[Genealogy] Owning a Fact, Full-Text Search, and NotebookLM

[Michael John Neill]

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8 March 2026


** Owning a Fact

** New Presentations on Full-Text Search and NotebookLM


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Owning a Fact

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We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating:

facts cannot be owned and facts cannot be copyrighted

I can spend $20,000 on research and documents in order to establish that
Thomas Fakeancestor was born on 12 June 1802 in Nosuchtown, Vermont. I can
spend months analyzing those records. I can give myself high blood pressure
in my attempt to pin down his date of birth. But…

That fact is not mine to control. Once I share it with another human, post
it online, etc. any one can “use” it without crediting me. If I don’t want
anyone else to possibly “use it” without crediting me, then I should keep
it to myself.

Would it be nice if people gave me credit for making the discovery? Yes.

Would it genealogically ethical for people to give me credit? Yes.

Can others use the fact without my permission? Yes.

The forty-five page analysis I wrote of the documents used to reach that
conclusion is something that I can own and have the copyright to.

But the fact no.

Otherwise someone could copyright 2+2=4.

Two new presentations on Full-Text Search and NotebookLM.


Presentations made by Michael John Neill.


Our focus is being practical, down-to-earth, and genealogically
responsible. Our lectures also discuss limitations of each site as
appropriate.


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FamilySearch Full-Text Problem-Solving

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This presentation will be example-based only and it will be assumed you
have a working knowledge of how to use the full-text search at FamilySearch
(order that presentation for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>—download
immediate).

We will look at five examples (ones not discussed in the original
presentation) and follow a consistent process and methodology to maximize
the chance that we find what’s available for the individuals in question.
It’s important to leverage all you know about an ancestor combined with the
power of full-text search—we will focus on: family members, migrations, and
known events and relationships. Our approach is systematic—we avoid the
rabbit hole approach that can make full-text searches inefficient.

Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=KTZSEB9A2NNUE>.
Regular price $28.


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NotebookLM for Genealogy Problem-Solving

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Take your use of NotebookLM beyond the basics. In this session, we will
look at ten examples of using NotebookLM for genealogy research. This
presentation assumes you’ve got a working knowledge of NotebookLM either
through experience or our presentation (order that for immediate download
here
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248457&method_id=271366>
for
$25).

We emphasize the responsible use of AI in genealogy and being reasonably
critical of AI-created content. Our approach is to use NotebookLM to assist
in the refinement of ideas and research process not to have AI create
content and call it our own. NotebookLM can be the research assistant you
always wish you had—although an imperfect one.



Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NX3QCCNRYLTSN>.
Regular price $28.
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------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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