Sunday, November 15, 2009

What has the Carnival of Genealogy Meant to Me?

The short answers -- Blog fodder! Readers. Writing experience. Friends. Colleagues. Recognition. Warm fuzzies -- they really liked my submissions (well, most of them!).

Probably even more important is "what has the Carnival of Genealogy meant to the genealogy world?" The short answer is that the Carnival, and the blogs of the contributors, are the proving ground for a new generation of genealogy writers. With only a few exceptions, all of the writers that contribute to the Carnival of Genealogy are unknown to the established genealogy world - the world of regional and national societies, conferences and seminars, editors and publishers, authors and columnists, etc. After several years of exposure, some genea-bloggers are now columnists or writers for national print or online magazines, and some are regular presenters at regional and national conferences. I fully expect that many more genealogy bloggers, and Carnival of Genealogy participants, will soon be writing and speaking in the establishment genealogy world.

The 84th Carnival of Genealogy subject is the title above, and Jasia has some questions for us to answer:

Q: What was your favorite topic to write about?
A: Probably the happy dances and genea-gasms.

Q: Have you guest hosted the COG?
A: Nope...

Q: Is there an article you've read in the COG that stands out in your mind?
A: I'm too old to remember any one article even I've written, besides Genea-gasms, of course!

Q: What have you learned from reading or writing for the COG?
A: From writing - that I have a lot of pretty boring stories to tell. From reading -- that there are many excellent family history bloggers out there!

Q: Have you ever recommended the COG to anyone?
A: To any genea-blogger that asks "how do I get readers?"

Q: If you haven't participated in the COG thus far, why not?
A: Um, just a bit -- see the list below these questions.

Q: How has the COG helped your family history research?
A: Because of the different articles about my childhood and genealogy activities, I've been contacted by distant cousins, my favorite math teacher, and a lady that grew up in my old neighborhood.

Q: Has it impacted your life in any way?
A: Oh yes... I've been exposed to the family history writings of hundreds of genea-bloggers, and we have become a community of supporters and encouragers.

Here is the list of my blog posts submitted to the Carnival of Genealogy over the past three years (with carnival number, carnival subject, and my carnival post):

5 -- Historical Fiction -- Book Review - "Mayflower"
6 -- Genealogical Societies -- If Genealogy interest is so high, why are the numbers down?
9 -- Genealogy Vacations -- My Carnival of Genealogy Vacations

11 -- Family Get-Togethers -- Have you made your video memoir?
14 -- Christmas Gift-giving -- Dear Genea-Santa
15 -- New Years Resolutions -- Genealogy Resolutions for 2007
17 -- Acknowledging those that have inspired us -- How in the world did this happen to me?
18 - 5 best tips for specific research areas -- 5 Best Genealogy Resource Sites in San Diego
19 -- Shelter from the storm... - The house I grew up in
20 -- A tribute to women -- Today is my Gram's 107th birthday.

21 -- Funny, foolish family -- A cure for insomnia and If Mary April married Claude Fool, she would be ... Mary April Fool!
22 -- Carousel edition -- Their Odyssey - to San Diego
23 -- School days -- My favorite teacher
24 -- Mothers! -- My Tribute to Mom - Betty Virginia (Carringer) Seaver
25 -- Who Inherited the Creative Gene in your family? -- The Creative Gene? Nope, not me!
26 -- Dads! -- Fathers I Have Known
27 -- What America / Independence Day mean to my family -- America means "Freedom for all"
28 -- Surnames -- Seaver Surname - Origin, Meaning, Crest, Famous People, Localities
29 -- Moral or legal dilemmas in genealogy -- A Challenging Moral Dilemma
30 -- Genealogical conferences / seminars -- Genealogy Conferences I Wish I'd Attended

31 -- Family myths and legends -- Family Myths and Stories and More Family Stories (or Myths?)
32 -- Wartime stories -- Patriot Soldier, Isaac Buck
33 -- Weddings! -- The Wedding I Really Appreciate
34 -- Halloween and the Supernatural -- The Witch in my Ancestry
35 -- Do you have a family mystery that might be solved by DNA? -- Ancestral clues from DNA studies
36 -- Carousel edition -- The Future of Genealogy - My Turn
37 -- Christmas wish lists! -- Dear Genea-Santa
39 -- New Years Resolutions -- Genealogy Goals for 2008
40 -- Living relative connections -- Dear Cousin - I think we're related!,

41 -- If you could have dinner with ... -- Dinner with my Elusive Ancestors' Children
42 -- iGene awards for 2007 -- It's Academy Awards time - the AGFH of course!
43 -- Technology review -- Technology - Hardware, software, web site
44 -- A tribute to women -- Abigail A. (Vaux) Smith
45 -- Cars as stars of our family history -- The Cars of my Life
46 -- Inherited traits -- I Am a Unique Person
47 -- A place called home -- Leominster, Massachusetts
48 -- Mom, how did you get so smart? -- How did mom get so smart?
49 -- Swimsuit edition -- At the Beach!
50 -- Family pets -- Rootie Toot Toot, Lickety Split, Softie and Squash/Mira

51 -- Independent spirits -- Martin Carringer (1758-1835), an Independent Spirit
52 -- Age -- Age - mind over matter?
53 -- Carousel edition -- Chopped Liver is related to Wild Bill Hickok too
54 -- The family language -- San Diego Slanguage
55 -- Show and tell -- Show and Tell - the treasures
56 -- 10 Essential books in my genealogical library -- 10 Essential Books in my Genealogy Library
57 -- I Read it in the news -- I Read about Benjamin Franklin Seaver in the newspapers
58 -- Spooky, eerie and haunted stories -- The Haunted Whaley House in San Diego
59 -- Politics and our ancestors -- Political Persuasions
60 -- Alzheimer's disease -- Touched by Alzheimer's Disease

61 -- Traditions -- Family Holiday Traditions
62 -- Three wishes -- Dear Genea-Santa
63 -- New Years Resolutions -- Genealogy Goals for 2009
64 -- Winter photo essay -- A Winter Non-photo essay
65 -- The Genealogy Happy Dance -- Genealogy Happy Dances and/or Genea-gasms!
66 -- iGene Awards for 2008 -- The Genea-Musings iGene Awards for 2008
67 -- Nobody's Fool -- Della (Smith) Carringer had it all together!
68 -- A tribute to women -- Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (1899-1977)
69 -- What if? -- There are things that happen in a moment
70 -- Uncles -- Uncle Ed

71 -- The old home -- A Victorian House in San Diego – turned into a box
73 -- The Good Earth -- The Good Earth? Sometimes not good enough.
74 -- Swimsuit Edition -- Family Photographs -- Post 12: Swimming Suits
75 -- Justice and Independence -- My Revolutionary Roots
76 -- How I spent my summer vacations -- Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer ... Our 1950's Vacations
77 -- Disasters -- "18 April 1906 - San Francisco - They Were There! "
78 -- Pony pictures -- Family Photographs - Post 8: Randy and his Horsey
79 -- Reunions -- No Family Reunions

81 -- Your blog's obituary -- Genea-Musings dies - blogger goes...
82 -- Breaking into society -- Genealogical Societies - Socialization Networks

A total of 70 entries, I think! I've missed a few, but really not many. some were due while I was on vacation, and I forgot to submit a post for others, and I couldn't offer anything for a few of the subjects.

Thank you, Jasia and the other COG hosters, for your efforts to publish the Carnival of Genealogy twice a month. It is certainly a labor of love! But all of the readers love them!

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