I didn't know what I was doing: I was new to blogging (What exactly is html and why do I need to know about it? What is a tag and what does it do?), still young in the genealogy department, and, in addition, I didn't have a specific goal for this blog other than family history. Heck, I hadn't done enough research to write more than a few blog posts. As soon as I tap the publish button, I knew I needed to scramble to keep things going.
I remember how hard it was. Research took so much time to begin with, then writing a worthwhile post about the research took so long. It seemed like there wasn't enough time to do both. I wondered if I'd made a mistake beginning a blog.
Somewhere along the way I learned that I should put a copyright notice on each post; that including my name at the end helped readers know who was writing; and that adding information to "Properties" for each photo helped search engines find my photos and posts about specific ancestors. I know there's plenty more to learn, and sometimes relearn, as technology changes and improves.
Events, memes, and changes through the years include
Carnival of Genealogy which had a monthly theme (no longer active); Family History Through the Alphabet; Book of Me; 52 Ancestors....- Publication and indexing of the 1940 U.S. Census for FamilySearch
- RootsTech began
- Facebook became popular
- Google Blogger platform changed several times, including the addition of Pages and the demise of Google Reader
- Google+ came and went
I won't note the number of ancestors and deceased relatives I've found through research during the past ten years. I haven't taken a count. Nor have I counted the number of living cousins who have contacted me or who I've contacted and they've responded. I'm grateful for all of them. (I need to make a list with their names, email addresses, relationships, etc.)
This blog that began with one follower on Google FriendConnect, my daughter, has increased to 226, with more followers via Feedly, Feedburner, and Bloglovin', plus followers on Facebook (though I suspect there are many fewer actual readers). The number of published posts is now about 1300. Early readers and commenters gave me incentive to keep writing and publishing, which required more research, and it all kept going. Some months and years have had more posts, some less research and fewer posts, and there have been times of nearly no research. Living life takes time, too. Children marry, grandchildren arrive, illness hits.... Life goes on and I hope this blog goes on for a good many years, too.
These are a few of my favorite posts (though not necessarily the most read or most commented on) from the past 10 years.
> My Father's Desk
> Student Nurse, Registered Nurse
> Like Mother, Like Daughter
> Coal Miners in My Family
> Beautiful Emma and Her Lovely Waist
> The Bartley's Golden Wedding, 1888
> Why I Search for My Ancestors: "Be a blessing to your family"
> Sharing the Sun
> Old Homestead, New Photo, Street Address
> Second-Hand Memories
> and too many others to list
Many thanks to all of you who visit, who leave comments. I'm grateful for the support.
–Nancy.
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Happy 10th blogiveresary. A decade is a great achievement.
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