Thursday 30 January 2014

The Joy of Blogging in 30 Days ~

By:  Tina M. Austin

My name is Tina Marie Austin and my relatives call me the family historian.  I live in the windy city of Chicago and it has not let us down this winter.  I began recording family stories at the early age of 15 and I started researching family history at age 26.  The Newberry Library in Chicago was my first stop on the genealogy library circuit.  Those were the days when your eyes were glued to the microfilm reader while you scrolled through rolls and rolls of census records searching for your loved one who you couldn't find until you got to the very end of the last roll.  I don't know about you, but my research always provides a little comedic relief.



I've been  researching my ancestral lines and my ex-husband's lines for almost 40 years now and boy has technology changed the "genealogy toolbox."  There are tablets, smartphones, applications, social media, virtual card catalogs, online documents, etc..... and then there is THIS thing called a Blog.  Ten years ago there wasn't even a definition in the dictionary for the term Blog.  Today, not only can you find the term in the virtual Merriam-Webster dictionary there is a whole culture of Bloggers worldwide.

 
I am new to this phenomenon called Blogging and that would be 30 days new.  You see, my innovative creative self has had a difficult time convincing my "ole skool" nostalgic self that it is time for a change.  But with a little coaching from my two daughters, I have arrived in Blogosphere.  In December 2013, I challenged myself to start a Blog in 2014 -  City Girl's Blog.  My goal is to write one story a month about my family.  Soon after I posted my Blog, I ran across Julie Goucher's Blog:  Worldwide Genealogy ~ A Genealogical Collaboration.  What a perfect fit for a girl who loves to write, enjoys telling a good family story, and gets to participate in a worldwide collaboration of genealogy Bloggers.
 
 
 
I am excited about the possibilities that Julie has created for us through this Blog, and feel honored to be in the company of such seasoned Bloggers.  I look forward to our words, our stories and our spirit of camaraderie as we collaborate on a subject that is so dear to us.  My wise mother always told us, "Do the things you love and love the things you do, and you will find life a joy."  Happy Blogging Everyone !!!
   

21 comments:

  1. Hello Tina. Welcome to blogging! I have been doing family history research for about the same number of years as you, so I know what you mean about all the changes. I look forward to reading your posts in this series.

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    1. Thank you Judy. I appreciate your support. When I think about how long I have been doing family history, I always laugh because I still have so far to go. :)

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  2. Welcome to the blogosphere. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I've found a couple of cousins through my blogging. It's always interesting.

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    1. Thanks Schalene. I'm sure our love for genealogy is equally strong. I found a couple cousins too one on each side of the family. One of them and I have spent time together in the Tennessee Archives. It was great bonding time!!!

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    2. That's wonderful. I have two I regularly correspond with -- one in New Zealand and one in Washington State, we are a continent apart. It's fun to have people to collaborate with when researching.

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  3. How exciting, one month of blogging! Welcome, looking forward to your posts.

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  4. Welcome, Tina, to Worldwide Genealogy,. I too began my interest in family history in my teens and began research in the cranking days of old microfilm readers - and what a headache they gave me! How things have changed, though I must admit I feel I have not kept full pace with technology. I began my blog in August 2010 and thought I would soon run out of material to write about and photographs to feature. But the geneabloggers network is so stimulating, I have never looked back and cannot believe I am still here. So there are some great family history blogging experiences ahead of you and I look forward to reading about them over the next months. .

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    1. Thanks ScotSue for your encouragement. Yes we have really come far. I laugh to myself when I think about how it use to be. We must love it or we would have given up on that microfilm a long time ago.

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  5. Welcome Tina! I began researching my family history to in the days when on-line did not exist. It was microfiche and microfilm. Spending days off in the records office and realising that I did eventually have to the do the domestics in the evenings so that my precious days off were spent doing what I loved.

    Happy memories of index cards, libraries and records offices. The cry of Eureka when the missing ancestor was located. The internet surely has to be to us, what the Industrial Revolution was to our 19th Century ancestors and I love it!

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    1. Thank you Julie for the welcome and double thanks for the opportunity to blog in the worldwide blog. Your Eureka was my Snoopy dance. We are so lucky in our era to have the advances in technology.

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  6. WoW Tina Marie....Your Piece was a Delight. Beautiful Family. I have 2 Single Sons their age with Benefits......LoL. I so Look forward to hearing your stories. You've come a long way! Look forward to learning from your experience as well. Welcome to WorldWide! Glad you joined US. Keep your Passion Going.

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    1. Hey True. Thank you for your kind words. Hope to see pics of those two handsome sons in a blog or two. ;) I enjoy your work too!

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  7. Hi, Tina. Welcome to the blogosphere!

    Renate

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    1. Thanks Renate!!! I appreciate the kind support.

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  8. Hi Tina, I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stories, here and on your blog
    Cheers

    Di

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    1. Hi Diane, Thanks for your encouragement. I'll try to keep them coming. Cheers.

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  9. Hey Tina!!! Welcome to the World of Blogging! I enjoyed your post and you have such beautiful daughters...I couldn't tell which one was you because you all look like sisters. ;-) lol. I look forward to reading your stories. So glad you joined us!

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    1. Hey Yvette. Thank you and you are too kind :)
      I'm sure it will be a wonderful journey for all of us and the result will be a legacy of stories.

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  10. Tina, So pleased you saw the light and joined the geneablogging community. Great to see you her on Worldwide Genealogy.

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    1. Thanks Jill. I look forward to the journey.

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