Wednesday, June 14, 2017

About Yesterday's Rant . . .


If you were taken aback by yesterday's detour from my customary nonchalant review of family history, I suppose an explanation is in order. While it is true I've been troubled by Thomas MacEntee's analysis of the future of genealogical blogging, that is not really the triggering issue for this week's rant. What really caused me to notice details that may support Thomas' assessment was something that occurred during the weekend's Jamboree conference.

Traditionally, during and after the event each year, one of my fellow genea-bloggers, Randy Seaver, has compiled a listing of blog posts regarding the Southern California Genealogical Society event. His compendium would usually make its first appearance toward the beginning of the conference, and he would add to the list as others notified him of their Jamboree-related posts. Over the course of the four days in Burbank, the list would expand to include several entries—twenty bloggers posting fifty entries for the 2016 Jamboree, for instance.

It's now Wednesday, three days after the doors were shut following the last presentation in Burbank, and yet this year—so far, at least—the count is down to seven bloggers and seventeen posts. An even more drastic reduction was the impression received when I viewed Randy's list on Sunday night, right after the end of the conference: only nine posts added by that point.

A far cry from fifty.

Perhaps that reduction is partially owing to less people blogging, in general. After all, it takes gumption to start a blog and persistence to keep it up; some people just run out of steam.

Then, too, it could just be that fewer bloggers attended the southern California event this year. Or, taking a different tack, that some bloggers are now also speaking at genealogy conferences, adding duties where those energies once were diverted to writing only. I know that was true of Melanie Frick of Homestead Genealogical Research and Deborah Sweeney of Genealogy Lady.

Underlying it all, though, may well be the possibility that Thomas has spotted something afar off and made his assessment, devised his escape plan, and headed for greener pastures—all based on solid analysis of business fundamentals. There are all sorts of aspects of modern life that take on the ephemeral. The sure thing today will be the fleeting fad tomorrow—and all but forgotten the day after that. Better to not be the businessman caught in the aftermath.

Knitted deep within that fabric of modern life, though, are strands that may tell a different story. I touched on some of them yesterday—the niches which don't tend to go with the flow, but yearn for a deeper experience. Examining the reasons why family historians—as opposed to entrepreneurs—seek an outlet via blogging may inform us of a much different focus on the use of this tool of communication. It may be possible that we need to consider that not all blogging is the same.

Then, too, the history of people who take up genealogical pursuits—the history, essentially, of us—has gone through several iterations since the marriage of genealogy and technology. Yet, an underlying current in that story has been the sharing nature of the participants and their willingness to be open about their discoveries. The purposes a genealogist may have in sharing research progress might be as varied as the type of genealogist initiating the communication. A researcher looking for lost cousins has a vastly different reason for sharing than would a professional genealogist in search of a client. It wasn't lost on me that the number of professional genealogists posting on Jamboree in their blogs this year outnumbered those who wrote for other reasons.

It's been said by some writers that an author needs to "find his tribe" in order to continue producing material of pertinence. Perhaps that's a mantra to adopt in the niche of genealogy writing, too. But blogging, like any form of communication, also needs to consider that it requires a partnership. While bloggers may have something they wish to say—and choose this medium as their way to say it to the world—they also are in need of an audience which wishes to hear what that specific blogger has to say. Not that this is necessarily a zero-sum game—audiences themselves can expand and contract, depending on fluctuating levels of interest in any given topic—but it does represent a relationship, a sort of equation.

And that sort of equation may include more variables than any assessments we've seen so far on the state of genealogy blogging in general.  

9 comments:

  1. Randy Seaver noted that this year's Jamboree did not include a Bloggers' Lounge.

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    1. A lot of blogger camaraderie was missing this year, Geolover. We also used to meet together informally after sessions. In years past, there were blogging panel discussions and other magnets for those interested in blogging. Things are changing.

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    2. I was rather disappointed by the lack of Blogging activities, too. The first Jamboree I attended in 2010 there was a blogger panel and blogger beads. I should have brought those beads to wear. I really missed the chance to have a place to meet.

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  2. As often happens you have motivated me by validating my 'gumption' I need to work on the 'persistance'. I've begun using 'Genea Daily Prompts' to help me along.
    Gayle---http://familyresearchandme.blogspot.com/

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    1. Gayle, persistence is the rough spot for a lot of us! Glad you have found some inspiration to keep at it!

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  3. I think the real problem is that blogs take time not to mention the hours of research that has to take place before you can blog about Family History.
    I will rant now, I see less and less people have an interest in family history .

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    1. And that, there, might be the underlying difficulty, Far Side: this blogging thing does take time. When I'm really deep into preparing for a researched story, it can take three hours just to put together one post.

      Interest in family history does have an ebb and a flow. I read bloggers stating that the numbers are up--then other bloggers say the numbers are down. For this blog, I know my visitor count increases a lot when television genealogy series are airing--and then drop depressingly when the show is over.

      The niche that is different, in my experience, is the group of committed researchers--the ones who love this genealogy and will keep at it, no matter whether it's the "hot" topic right now or not.

      This group heeds a more intrinsic worth inherent in the hunt for our ancestors. That's the group on the same wavelength as I am--we resonate on that high note. Trying to force a fit with a larger audience would only serve to water down that intensity, losing the spark that brought people together here in the first place.

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  4. I was also surprised by the declining number of bloggers in Randy's annual compendium (it's been a few years since an actual blogger summit took place at Jamboree, too, right?), and I do think you make a good point that not all blogging is the same. I suppose I consider myself a "light" professional at this point in life - my primary purpose in blogging remains to share family stories (and to keep me writing as I work up to the many ideas for longer writing projects I have in my head! ;)). While I do share links to my posts on Facebook and Twitter, to me it is very important that what I write (plus the family photos I share) originates on my blog for greater "permanence" and Google searchability. I've made some incredible cousin connections that I would not have made otherwise. When it comes to an audience for my own blog, then, I'm definitely more in the "quality over quantity" camp and I'm planning to blog on. :)

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    1. Well, a quick check back to Randy's compendium shows a more reassuring set of numbers: eight bloggers and nineteen posts listed, as of Wednesday evening. But yes, Melanie, a melancholy realization that those numbers are down.

      As you mentioned, the cousin connections are key. Your strategy of seeking quality over quantity sounds workable for both your professional goals and your connectivity with cousins--not to mention, the idea development those posts will yield you. Glad to hear you are planning to keep up with your blog.

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