What I Learned - Day Eight

Today, I had the time to continue looking at the results of the search I did at MyHeritage. I learned that having to wait around for the MyHeritage website to load up the exact same search I have been trying to find information on since Day One is frustrating! It is really cutting into the limited amount of time that I have available to do my genealogy research.

I continue looking at the list of websites that MyHeritage found for me. Each of these websites supposedly has some matches to the name I first entered into the MyHeritage website, which was my own. I am seeking records and information on myself, and have used my first name, and my unmarried surname. They say that it is a great idea to begin your genealogy research by trying to find information on yourself. So far, I don’t know if that is true, because I haven’t found anything yet.

The next website MyHeritage suggests is US Phonebook Lookups. Somehow, I get the feeling that this website will work similarly to how the Lycos People Search one did, so I am not expecting great results. MyHeritage says there are 5+ matches for me on that website. What does 5+ mean? This is the only place in the list of websites that uses a plus sign after the number. How many is 5+, exactly? Six? Fifty? Five Million? Why is MyHeritage being so vague about the number of matches for me at the US Phonebook Lookups site?

When I view the US Phonebook Lookups page, I begin to have a guess what the 5+ means. Here are five listings for women who have the same name as me. There is an address next to each name, and two of these names also have phone numbers. These are the 5 matches. What does the + mean? I learned that the + refers to the women who share my name that can be found on LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook. Again, this kind of search might be useful if I was seeking a living relative, and not myself. I can cross this website off the list of potential results as well.