Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

[Kelly d]

Yesterday, I was asked to do some research and low and behold, where did I find it?

http://www.electricscotland.com/books/online_books.htm

'You're still the One!'

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

That's happened to me a number of times too Kelly....and I laughed when I saw the source.....good old ES.

Elda

[1938 Observer]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

Well that's how I found this site originally, I was looking for information on Stirlingshire and "hit ES", needless to say i was hooked, printed out the full history of Stirlingshire, it took about a full ream of paper!!!.............a great help when i was starting out on the family history/genealogy addiction. I even tried getting on to the original forum (was it called 'gossamer forum'?????) but being a very much computer novice then [nothing much has improved] I kept dropping into "limbo", but I finally arrived in later years.
The old saying "all good things come to those who wait" is true in the case of ES !!!.

[Alastair]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

We do keep looking at new ways to bring you information but often it can take years to do this. Just as an example of the kind of things we're trying to do...

We're wanting to bring you a better interface to the forums so we're looking at adopting a new product that will integrate with these forums but bring you lots of new benefits. Like we hope to offer you the opportunity of a greatly customized interface where you can make your own home page on Electric Scotland. That means you can customize your own interface which will enable you to add your own external links, pictures, videos, audio, etc. It would also have an audio and video chat interface and private message area.

We're also talking about having a members only section. Part of this is so we can bring you more content that is not currently available for free. We will trade a percentage of the membership fee to commercial companies that in return will provide us with really good information that you currently have to purchase to get hold of it.

We're also trying to find a way to work with a company that provides seriously good information about the Surnames of Scotland. Again this is not a free resource but it is one of the very best sources available. The idea is to provide a listing of names that are featured in the publication but if you want to view the entries then you'd currently need to either purchase the book or find it in a local library. Our idea is to either charge a one off fee for you to be able to access the information online or make it part of our membership scheme.

We are also looking at a way we can provide an Amazon shopping mall through the site. It is clear that Amazon is doing very well in Scotland and have just announced 950 new jobs in Scotland so we felt it would be worthwhile promoting them on the site as it obviously translates into actual jobs in Scotland.

We are still also looking at bringing in another Shopping Mall with a company in Scotland that currently only offer Scottish made products.

As you'll have noted we have been doing some history of India and we want to do more on the history of other parts of the world and also from a Scottish perspective. For example I will be bringing you a book in the weeks ahead that tell of growing up in a part of Scotland. That will then lead to three books where the author of the first book relates his moving to and working in India, Australia and New Zealand. As this is in the 1880's it gives us an interesting view of what those countries were like then and from a Scots point of view.

I have also been trying to get some different forms of advertising for the site. I do rely on advertising to generate my full time income but I'd much prefer to get better quality advertising that educates us and would be more relevant to the site. I'd hoped that countries around the world would have been interested in taking advertising space to provide weekly articles about their country. I have contacted Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America but so far without success.

And so these are just some of the things I'm working on. I do also fully intend to continue publishing out of copyright material as I find it so that part won't change!

Alastair

[Kelly d]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

I like the idea of having an Amazon link. I think a wish list may go over real well for those who are looking for unusual items or out of print books! I am still trying to find those Journals. I know they exist but may have to get them from microfilm.

[apictish1]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

I'll just add that while researching for my book, I was astonished at the depth of information available here at ES. This is an amazing resource. Thank you.

[sinje]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

I have been perusing Electric Scotland for quite some time now while doing research for a historical fiction novel I am writing, truly it is a wealth of information! I recently came upon a question I needed answered and my first thought was to see if I could find help on this forum, so lo and behold I joined! :) Thank you for providing such a wonderful resource!

[Alastair]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

What was the question?

I confess if I have a question I use our own site search engine first to see if I can get the answer and only after that go hunting wider afield.

I have of late availed myself of some of the Internet Archive's pdf files. For example I am working on the Life of Thomas Guthrie. He's a really interesting gentleman and some of the stories about him in this book are very thought provoking. The book I am working on is only some 150 pages but I think more than enough to make it a very interesting read. However there is a much larger autobiography of him and another book of his sayings which are equally interesting. My plan is thus to make the first shorter book available and then from that simply point to the other two books.

This is the way I usually work which is to bring you a quality introduction to a topic or person but leave room for you to continue your studies should you wish to take them further. This is many ways gives you a good starting point.

I also get into a research mode from time to time so follow that route through until I think I have it covered. Like my current interest in the Bible. After spending so many years doing history I read time after time of the Bible being the only book most families possessed. And yet the Scots did so many amazing things in the world and for the benefit of the world that I can't help but think the Bible had an unusual impact on the Scots. This means I am delving deeper in the social history of Scotland to try and get a better feel for this. This is also partly why I have started to work on more biographies of famous Scots as these often reveal how the person was brought up and so what influenced them in their younger years.

So far I have found that all the biographies I've made available on the site that the person was well grounded in the Bible at home.

Alastair

[Kelly d]

Re: Electric Scotland is still the best on-line resource

I have discovered, when you present someone from other forums with pages from Electric Scotland, they do not disagree or debate any further!