Is genealogy blogging dead?

Susie Douglas of #AncestryHour shares her pick of the latest social media news and views, including a reflection on the end of WDYTYA Live, and a look ahead to the future of genealogy blogging.

The demise of WDYTYA Live has been a hot topic lately across many social media channels and #AncestryHour is no exception. As the Society of Genealogists broke the news that the live show had closed for the final time, it was met with sadness but perhaps not surprise.  #AncestryHour stalwart Erin Tilley @rinnywee reflects on this year’s show in her blog and examines ways an outdated format can be revitalised to appeal to the broader interests of the genealogy community.

Hot on the heels of WDYTYA another announcement that rocked the ‘genie’ world was the end of award winning blogging site ‘Geneabloggers’.  Top #AncestryHour tweeter and team member Tara, @MsFrugalone shared Amy Johnson Crow’s blog with our readers.  Amy’s article discusses the claim that social media, particularly Facebook, is responsible for the demise of traditional web based blogs.  Clearly blogging is not ‘dead’ at all.  However, it is no longer the standalone platform of engagement it used to be.

Social media and genealogy

Social media is dynamic and rapidly evolving.  Understanding where we engage with our audience is key to its effective use.  Social media is an effective tool to ‘funnel’ and drive traffic to your engagement destination.  However, even the snappiest ‘tag-line’ wont lure a reader to read more without an appropriate link.  Equally vital are links within the blog to enable sharing with a wider audience.  Facebook’s flexibility of text is doubtless more appealing than the limitations imposed by Twitter.  However, the younger generation already view Facebook as ‘old hat’ with more visual sites like ‘Instagram’ and ‘Snapchat’ being their media of choice. 

Whichever social media platform you choose, be sure to make your message clear, distinctive and include the relevant link.  In the meantime, any former ‘Geneabloggers’ looking for a blogsite to share their discoveries will be most welcome at #AncestryHour. Join the discussions every Tuesday at 7pm (GMT).

(Image copyright Kenny Louie)