This mournful song came to mind today as I tested the links on every one of the dozens of genealogy blogs I follow. Where have all the genealogy bloggers gone?
- Nearly 3 dozen blogs haven't been updated in at least 6 months. Of these, at least 10 have been dormant since 2015. Most of the blogs had been active for a few years, on and off, and then activity dwindled to zero.
- Several blogs have transitioned to websites (and are still functioning, so I changed my "follow list" to reflect the new address). These are keepers.
- Inexplicably, 2 blogs are now "hidden" from view. Can't see what they are now, so I deleted them from my reading list.
But I really miss the meadow of genealogy blogs that once blossomed with information, education, and discoveries. I miss buzzing from blog to blog and enjoying the diverse voices and stories that these bloggers were kind enough to share.
Despite the shrinking population, I do not think that genealogy blogging is dead. Some bloggers have, I imagine, decided to focus on Twitter or Pinterest or both. Some are surely active on Facebook genealogy pages or Instagram. Most are probably busy living their lives and researching their trees. At least, I hope that's what happened. My 10th blogiversary is coming up in August, and I plan to keep blogging as I climb my family tree.
Let me thank all of you genealogy bloggers who are still posting, and encourage those of you who are new to add your voice and believe you have an audience. I look forward to seeing what you're doing, learning from your experiences and expertise, commiserating with you when an ancestor refuses to be found, and rejoicing with you when you smash a brick wall.
I found that too. Looking for new bloggers on geneabloggers many haven’t posted in the last year. I can’t imagine reaching the 10 year milestone like you! I may run out of things to say. Also there are some projects I’d like to do but don’t have time. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I used to play that song on my ukulele.
Dianne
Marian - I am one of those who doesn't blog as often as I used to. I have been making a real effort recently so I hope you don't unfollow me! By the way it was a real pleasure getting to know you at RootsTech this year!
ReplyDeleteDear Dianne and Sheri, Thank you for reading and commenting! I agree with Dianne, there are only so many hours in the day and sometimes blogging has to take a back seat to life and, well, actual genealogy. Sheri, I really enjoyed meeting you at RootsTech and of course I'm still reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Marian. I can relate to this so well. For various reasons, I haven't been able to post as often as I used to. One reason is that I've tried to be more methodical and post stories in series form, taking readers through a family line. The only problem is to do that, you have to research certain stories more than others, which can delay posts (as with my current subject). Your thoughts prompt me to ask, will that lose readers? Is it better to post more frequently and not necessarily as a thread about a particular story or person? What do you think?
ReplyDeleteMarian, you're not the first one to notice and comment on this. I am doing my best to post weekly at From Maine to Kentucky and at least once a month at A Jewish Genealogy Journey but it can be hard to keep it up. I appreciate when you and others comment on a post - then I know I'm reaching readers!
ReplyDeleteLinda and Elizabeth, I appreciate that you read and commented! Linda, I understand that you want to guide readers through a story about your family tree...you might post "part 1" of the story, then later do an unrelated post if you're in the mood, then later post "part 2" that links to "part 1" so readers can go back and catch up. Elizabeth, I've seen others mention this situation, but I didn't realize the reality of how many blogs were dormant until I looked at those I was following. An eye-opener!
ReplyDeleteThat makes a lot of sense, Marian! I'm taking you up on your suggestion. It makes it a lot more fun, too. I recently moved my blog to a new dot.com website, Many Branches, One Tree.com, and will post something later today. Thanks for your encouragement and getting me unstuck!
DeleteI've noticed the same thing. However, Geneabloggers Tribe has been adding some new bloggers each month, so that is a positive thing. Life gets in the way of fun, too, and sometimes blogging has to take a back seat. A few bloggers begin with good intentions, but then discover they don't really enjoy it. I'm still following quite a few active blogs, though. I update my feedly list - I figure after 3 months of no new posts, most blogs seem to remain dormant.
ReplyDeleteFrom discussions on Geneabloggers Tribe, I have noticed that some bloggers/websites were concerned about GDPR, and shut down their pages until they figured out how to address those issues. That could explain some of the blogs that are strangely private now. I hope most of those bloggers weren’t scared off of blogging forever and will be back soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Marian
ReplyDeleteI'm relatively new to the genealogy blogging world - I don't know why I didn't start one much earlier! I am endeavouring to post a couple of times per week. I would love if you would pop over and check out my website when you have time. Life obviously gets in the way - sometimes other things take priority. Hopefully some of these dormant ones will spring into life sometime in the future!!
I am so happy you are still blogging! I don't read or write blogs as much as I used to and want to, but I'm still here! And, I love both reading & writing blog posts. It's a great way to share & to learn. Thanks for keeping at it!
ReplyDeleteI find doing the family ancestry research very educative and rewarding regarding all what I learn by the way. It is interesting to read about other people's finds. However, life is life and various everyday life matters often stop many people from blogging.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and informative thread! I much prefer reading blogs to other social media. The ones I subscribe to have information that I know I'll be able to go back to and use at a later date. Facebook posts? I'll never be able to find them again.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone, thanks again for taking the time to leave a note about blogging. Agree with Liz, I much prefer reading blogs vs. checking other social media because I can find your blog entries again and there's more space for exploring the day's topic. Happy to be following your blogs and thank you for reading mine!
ReplyDeleteI have transitioned to creating videos for YouTube. When I reach 100 eyeballs on a blog post versus 200 - 100,000 eyeballs for a single video, the reach of YouTube wins me over.
ReplyDeleteHowever, building that viewership / readership involved many 30+ videos reaching only 50 viewers before things finally took off. YouTube is hard but I love it.
Thus, I haven't figured out what to do with my blog that would be valuable to readers and not increase my time away from other pursuits.
It's a struggle.
Devon, the reach of YouTube is incredible! For me, it's not worth the investment of time and effort to build a library of videos. But I want to compliment you on doing wonderful things for the genealogy community by sharing your ideas and expertise.
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