The Bloggers' Geneameme (in response to Geniaus)

Geniaus has asked fellow geneabloggers to join in and answer a few questions for National Family History Month.

Here are my answers:

What are the titles and URLs of your genealogy blog/s?

Jax Trax at jackievanbergen.blogspot.com.au

co-blogger at Ku-ring-gai Historical Society

Do you have a wonderful "Cousin Bait" blog story? A link to a previous blog post might answer this question.

I never expected to have so many contacts.

I have had two contacts from people writing books about people linked to my family. Both of these have been able to provide me with more information and even photos of my ancestors and their relations.

Some cousins have contacted me through my blog, and I have identified others because my writing inspired me to research a particular branch a bit further.

Since writing the blog I have the following new cousins:

-       Anne in NZ who has sent photos of oil paintings of our common 4x great grandparents

-       Karl in Canberra – our grandfathers were brothers

-       Susan in Perth – our grandmothers were first cousins.

Why did you start blogging? Is there someone who inspired you to start blogging?

I went on my first trip to Europe and decided this was the time to get in the habit of writing daily so that hopefully I could continue writing when I came home – it worked! 

Jill of Geniaus joining our local society was also an inspiration.

How did you decide on your blog/s title/s?

I wanted to combine a travel blog with a geneablog and I thought my tracks and then the tracks of my ancestors might work. 

A glass or two of red wine and the wit of Mr Jax helped too.

Do you ever blog from mobile devices? What are they?

My trusty well-travelled MacAir.

How do you let others know when you have published a new post?

I don’t really, although if I have written about a specific side of the family I might email a cousin or two to look at it.

How long have you been blogging?

I started the travel blog in April 2012 and it morphed into a geneablog in July 2012, although there were certainly some genealogy parts to my travel - Maastricht, Fromelles, Cornwall, Bath.

What widgets or elements do you consider essential on a genealogy blog?

Search and past posts archive. I keep meaning to look at putting more on but too many other things keep getting in my way.

What is the purpose of your blog/s? Who is your intended audience?

My intention is to share with my family the huge amount of research my mum and I have done, and the ever-increasing number of old photos that my parents have. Along the way, hopefully new-found members of the family will be found and join in. I also hope to interest other members of the family (eg my brothers) in our family history by putting it in a short easy to read form that is interesting enough for them to read.

Which of your posts are you particularly proud of?

All of them! It’s great to write and share but it doesn’t always come naturally.

How do you keep up with your blog reading?

I follow blogs and they show up in my dashboard page of blogger.

What platform do you use for publishing your blog/s?  Blogger

What new features would you like to see in your blogging software?

I’d like it to be easier to cut and paste into the blog without losing formatting and without the font changing. 

It would also be great if it was easier to place photos – they often seem to move when I preview.

Which of your posts has been the most popular with readers?

My Fromelles posts have been the most read, the Sepia Saturday posts have the most comments.

Are you a sole blogger or do you contribute to a shared blog?

Sole blogger on my own and shared blogger for my local historical society.

How do you compose your blog posts?

Look for inspiration (photo, someone else’s blog or just a whim) and just write.

Do you have any blogs that are not genealogy related? If you wish please share their titles and URLs.

Many posts not genealogy – I started as a travel blog.

The KHS blog also has many as it also covers local history

Have you listed your blog/s at Geneabloggers?  Yes

Which resources have helped you with your blogging?

TROVE, Mum’s amazing collection of photos, and blogging prompts such as Trove Tuesday, Sepia Saturday and others from Geneabloggers.

What advice would you give to a new Geneablogger?

Just do it – it doesn’t matter how much you write, just get something out there.

If you are stuck, pick a prompt and write to it. There are so many things in Trove, or choose an old photo and contribute to something simple like Wordless Wednesday or Sepia Saturday where you don’t have to write much at all.

Sepia Saturday is good to join in on because you get lots of comments and feedback so you feel more like keeping going. But you should make comments too – if you read a good post, let the blogger know you liked it.

Extra: An added benefit of blogging:

Mum and Dad are sharing more information. I always thought we talked a lot about family history but aspects of my blog bring back memories that they now share. They have also been a lot more forthcoming with other pieces of family memorabilia, photos, books, certificates, even an engraved silver teapot.