Blogging Dilemma
Today I'm going to make two posts, this one being one to solicit advice from my fellow geneabloggers and from my faithful readers. I started this blog in October of 2005 to chronicle my research, successes and failures both. It was hoped that others might learn as I learned and that someone, somewhere would recognize the names within and contact me. I do believe I've been successful in those two goals.
The question before me today is this: Should I splinter this blog into two? I was wondering if it might be easier and more "flowing" to have one blog for my maternal lines and one for my paternal lines. It certainly might help me streamline my research a little bit.
The only reason, really, that I hesitate to split the families up is that, well, I love the name of this blog and how it originated (click on the blog title for a post and pictures that explain it). I know it's a trivial reason to keep it together, but it's true!
But perhaps there are compelling reasons to split it up. Fellow bloggers, what do you think? Would or might two separate blogs help me focus my research a little better? It certainly would make the chronicling of my research more focused. Will or might it lead to the neglect of one blog while I focus only on the other? Faithful readers, what do you think? Would it maintain your interest more if you could choose to only read about the family lines that relate to you? Or do you enjoy reading both ends of the spectrum?
Another thing I was pondering was keeping this blog as it is and creating a second one (well, really a third one, since my blog "Only in Genealogy" is technically still available, though post-less for going on two years now). This new blog, if created, would focus on stories, memories, memes/tags, etc.
Readers: Let the feedback begin!
posted by Colleen | 4:59 PM
5 Comments:
Technically, I'm not suppose to be here yet. I'm still working on the Rs. LOL... But I saw the word Dilemma and couldn't help taking a peek.
I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is I'm not related to you (yet?). I read your posts because I am fascinated by the way you approach your research, and your insights into the world of genealogy and family history. Naturally then, I'm gonna vote for one blog.
I wonder if there might not be some other way to "separate" your research. Categories perhaps?
Personally, I'm with Lee. One blog is easier for me to follow than two. That does not mean that if you start a new blog that I won't follow it too.
I have 5 blogs right now. Each has a different focus. It is very hard for me to keep two going at a time. Right now my garden & bus blogs are dormant for the winter and my private family blog is only going because others are posting there too. If starting a new blog will help you with your research then go for it. Since both of your blogs would focus on genealogy you might not have the same problem that I do.
If you are simply trying to sort out your lines you might consider trying the label function in blogger. You already have all of your surnames on your sidebar. You could set that up so that it links to the appropriate posts through the label feature. Since you can give each post several different labels this would cover any posts that deal with more than one surname.
I have a separate link list on my side bar where I link back to posts that deal with family history that I want to highlight or for others to be able to access quickly. You could try something similar either as individual posts, a link to a series of posts using a unique label or to particular family lines using the labels.
I agree with Lee and the way in which Apple suggests "tagging" each line and placing a link in the sidebar.
Apple has me beat with her 5 blogs (you go gurl!) since I only have 4 right now. I created separate ones based more on function and content:
- And I Helped has various recipes that I used or got from my mother and reminisces of how she ran her household. I tend not to place these "memory" posts in Destination: Austin Family but I will often cross-reference them with links.
- A Catskill Christmas is seasonal like Apple's gardening blogs. It will lie dormant for much of the year.
- Grandma Austin's Diaries allows me to post transcribed parts of my great-grandmother's diaries. For most people it would be boring reading but it can be used for research. It is on hiatus now due to the holidays but I will pick it up later in the month.
And Lee, I never saw you here at Colleen's blog, in case anyone asks me.
Colleen,
You are the best judge, of course, but I think one blog does the trick, provided all your surnames are tagged. Separate blogs work well for other topics, as your commenters have pointed out.
I guess I have the dissenting opinion in this matter...
I absolutely love having a separate themed blog for each of the three family branches that I'm writing about. It allows me to do more with that side of the family than I think I would do otherwise if I just wrote one genealogy blog.
In my case, my Pennsylvania Irish railroaders/coal miners are at Small-leaved Shamrock. My Irish immigrants who survived the Great Famine and built their lives in Boston's North End at A Light That Shines Again. I've reserved 100 Years in America for my Croatian/Hungarian roots and the stories of that family's immigration through Ellis Island and their new lives in New York.
I really enjoy having my blogs have a closer focus on a particular branch of the family. You might also.
A few drawbacks: hopping from one blog to the next can get tiring, sometimes it is difficult to decide which blog to place a post on and I'm tempted to post it twice, even though I'm posting often it may not seem so because the posts are at different blogs, etc.
You must decide, of course, but it might be fun to give another blog a try.
Whatever you do... happy writing!
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