Tuesday, January 23, 2018

TUESDAY’S TIP ~ Keeping Track of Your Blog Posts - Here's How I Do It - What's Your Method?

Tuesday's Tips

As we blog about our families, how do we keep track of what we’ve written about and what we haven’t?  Sure, we can use the search feature in Blogger (and whatever method Word Press uses), but is that the best way?

After about 7 years of blogging I began to realize that I ran the risk of duplicating a particular subject about an ancestor. I asked myself…..
  • Have I already written about this couple in Wedding Wednesday?
  • Have I already transcribed that particular will or probate record?
  • How about that Civil War pension file I received?  Have I written about it yet?
Here is how I’m now keeping track.

Using my Legacy database I create an Event called “Blog Post – posted on Michigan Family Trails.”

To add a customized event in Legacy follow this group of screen shots.

(click on any image to enlarge it)
adding blog post to events    adding blog post to events-2    adding blog post to events-3

Now that you’ve created your new Event you can select it and add your blog post.  You can see that is what I’ve done here.  We have an Event/Fact (selected from our drop down menu), Description – the title from my blog post and Date – the date I published the post.

adding a blog post Harry wedding

The next step is to add a link to your entry.  This link will take you directly to your blog post.  In the image above you can see a picture icon (third from the left next to the Event name).  Click on that icon.  NOTE:  It will be gray until you’ve added something to it, mine already has something attached so it is in color.

The next screen you see will be this one.  Follow the instructions in red.
adding a blog post - internet selection

The next screen you see will be this one.
adding blog post to events-6

Enter your website URL – I go to my blog post and select the exact post I want to link to and make sure that exact post is in the URL at the top of the web page.  Then I simply copy and past it. 

Next – I enter the title of the post in the Caption area and the date of the post.  I have never used the description field, but that would be up to you.  This is how it will look when your done.

adding a blog post add url

And, here is how it looks after you’ve completed adding the URL.

adding a blog post final

One final step I take is to mark the blog post event as PRIVATE.  I’m not sure I want these blog post events to show up in a family book or report.  I can always change that option should I choose to.  But, I want to initially mark them private.  You also have the option to exclude the event from problem checking.

adding blog post event private

Now when I am viewing information on one of my ancestors I can clearly see if I have ever written a blog post about them specifically, their family or something else related to them.

Here is a sample from my grandfather’s list of events. 

adding blog post - Harry events

This system is working well for me.  I still have a lot of catching up to do, in going back to my earlier posts and making sure they are recorded as events for each ancestor they apply to.

Another step I take is using the Hashtag feature in Legacy 9.  I’ve created a hashtag titled Blog post with the description that I have published a blog post featuring or mentioning a particular ancestor.
 
Do you keep track of your blog posts in some other way?  I tried using a spreadsheet, but found this method works better for me.  I’d love to hear from my fellow bloggers about this.

I have a tab on my blog devoted to Legacy Tips.  Click here to find it Legacy 8 & 9 Tips

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

10 comments:

  1. I keep a list of all my blog titles in one Excel database, by year. When one is published that deals with a particular person or family, I enter the link to that post in a second Excel database, which can be sorted alphabetically by last name. I realized I needed a system after about 6 months of posts.

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    1. Hey Linda. I began with an Excel spreadsheet, but I wasn't maintaining it. So, I came up with this and it seems to be working. Whatever, we can do to keep track is a good thing :)
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. May I link your post to my post on organization for the In-Depth Genealogist? This is a fabulous Idea!

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    1. Cheri, yes, I would be honored if you linked to my blog post. Thank you.

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  3. I've been blogging (2 blogs) for almost seven (!) years and started an Excel spreadsheet about five months after I started. My columns are date, day-of-week, Category (which includes GeneabloggerTRIBE categories and 52 Ancestors), Title, and Tags. I have a tab for each of my blogs and I've been good about keeping this up because it's the only way I can quickly find if I have blogged about a particular ancestor. I can also use the filter feature to filter for a specific GeneabloggerTRIBE category or tag.

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    1. That's great Elizabeth. I think whatever method we can find to keep track of our blogs, our genealogy records or what have you, is worthwhile. We all think differently and no one method will work for everyone.
      Thanks for sharing your method.

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  4. This is a great idea, and often have to go back to my own blog to work out if I have covered a top previously particularly after doing the A to Z challenge last year. I like the idea of using Legacy to keep track of everything. If it's attached to my genealogical program I can always find it or at least know where to go and find it. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Those are my own thoughts as well Sandra. If it's in Legacy, I have easy access to it. Plus it becomes part of the history of events for that ancestor.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Oh, wow, this is awesome. I'll just fold this into my current spring cleaning project. Thank you so much for this post!

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    Replies
    1. Glad it helps Christine. So far, I’m liking this method and I’ve tried others through the years. I still have lots of early posts to go back and log, so I have my own spring cleaning.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.