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Archiver > WIGREEN > 2006-03 > 1141655939


From: "Donna" <>
Subject: Fw: [ISFHWE-CGC] A Decade of Cyndi's List
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2006 08:38:59 -0600


----- Original Message -----
From: "Cyndi Howells" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 1:18 AM
Subject: [ISFHWE-CGC] A Decade of Cyndi's List


> Hello all -
>
> Ten years ago, on March 4, 1996, I posted online my first attempt at a
> personal web site. Our personal site had our surnames, articles, and
> several other things that we planned to expand upon over time. One small
> portion of the site was a list of links to genealogy web sites. It was one
> web page with more than 1,000 links. I had no idea that I had just created
> a monster that would take on a life of its own. Since that time I have
> been the coyote, and Cyndi's List has been the roadrunner--taking me on a
> frantic chase to try and keep up with it, while also periodically dropping
> a virtual anvil on my head.
>
> The original announcement was posted on Roots-L Tue, 5 Mar 1996 with the
> subject line: "A New Web Site is Spun!" In that message I bragged: "The
> many resources include:...a categorized list with over 1,000 links to
> genealogy Internet sites." See the archived copy at:
> http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/textindices/R/ROOTS+1996+983115229706+F
> I had no way of knowing how big this little list was going to become, or
> what impact it would have on my life.
>
> Since that day ten years ago life has not been dull. My son, Evan, was
> born (8 years old now). I've been through 5 computers and written three
> books. The site gained a corporate sponsor and then lost it three years
> later when Sierra sold the genealogy division. I have had the wonderful
> experience of traveling and speaking to hundreds of genealogy groups about
> this engrossing hobby of ours. Travel and trips have now been curtailed by
> family illnesses, but a break there means more time on the web site again.
> The ups and downs of running a site of this magnitude have worn me out
> often. But about the time I want to throw up my hands and run away I get a
> big lift from one of the thousands of visitors to my site: I receive a
> nice message telling me how helpful the site has been in their research.
> That is all it takes so that I'm off and running full steam ahead again.
>
> Cyndi's List began as a six-page written article for my local genealogical
> society. When I put it online on March 4, 1996 my intension was to
> continue growing the list of links so that they might be helpful to other
> interested genealogists online. That intension hasn't ever changed.
> However, the amount of time and effort certainly has!
>
> What is Cyndi's List? The same research tool now that it was ten years ago
> (only bigger):
> --A categorized & cross-referenced index to genealogical
> resources on the Internet.
> --A list of links that point you to genealogical research sites
> online.
> --A free jumping-off point for you to use in your online research.
> --A "card catalog" to the genealogical collection in the immense
> library that is the Internet.
> --Your FREE genealogical research portal onto the Internet.
>
> For anyone interested in learning more about using Cyndi's List, see the
> syllabus material created for my lecture, "A Guided Tour of Cyndi's List"
> http://www.CyndisList.com/guidedtour.pdf
>
> For anyone interested in the history of Cyndi's List this timeline will
> take you down memory lane:
> Cyndi's List Historical Timeline
> http://www.CyndisList.com/faq/timeline.htm
> On March 4, 1996 Cyndi's List started out with 1 page, 1,025 links, a
> handful of categories, and just one caretaker. Today, 10 years after its
> creation Cyndi's List has:
> --251,235 total links
> --242,672 categorized links
> --8,563 "What's New" links submitted by visitors
> --684 individual web pages
> --Visits through the front page: more than 43 million
> --An average of 2 million page hits each month
> --1 part-time employee, Michele
> --1 periodic dabbler and caffeine-delivery person, Mark
> --1 full-time caretaker, Cyndi
>
> To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the site I have given Cyndi's List
> an all-new layout with streamlined navigation. Now there is less white
> space with the content being moved up and to the left on each page. There
> is now a Google search box at the top of each page. Hopefully the rest of
> the navigation is more intuitive than in the previous version. The
> indexes, categories, sub-categories, and web page addresses are all the
> same. I have many more ideas and plans for things that I would like to do
> on the site. Michele and I have a big to-do list that we are whittling
> away at a little at a time. Come back and visit the site often to see how
> we progress.
>
> I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of visitors to Cyndi's List over
> the last decade. Without you, your feedback, and your constructive
> criticism, I wouldn't have continued this long. Your ongoing support and
> enthusiasm for genealogy and the Internet have been an inspiration to me.
> Thank you for your many friendships and kindnesses through the years!
>
> Cyndi Howells
> http://www.CyndisList.com
>
>
>
>
>
> ==== CGC Mailing List ====
> Enter ISFHWE Annual Excellence-in-Writing Contest. See details and entry
> rules at ISFHWE's webpages:
> http://www.rootsweb.com/~cgc/
>
> ==============================
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