One Lovely Blog Award

The One Lovely Blog Award has been going around the blogosphere in recent weeks. This morning to my surprise, I discovered that I had received this oh so lovely award from Shauna Hicks of SHHE Genie Rambles & Diary of an Australian Genealogist. Shauna is the sole co-ordinator of National Family History Month in Australia and New Zealand, and she does this voluntarily. I am always eager to read her blog posts and articles in Inside History magazine. I love all that she does for genealogy in Australia, plus she’s a wonderful person too! I was very lucky to meet her at the launch of National Family History Month last year. 

Here are the Rules for the “One Lovely Blog Award”:

1.     Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog

2.     Share Seven things about yourself – refer below

3.     Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!) – also listed  below

4.    Contact your bloggers to let them know that you’ve tagged them for the One Lovely  Blog Award

Seven Things about Myself

1. I have lived in the same suburb my entire life thus far, except for one year when I lived in Virginia when I was a baby.
2. I am double jointed. I betcha didn't know that did ya? I get a lot of requests from the kids at work to show my double jointed fingers.
3. I have always loved cemeteries. Even before I knew genealogy existed.
4. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. I studied Education for the first 2 years at Uni. It was towards the end of the second year, and just after I caught the genealogy bug that I realized I was not enjoying it and wanted to do something else. That something else turned into Criminology and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
5. I have always been a shy and quiet person, so making YouTube videos and participating in Google Hangouts is a very big step for me.
6. I am 23 and still don't have my drivers license. I got my Learners at the end of 2007 for ID purposes, but never actually wanted to drive until last year. Currently I have done 75 hours of driving out of the required 100.
7. I absolutely love reading. I fall in love with books and stories so easily. I can stay up reading for hours. I buy books a lot quicker than I can read them. My To Read shelf is overflowing and I'm now making stacks on the floor. I don't even have room for books that I have read anymore.

Reading with my Poppa!

Nominate 15 Bloggers You Admire (or as many as you can think of)

I have decided to nominate 7. I know quite a few people have been nominated already, so I’d like to spread the love to some others and hope you check out their blogs too. Please do not feel offended if your blog is not on the list – this was just off the top of my head. I love the genea-blogging community! 

1. Of Trees & Ink by Heather Collins. Heather is another young genealogist under the age of 30. I was super excited when I discovered her last year! Heather & I co-run Young &Savvy Genealogists together which is awesome. She also does very informative and creative YouTube videos and has an epic love for gifs like I do.
   
2. Elyses Genealogy Blog by Elyse Doerflinger. Elyse is a young genealogist who introduced me to the world of the NextGen Genealogy Network. I love reading her blog – her recent post on collaborative genealogy was really neat! Elyse speaks at a lot of genealogy seminars and events and is a big supporter of engaging the next generation.
   
3. A. Warde & Co. by Ameya Warde. Ameya and I kind of stumbled upon each other late last year. She’s only been blogging for a year, but I’m always intrigued by anything that she has to say. She’s also done a YouTube video too! I’d love to do a genealogy collaboration video one day with Ameya, Heather & Elyse. Now wouldn’t that be hella awesome?!
   
4.  Ruths Ancestors by Ruth Hogan, another young genealogist. Can you sense a theme here? Ruth is an avid blogger who is also following The Book of Me, Written by You prompts.
   
5. Ancestral Breezes by Jen Baldwin. She runs #genchat and Conference Keeper and she is awesome. Need I say more?
   
6. Confuse The Dead by Laurie Desmarais. Laurie has recently been blogging about her Mastering Genealogical Proof Class. Plus she is a rad chick!
   
7. Your Roots Are Showing Dearie by Liam Hobbes. He’s the barkeep during #genchat and his blog makes me giggle with delight! You just need to read it okay.

A little something for everyone! ^_^

My Response to a Geneameme!

This Geneameme was created by Jill at Geniaus. What a great way to end National Family History Month for 2013! It’s been fun y’all!

1. What are the titles and URLs of your genealogy blog/s?

My genealogy blog is called Genealogically Speaking.  

