Comments on: Genealogy Blogs – A Bad Source?

By: Lucie

Lucie — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:42:42 +0000

In addition to what he says about blogs he also finds fault with “personal websites” – well my “personal website” is on of the best and I am very proud of it as I strive to post only information that researchers can take to the bank.

Paul Duxbury does not know what he is talking about – By the way, I found it frustrating that I could not find how to post a comment or contact him on his blog.

By: John

John — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:48:19 +0000

There are two types of posts that generate traffic

1) The post that generates a spike of hits, but the visitors don’t like what they see, so a majority of visitors don’t return.

2) The post that generates a spike of hits, and the visitors like what they find, so they do return.

The goal of most bloggers who are out there seeking traffic, is to get people to return to their site. Not to visit it once. (Note: I am speaking of the goal for those who are seeking traffic. Many genealogy/family history bloggers aren’t seeking traffic.)

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:30:51 +0000

I’d say Paul got exactly what he set out to do. the topic is out there and his hits have gone through the roof – I’ve seen this same discussion on at least 5 different blogs. I disagree with the sweeping sentiment of the blog but his article has merit – not everything is to be trusted (but you could say that about anything could you not?).
Very clever, Mr Duxbury, very clever.

By: Sheri Fenley

Sheri Fenley — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:55:54 +0000

I knew that all of this sounded familiar. I went through the exact same thing when someone called me on the carpet for not citing my sources for this article – http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/2008/08/genea-blogger-games-final-day-of.html

I redid the article with footnotes and source citations here -

http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/2008/10/practicing-what-i-preach.html

I may not have credentials behind my name (yet), but I work my butt off to be a responsible researcher and take offensive that someone would say that what I publish on my blog is essentially bs.

By: John

John — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:14:14 +0000

But, Paul, if they followed your advice – they’d be staying away from blog sites, so they wouldn’t see the blog posts, even if we did include citations? Of course, they’ll have stopped reading your blog, too. You did say, “Stay away from blog sites” (qoute endquote.) You didn’t say “stay away from those blog sites that don’t cite sources.” There is a big difference between the two.

I do think I will be staying away from yours, since you seem to prefer dealing with exaggeration and hyperbole, as opposed to actually offering good advice.

By: Louisiana Genealogy Blog

Louisiana Genealogy Blog — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:12:41 +0000

The Genealogue has posted. My sides ache from laughter.

http://www.genealogue.com/2009/03/another-bad-genealogy-source.html

By: Stephen J. Danko

Stephen J. Danko — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:35:47 +0000

Unfortunately, Mr. Duxbury has failed to cite any sources or provide any examples to support his statements. The lack of documentation leads me to question the veracity of his conclusions.

Kindest regards,
Stephen J. Danko, PLCGS

By: Thomas MacEntee

Thomas MacEntee — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:53:25 +0000

Thanks Paul for the comments – I appreciate knowing more about the article and I agree that posting it has had one good outcome: to get people to think more about their sourcing and citations.

I do think that there are more good genealogy blogs than bad however – perhaps that’s my pollyanna-ish “glass half full” outlook. While many genealogy blogs are run by people new to the field, we all have to start somewhere. With their fellow genealogy bloggers they’ve come to find a helpful supportive community who can teach them the importance of proper citation format. I’d never want to discourage anyone from starting a genealogy blog or reading them. A person simply needs to exercise good judgment when using information found on a blog, or any website for that matter.

By: Paul Duxbury

Paul Duxbury — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:22:20 +0000

Well that certainly generated some interest and discussion. Which, despite the interpretation of my motives by some posters here, was precisely the aim. For every good Genealogy Blog there are literally hundreds which are filled with poor genealogy information.

If one person was motivated to think again about how they construct their blog, to start giving verified sources for their posts or to check their sources before quoting them – then the article achieved it’s purpose. Yes of course it was also intended to generate hits to the site – why else do we have websites if not to get people to visit them – and to think about the postings and to take action?

I am sadddened that some people (who don’t actually say who they are other than their initials) felt the need to resort to personal insults. Perhaps if they had taken a little time they might have discovered that as well as operating one of the longest standing Genealogy Groups (prior to MSN closing Groups) I have over the years been published in various UK Genealogy Magazines and presented at various Conferences. So I do know a little about Genealogy.

Take care

Paul

By: Lisa Rex

Lisa Rex — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:58:48 +0000

I disagree that blogs are a bad source of genealogy data. Good grief, there’s a lot of bad information out there anyway. My old GEDs were routinely lifted off WorldConnect and incorporated into other family trees. Gosh, I probably made the same mistake myself when I was a newbie 10 years ago. That is not the point.

The point is that people should always be encouraged to share their genealogy.

However, I think it’s a good reminder that we should publish our sources. Here we go: http://rootsfinder.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/not-bad-blog/