Comments. The most important thing you can do in order to participate in the genealogy blogging community and to get your own blog noticed is to place comments on posts by other bloggers. When you make a comment, even as simple as saying, “Hello” or “I really enjoyed your post,” you not only recognize other bloggers but you create a link back to your own blog and profile on the Internet. Very often others who read comments will be curious as to who you are and will check out your blog.
Carnivals. A blog carnival is an organized on-line event in which bloggers create blog posts around a specific subject. Most genealogy-related carnivals accept posts from blogs as long as they are in keeping with the theme or subject matter and are submitted by the set deadline. The carnival host will create a “round up” posting listing all the posts submitted by other bloggers, sometimes with descriptions. Participating in a carnival is a great way to get a new blog noticed and to not only gain new readers and followers but also to create links back to your blog.
- A Festival of Postcards
http://acanadianfamily.com/a-festival-of-postcards
- Carnival of Genealogy
http://creativegene.blogspot.com/search/label/Carnival%20of%20Genealogy
- Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture
http://irishheritagecarnival.blogspot.com
- Graveyard Rabbits Carnival
http://www.thegraveyardrabbit.com/search?q=carnival
- Smile for the Camera
http://shades-smileforthecamera.blogspot.com
Daily Blogging Prompts. Similar to a carnival but it has a looser organization and usually does not involve a summary or “roll-up” post on another blog. Genealogy bloggers like these themes because it means one less idea you need to come up with for a blog post!
Daily Blogging Prompts are scheduled on a weekly basis, publicized by GeneaBloggers (http://www.geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-themes/) and focus on specific topics:
- Sentimental Sunday involves posting about a sentimental story or memory about an ancestor, or maybe even a family tradition that touches you.
http://www.geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-themes/sentimental-sunday/
- Madness Monday is a dual-purpose theme: participants post about an ancestor the may have had a mental illness or some other affliction or an ancestor that drives the blog owner mad because they can’t be located or key information about them is missing.
http://www.geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-themes/madness-monday/
- Tombstone Tuesday is one of the simpler themes and involves posting a photo of the gravestone of one of your ancestors. You can choose to add a comment or back story or not.
http://www.geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-themes/tombstone-tuesday/
- Wordless Wednesday is a theme whose popularity is not just limited to genealogy blogs but can be found across the Internet in blogs of all types. A photo is posted with only credit information (title, date, location and who owns the photo).
http://www.geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-themes/wordless-wednesday/
© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee
