Blog overload?

Geneablogging was my focus today ... but it wasn't about my blogs.

My first task involved putting on my hat as an admin team member of the GeneabloggersTRIBE. Together with Hilary Gadsby from Wales and Laura Hedgecock from the US I create the welcome posts for those who have joined the Tribe. Our genimate DearMyrtle is supporting us with this task. 

I also help monitor the GeneabloggersTRIBE Facebook Group. The other Australian on the admin team, Caitlin Gow has different responsibilities. It's amazing to work in support of geneablogging with this committed volunteer team from around the globe. 

If you are a geneablogger who hasn't joined the GeneabloggersTRIBE do go to the site and sign up. Make sure you check out the Members' List too.

I spent far too long writing my dozen posts today as each blog I view is a magnet to this inquisitive old bird who is into Tangential Genealogy. The blogs I write about entice me to read and explore and they help me form opinions on what elements I think are important in a blog.

Just 513 posts to read

When my creative juices ran dry I turned to the list of genealogy blogs I follow in my RSS feed reader, Inoreader. I added several new blogs to the list I follow. This won't make keeping up any more onerous as many genebbloggers have taken to slow blogging and quite a few have stopped blogging. I don't delete blogs from my RSS feed as, on occasion, a blogger will return to blogging after a hiatus of one, two or more years. I want to be alerted so I can welcome them back.

Of course I spent ages going through the new to me blogs. I particularly liked the titles of the Before Bernadette and  The Restall Gene. I loved the title and the stories in the Behind the Cupboard Doors blog. 

I am impressed by the stamina of new blogger, Duncan in the Churches of Tasmania blog, 25 posts in his first month! I liked the new look at the Derek's Den blog. 

Once my list was updated I set about reading the backlog of posts in Inoreader. I tried to comment on quite a few posts as I know what a buzz it is to receive comments. I have had problems all day connecting to Wordpress.com blogs (even my own) so I have had to skip many of them.

While all of this has been going on I have been watching activity on the Lake outside and at the Australian Open tennis on the TV in my living room.

The importance of having a Blog Archive widget on one's blog site was reinforced today as I tried to navigate through several years of some blogger's posts. The importance of having an About Me statement or page was also strengthened as I tried to make meaningful comments about unknown bloggers.

Several Bloggers have made a great start with the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. The cynic in me wonders how many will make it to the finish line.  I like Lilian Magill's approach to this challenge is more achievable. Lilian is promoting 12 Ancestors in 12 months.

Things have been moving slowly on the internet today so I just logged off and back on and find I cannot access the Inoreader site. I guess that someone is telling me that I need to go and watch Nick Kyrgios play his match in the Australian Open. I'll continue my blog reading tomorrow.

I am not suffering from blog overload, I've had a most enjoyable day and learnt a bit more about geneablogging.

The action outside my backyard

GAGs - GeniAus' Gems - 4 November 2016

From time to time I see articles about the demise of blogging but judging from the contents of my RSS feeds each week there's still a lot of blogging going on. Certainly blogs and bloggers come and go but there is a steady stream of interesting posts waiting for me each time I open my Inoreader account. Nearly each week I discover by some other social media channel a blog or two that were previously unknown to me.

Now it's time for me to delve into my saved selections and select a dozen or so to share with you.

1. My genteel self would like some of these.

http://blogs.hht.net.au/cook/the-most-superb-best-ever-dinner-table-gadget/

2. Shelley has been further exploring her Ancestry hints.

http://twigsofyore.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/i-made-my-ancestry-hints-28-better.html

3. When I visit a library I love to browse the shelves. Joan's browsing turned up this treasure.

http://cdfhs.org/pioneer-put-experiences-verse/

4. We definitely need to borrow Otsukaresamadesu from the Japanese language.

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2016/11/untranslatable-japanese-words/

5. Meet Pauleen - the Irish radio star.

https://eastclareoz.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/clare-roots-conference-experience/

6. Norman's place is always on the itinerary when we have overseas visitors

http://paulineconolly.com/2016/norman-lindsay-the-spirit-of-springwood/

7. A comprehensive report from Debbie.

http://cruwys.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/genetic-genealogy-ireland-2016.html

8. Congratulations to Tiphanee.

https://branchesoftime.net/2016/10/31/progen-26-its-over/

9. There are a lot of rabbits at our house. Maybe we need some cats.

https://thedustybox.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/australias-cat-invasion/

10. So many of my genimates are also bibliophiles like Alex who has been playing Bingo.

http://luvviesmusings.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/aww2016-bingo-challenge.html

11. Just like big institutions we have to plan for obsolescence.

https://slwa.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/digital-collecting-exciting-and-challenging-times/

12. And we can't ignore the First Tuesday in November.

https://laneyspast.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/racing-at-kedron-park/

http://connectingthefamily.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/first-race-meetings-in-australia.html

https://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/trove-tuesday-racing-in-blood.html

New to Me

The Family Stump https://familystump.wordpress.com/

Inoreader

I would never manage to read all the blog posts I follow if I didn't have a way of seeing all those posts aggregated in one spot. My RSS Feed Read of choice is Inoreader.

While rabbiting on in a Facebook group today I confused one of the group members so, instead of typing out some instructions I used Google Hangouts to recordVthis little video. It may be of interest to you or your genimates.

GAGs - GeniAus' Gems - 9 October 2015

I find revisiting the blogs I have marked as possible GeniAus' Gems in my Evernote folder an enjoyable experience. So for the next ten or fifteen minutes (it was actually an hour) I will head to Evernote, reacquaint myself  with those posts and make a final selection.

The list I choose is totally subjective - I don't claim to select the best of the best just posts tht resonate with me.  (and perhaps you too). Sometimes a phrase or sentiment strikes me, a title amuses me, I learn something new or I want to welcome an absent blogger back into the fold. My criteria are fluid and affected by the environment. A big THANK YOU to those who have shared positive comments about this series recently - makes the effort worthwhile.

Each week I seem to happen across new to me blogs, this is good as I note that many of the bloggers in my Inoreader (free, stable, recommended) RSS feeds have taken sabbaticals from blogging. I do hope they return as I try to have a downunder bias in these posts but it's difficult when so many Aussie geneabloggers are on leave at once. I will from time to time add the URLs of new to me blogs to my posts.

Enough prattle it's time to head over to Evernote.

1.  Jennifer tells us about man's best friend at war.

https://jonesfamilyhistory.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/airedale-terrier-amazing-war-dogs/

2. Irish interests? Here's a free course from Trinity College.

http://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2015/10/trinity-college-dublin-launches-free.html

3. Matt shares some new treasures.

http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/photos-of-my-great-grandmother-mary.html

4. Prue starts off her post by proposing some questions.

http://becomingprue.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/mary-ann-williams.html

5. For those bloggers on sabbatical, a plea from DearMYRTLE

http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2015/10/please-write-please-share-something.html

6. Canadian, John, writes an unbiased review of an Australian publication by an English author.

http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/book-review-til-death-us-do-part-causes.html

7. Wayne's Aunt Doris was a generous and dedicated researcher

http://discovergenealogy.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/letters-from-my-aunt.html

8. Denise always teaches me something techy.

http://moultriecreek.us/gazette/archival-quality-blogging/

9. It's unusual for me to include a post from a commercial organisation, my excuse is that I love words.

http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/10/06/drugster-snobscat-can-you-guess-these-old-time-occupations/

10. With a title like that I just had to read Nola's post.

https://nolamackey.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/michael-stapleton-an-ancestor-with-a-wooden-leg-was-he-a-pirate/

11. Another beaut Outback story from Moya.

http://www.outbackfamilyhistoryblog.com/2015/10/03/carrie-of-the-miner-a-lady-first/

12. Susan provides an insight into our ancestrors' journeys.

http://susansfamilytales.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/migrants.html

And I nearly forgot the wonderful recounts of the In Time and Place Conference last weekend. Thanks for sharing your experiences, Alex, Caitlin, Fran, Shauna, You made the conference come alive for those of us who couldn't be there.

New to me Blogs

Bribie Island History  http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com.au/

The Heneker Family http://heneker52.com/

Inside the Travel Lab http://www.insidethetravellab.com/blog/ This traveller loves it

Research by Lily  http://researchbylily.com.au/ (I didn't realise that Lilian had a third blog)

Warcoo Family Histories http://warcoofamilyhistories.blogspot.com.au/ Jeffrey has set up a series of blogs to record his family  stories.

The Honeymoon is over

When I read Tamura Jones' post on Google+ this morning about the closing down of TheOldReader I had a feeling of Deja Vu. (You can read the story at TheOldReader Blog).

I read the blog post then opened up TheOldReader in my browser, there was a message in a red banner at the top of the screen
" We have disabled user registration at The Old Reader, and we might be making the website private. If we do, unfortunately your account will not be transferred to the private site, so you might want to export your subscriptions as OPML and start looking for an alternative solution. More details are in available in our blog: http://blog.theoldreader.com"

That's it, my short honeymoon with this product that I enjoyed using was over. I totally understand the reasons why the volunteers who hosted the site have made this tough decision and I thank them for their efforts.

I needed to find an alternative and quickly. I went to TheOldReader settings and downloaded an OPML file of my feeds because I have only two weeks more access. I will be following my own advice and doing this regularly from my new reader. Not wanting to let the grass grow under my feet I registered with InoReader that was recommended by a few people around the traps.

My OPML file has been imported to InoReader and it looks as though all my Folders and Feeds (and in alphabetical order too) are there. The interface looks familiar (Google reader comes to mind) and I already feel comfortable navigating the site. Although it doesn't have an Android app yet it has a mobile browser interface so I can use that on my mobile devices.

I may have missed reading a few blog posts during the migration but I can live with that.

I hope this is the beginning of a long relationship not just a short fling.