.

Christopher Liversidge, QueryClick‘s Managing Director comments: “For a very long time, Facebook users have been able to ‘like’ their Facebook friends’ posts – this means that they could show their appreciation for something that a friend had posted on Facebook by hitting a ‘like’ button. But for as long as the like button has existed, users have been asking for a ‘dislike’ button, where they can show their disapproval or simply their negative feelings towards something they’ve posted. These recent changes to Facebook’s Open Graph have actually made it more possible for users to do this, thanks to Facebook’s new ‘Gestures’ feature, which follows their popular ‘verb any noun’ feature.

The ‘verb any noun’ feature gives users the chance to create their own actions, such as saying that they have ‘watched’ a particular movie, ‘listened’ to a song or alum or even ‘read’ a specific article online. While this may seem very different from ‘like’ and even ‘dislike’, this where ‘Gestures’ comes in because it gives the developers the power to create their own actions, such as ‘challenge’ and ‘cheer’, which means that a ‘dislike’ button may not seem that far away after all, say QueryClick.

Chris continues: “The ‘Gestures’ feature could really transform Facebook for users and developers, as it could open up so many possibilities for communicating with loved ones on the site. It would seem pretty logical that if developers can create buttons for specific actions, that a ‘dislike’ button could be within reach. While Facebook have yet to confirm that the ‘dislike’ button is to be added to the site, the ‘Gestures’ feature could lead to a new and different way of sharing information online, which is just fantastic.”

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Google AdWords Express Arrives in the UK and Germany

After a long wait, Google’s latest addition to the Adwords family is now available in the UK and Germany, and could make advertising online even simpler for companies in Britain and Europe, say QueryClick.

This month it was announced that Google would be launching AdWords Express, a new service that they promise is a faster and simpler way for smaller and more specifically, local businesses to kick start and run a paid online advertising campaign. The service, which was launched in the US in Autumn last year, and was originally named Boost is a great addition to Google’s existing AdWords services, and will help inexperienced and smaller businesses gain a better online presence, say QueryClick.

Christopher Liversidge, QueryClick‘s Managing Director comments: “AdWords Express has been designed and created for businesses that don’t already use AdWords to help them become more visible online, and therefore attract more customers. Because Google is aware that using a new product like AdWords can be quite intimidating the very first time, they have specially created AdWords Express to be not only very easy to use but also very simple and quick to set up for the first time too.”

When a new user uses AdWords Express for the very first time, all they have to do is provide some very basic information, then create their ad using their own words, and their campaign will be finished and ready to go when the user is. AdWords Express will then work out what searches would trigger that ad to appear, and then the ad will only be shown to people who have been looking for the kind of products that that business has to offer. Also, the ad will be shown in Google Maps, using a blue pin, which means that users can see where a business is before they click on the website.

Christopher continues: “What’s really good about AdWords Express is that it allows people to create really specific ads, such as product specific and location specific, which means people in a certain area of the UK and Germany will be able to find you quicker and more easily. So, for instance, if a webmaster of a toy shop in Manchester signs up to AdWords Express, they will appear whenever a user searches for “toy shops in Manchester” or if they’re already in Manchester, then if they search for “toys” that ad will then appear, which means that search becomes easier for both the consumer and the webmaster.”

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The Latest on the Proposed Yahoo Buyout

According to recent reports, both Google and Microsoft are currently engaged in a bidding war over just who will buy Yahoo, which could lead to new possibilities for Yahoo and the online community, say QueryClick.

Recently, a number of articles and blogs have revealed that Google and Microsoft, two of the biggest names in the online world, are reportedly exploring the possibility of buying another internet search engine, Yahoo. This news comes following a very dramatic and tumultuous year for Yahoo which saw it experience a number of high profile and negative events, such as the dismissal of Carol Bartz and this rumoured acquisition could not only signal the start of a new era for Yahoo, but also for internet users worldwide.

Christopher Liversidge, QueryClick’s Managing Director comments: “While these reports of Microsoft and Google are yet to be officially confirmed by either company, industry professionals and insiders have already been commenting on what acquiring Yahoo would mean for both companies. However, 2011 has proved to be a somewhat difficult year for Yahoo, with the sudden departure of their CEO, Carol Bartz earlier this year showed us that there is a lot going on behind the scenes at Yahoo.”

While Yahoo was once seen as one of the leaders of the online boom in the late 90s and early 00s, they have struggled to build and maintain a profitable business that rivals both Google and Microsoft. Over the last few years, Yahoo has shrunk considerably, and although it is still the second-largest search engine in the world, their interim CEO, Tim Morse, declined to answer any questions regarding Yahoo’s third-quarter earnings and operations report. Which means that this buyout could be a very good thing for Yahoo and its users, say QueryClick,

Chris continues: “Right now, it appears that Yahoo is at a crossroads of sorts, and with two of the biggest and best online companies allegedly considering making offers to buy it, this buyout could open new doors to Yahoo and reveal new opportunities that weren’t available to the company before, which could have a very positive effect on the people that this takeover affects the most: the user.

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New Research Reveals Gmail is Growing in Popularity

New analytics reveal that just five years after its launch Gmail for business is poised to be more popular than Microsoft Outlook, say QueryClick.

Recent research from leading analysts at Gartner, the information technology and research company has revealed that Google’s cloud-based Gmail email for business has become a ‘viable’ alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook. While Microsoft’s Outlook service has traditionally been the email provider of choice for many companies, Gmail’s growing influence within the business sector means that the gap between these two providers is getting smaller, say Queryclick.

Christopher Liversidge, QueryClick’s Managing Director says: “The research from Gartner is really very interesting because it reveals that Gmail is not only a good service for personal emails but also a well-respected email service in what is still a relatively small market. Web-hosted email services account for around 3-4% of the enterprise email market, Gmail’s overall market share currently stands at 1%, which sounds minimal, but is actually quite a large section of the existing market.”

The cloud-based email system that Gmail uses is seen to be much more secure than traditional email systems, and much easier to access remotely, ie from home, work or even on holiday than any other system that’s currently available to users. While Microsoft have recently launched their own cloud-based email, Office 365, a new version of it’s well-known Exchange email server, the gap between these two technical giants could be getting smaller, as the cloud-based technology becomes more popular, say QueryClick.

Chris continues: “While both Microsoft Outlook and Gmail are considered to be very reliable email systems for both personal and commercial use, it is predicted that email services are going to grow over the nest few years, with email services expected to make up 20% of the total market in 2016, and grow to a 55% share by December 2020. This is obviously a prediction, but it’s true that businesses are becoming more reliant on emails as a method of communication, and they will obviously need an excellent email system to help them do that. So, with so much riding on email, both Microsoft and Google are bound to be making more and more updates to their existing systems, which can only be a good thing.”

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