2. Do you have a wonderful “Cousin Bait” blog story? A link to a previous blog post might answer this question.

In July, someone contacted me after seeing a post about my Great Great Great Grandparents Daniel Guyton Smith & Louisa Clementine Brister. She googled their names and my post came up. Turns out she’s also a descendant! Woo! Now we talk via twitter, e-mail and Facebook! :-D

3. Why did you start blogging? Is there someone who inspired you to start blogging?

I’m Gen Y, and growing up I have always had various personal blogs especially when I was in high school. I’ve had my personal Tumblr since 2009ish. Last year I just randomly decided I wanted to blog about my genealogy too. 

4. How did you decide on your blog/s title/s?

I knew I wanted it to have genealogy somewhere in the title, but I also wanted it to be clever & different. I was going back and forth with my boyfriend & in my head tossing up ideas. Somehow I thought of Genealogically Speaking & I absolutely love it!

5. Do you ever blog from mobile devices? What are they?

I’m yet to blog on Genealogically Speaking from a mobile device, but I probably will as I’ve recently acquired a new phone, a Samsung Note 2. The note taking facility on it is wicked, and I’ve also created a genealogy section on my phone.

6. How do you let others know when you have published a new post?

My twitter, and now more recently, my Facebook page.

7. How long have you been blogging?

I’ve been genealogy blogging since Nov 26, 2012.

8. What widgets or elements do you consider essential on a genealogy blog?

Definitely the tag function! It allows you to see any posts with that tag - a great way for discovering new blogs to follow.

9. What is the purpose of your blog/s? Who is your intended audience?

The purpose of my blog is to document & talk about my personal genealogy, and anything genealogy related that I find interesting! Intended audience – anyone that’s interested!

10. Which of your posts are you particularly proud of?

Hmm! There’s a photo I posted of my Great Great Great Great Grandparents graves that’s attracted a bit of attention, which was very surprising. 

But I really love the post I did about the Father/Daughter genealogy day I had with my Dad earlier this year. 

11. How do you keep up with your blog reading?

I’m a bit on the slow side with my blog reading especially when I’m really busy at Uni, but I’ve added the blogs I read a lot to my favorites. This new Paper.Li thing is really cool too!

12. What platform do you use for publishing your blog/s?

Tumblr. I did create a WordPress, but I found it too confusing, lol. 
[7 Feb '14 Edit: Now using Blogger!]

13. What new features would you like to see in your blogging software?

I’m actually not sure!

14. Which of your posts has been the most popular with readers?

The one I mentioned above – the photo of my Great Great Great Great Grandparents graves.

15. Are you a sole blogger or do you contribute to a shared blog?

Sole blogger, though I’d love to contribute to a shared blog one day!

16. How do you compose your blog posts?

If it’s a long one, I’ll write it in Word first, and then copy & paste, and add the pictures etc. Otherwise, I’ll create it straight from Tumblr.

17. Do you have any blogs that are not genealogy related? If you wish please share their titles and URLs.

I do have my personal blog, but as it is more geared toward my generation, I will keep it to myself for now ;)

18. Have you listed your blog/s at Geneabloggers?

Sure have!

19. Which resources have helped you with your blogging?

Geneabloggers definitely! They’re amazing. And of course those who read my blog, and share it on twitter – y’all rock! I just love being part of the genealogy blogging community! Oh, and I can’t forget the NextGen Genealogy Network. Their support is wonderful too!

20. What advice would you give to a new Geneablogger?

Definitely find a platform you feel comfortable using. You don’t have to be all fancy schmancy, and you don’t want to use anything too challenging – at least not straight away! Find your feet, just start blogging, and have fun!

I’m hoping that over the coming years, I can influence more young people into the world of genealogy! You’re never too young to start :)

Gould Genealogy: Don't Stereotype a Genealogist

I thought some of you might be interested in Gould Genealogy’s latest blog post about young people & genealogy. I even get a mention :)

Don't Stereotype a Genealogist | Genealogy & History News

I hope that many more young people become interested in genealogy in the coming future!