According to my list of posts, seven years ago today is the day I started blogging on this site. Some would call it my “blogiversary.” My first post wasn’t very exciting as it looks to just be a copy of a story about Irish genealogy. Though, I quickly found my way and started to write better, more interesting posts. It’s also neat as my birthday is on the 18th.
My site dashboard says I have 432 posts as of today (including this one) and it’s been 2557 days since my first post. Doing some quick math that would make it a post every 6 days or so. That’s not really a bad average taking into consideration some of the longer breaks I took.
It’s been seven years since the first post on this site, but I know for a fact that I blogged more about genealogy before this specific site came about. I was blogging in general back in about 2000-2001, back when Blogger was still owned by Pyra Labs, its creator.
I hope to go seven more years. I’ve done a lot in those seven years. Made lots of new connections, broke down a few brick walls, and found a nice community. Here’s to the future!
Here are some of the more interesting posts I’ve done in that time:
- Who’s To Blame?
- Arriving By Ship
- Ireland Loses a Daughter
- Why Does Genealogy Interest Me?
- Across the Pond
- I’m on a Boat: Passenger List Found!
You can always find some of the best posts by visiting my “Featured Posts” section.
Photo: gecko4wd@flickr
I hope you’ve got seven more years in you!! I’ve only recently started following your blog, but I like your approach. In fact, your work (along with that of a few other folks) has prompted me to begin thinking about starting a genealogy blog of my own. With that in mind — and in recognition of the seven years that you’ve got under your belt, maybe I could pose a few questions: What sage advice would you share with folks who are thinking about going the blogging route? What are the biggest challenges and frustrations? Any technical advice for newbies regarding the various platforms that are available? LOL … didn’t mean to give you an anniversary assignment, but you’ve obviously learned a lot in seven years, and I’m eager to learn from a pro!!! In the meantime, keep up the good work!
Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad I’m giving inspiration to someone out there.
Some good advice is to just write for yourself. Don’t try to lure readers in with gimmicks. Stay true to yourself or your content. I’ve been using WordPress (self-hosted) for a long time now and I would never go back to another platform. Some of my biggest challenges would just be finding time to write stuff. I always get ideas (though, usually in the worst places like driving or in the shower) but I never get the push to write it all.
Congrats, Brian, on 7 years!!
Thanks!
To my “almost twin” geneablogger: Happy 7th Blogiversary! :-)