Cemetery records are in many ways one of the simplest forms of genealogy record available on the internet. However, if there is no standard style or format in how cemetery records are presented online, then just imagine how challenging the task can be when searching for more complicated types of genealogy records on the internet.
Insight #2 – Think Like a Search Engine
When we enter the names of our ancestors into a search engine, we think of them as individuals to be found hidden somewhere in a vast array of records. That is not at all how a search engine thinks. For a search engine, a name is just a label.
Entering the name <john> is fundamentally no different to a search engine than entering the words <car> or <pizza> or <house>. In other words, the search engine does not know whether <john> is a person, a car, a type of pizza or a house. You know <john> is a person but a search engine does not know this because a search engine does not need to know this. It just knows to search for a label called <john>.
This is the fundamental concept of online genealogy searches. It is the major reason why online searches are inherently different from a physical search through a library or archive.
Put another way, to be successful at virtual online searches is not necessarily the same as the skill set required to be successful at physical searches in a library or archive.
