Ready to start your own genealogy blog? There are plenty of good reasons to do it. Genealogists need to be careful not to steal content, or break copyright laws on their blog. It is also wise to make sure that your blog doesn’t contain information that can lead to identity theft.
Many people think that the best way to start creating a brand new blog is to jump online, put together a WordPress blog, and think of a catchy title. In reality, your blogging experience will be much more successful if you take the time to think about what you actually want to do with your blog first.
You have already figured out that you want your blog to be about genealogy. Next, you need to think about what aspects of genealogy you would like your blog to focus on. Do you want to blog about the latest genealogy related news? Would you like to use your blog as a way of recording the results of your genealogy research? Maybe you want to do a podcast about genealogy, and use your blog for the show notes. It all depends on what sounds the most interesting to you.
Once you figure that out, the next step is to find a blogging application that you like. Personally, I prefer WordPress.com, but there are other options out there to chose from. If you are doing a podcast, then you need to find a place to host it, (so that other people can access it), in addition to finding a blogging application to put the podcast into.
Some genealogists, who are writing their blog about family history, family heirlooms, or their genealogy research may want to include photos. One of the best ways to do this is to get a Flickr account, and upload your photos to it. From there, you can attach the photos your blog.
These kinds of genealogy blogs can be filled with very personal information. Make sure that you do not include the social security numbers of your relatives or ancestors on your blog. That type of information can be used to steal a person’s identity. If you are posting a photo of a living relative, it is wise to get their permission to do so before you post it.
Some genealogy blogs focus on the blogger’s thoughts and opinions about the latest genealogy news. If that is what you want to do, make sure that you are not simply copying content, word for word, off of a news article, (or off of someone else’s blog). That practice is called “splogging”, or “content scraping”, and doing it could cause your blog to be shut down.
Make sure you are not violating copyright law when you add information to your blog. You are safe to use facts that are considered to be part of public domain on your blog. You are safe to write your own, unique, content, (such as a description of your experience trying to find your ancestor’s grave at the cemetery).
You cannot post a copy of a handout that you got at a genealogy conference. You can’t post photos that do not belong to you, (unless that photo is posted under creative commons). If you use a creative commons photo in your blog, make sure you put in an attribution that says who the photographer is. If you use a fact or quote from a news article, it is a good idea to link to that article in your blog.
Image by StillAFreak on Flickr