Genealogy meets the blogosphere: Using social media for family history research

Cooke suggested asking yourself, "What would other genealogists be thinking about?" She said it's necessary to "sprinkle" key words, or the kinds of words people will be searching, throughout posts in order to get hits. The more hits a blog gets, the more the blogger can share with the world.

It's all yours

"There are no rules … Think of it as your own journal or diary," MacEntee said of blogs. "You set the rules. It is a blank canvas, a tabula rasa, you would say."

"Be gentle with yourself. There's no contest here," Cooke said. "It has to be right for you at your pace so you'll enjoy it."

If you've been working on finding ancestors, consider posting your information to a blog. See what happens.

After just a few short months, Cason already has 17 followers. "People will find you," Cooke said.

To search the list of GeneaBloggers blogs, visit www.geneabloggers.com.

To access Cooke's instructional videos, visit the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/ GenealogyGems.