Article #161 Online Publishing

My husband’s life story was published in two different formats: a printed book with black and white photos, and a PDF (Portable Document File) copied on a CD with photos in color which could be mailed or emailed as an attachment sent to family members. Older folks usually prefer a printed book, but the younger generation enjoy something to read on their computer or online in this age of advanced technology. (Photo of three generations: me, my mom-we look a lot alike, and my grand daughters Heather and Emilee who are now 13.)

You can publish online on the Internet with a webpage, blog or social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. If you decide to publish this way, there are privacy controls except for webpages. You can choose who you allow to view your family history on these sites. I have a webpage where I’ve published all my family histories I’ve collected and written on my deceased ancestors for the past 15 years. I do not put information on living relatives or my own life story on my webpage because of privacy considerations. See it at http://famhistory1867.com. Making a webpage is very labor intensive. Mine is open to the public. Anyone can do a search online to find an ancestor they are looking for, then contact me for more information. This has enabled me to meet many new Internet cousins.

On my blog which is also open to the public I have carefully published excerpts from my life story. See http://lettersfromlin.blogspot.com. How is that different? Well, a blog is a web log or journal, a place to write daily or as often as you wish about anything you want. A simple way to share photos, histories, life experiences, etc. while a webpage takes more effort to make changes. A blog can be added to easier than a webpage. If you want to publish your family history in episodes this may work for you.

With a blog you have the option of it being open to the public or restricted to just those you wish to view it. You can authorize others to contribute their photos and comments in posts making it like a family online scrapbook, a fun place to share “living history.” There is a comment section where others can leave remarks on your blog. That makes it interactive and is quite fun to get a dialog going with your readers. Be careful again on what you reveal about living relatives or yourself IF your blog is open to the public.