Blogging Genealogy: Put Those Surnames in a Cloud

4/22/2013

Surname Label Cloud

Um. Not a real cloud. And not a storage cloud.

But a Label Cloud.

If you've been blogging a while and you've added the Label Gadget to your Blogger Family History Blog, then you know how unwieldy that list can get. Even worse, it's ugly and not really all that usable by your family history blog visitors.

You know, those potential cousins you want to read your stuff to see if you're related? Yeah, those folks.

So? Make a Surname Label Cloud. Here's how:

First, your blog posts need to be labeled with the surnames you've been writing about in each post. Hopefully, you've been doing this already. If not, you'll need to go back to each post and add labels to them. If y'all need instructions on how to do that, then I'll blog about that next. {Ha! Another blog post idea. ;)}
Too much trouble? Then I guess you'll be skipping this tutorial today, and I'll see ya' at the next one. ;)
Then:

Log into Blogger.com.
Select "Layout" in the left side menu.
If you are not using the Labels Gadget already, then select "Add a Gadget," scroll down in the Gadget Pop-up Window; and select the Labels Gadget.
If you are currently using the Labels Gadget, then select "Edit" on that gadget.
Follow the screenshots-with-handy-dandy-instructions-on-them below. They are in order from left to right, top to bottom. Just click on the image and it will become bigger. Like magic. ;)

Have any questions? Comments? Let me know in comments below!

~Caroline

© Copyright 2013 Caroline M. Pointer

12 Comments

Elizabeth H. link

4/22/2013 12:33:46 pm

Wow - thanks for letting me know to review these blogger features. My list of tags was getting way too long. Additional note: you can add this feature more than once. I set one up to display my surnames and a separate one to display my locales.

Caroline Pointer

4/22/2013 12:54:26 pm

Thanks, Elizabeth. I'm glad you found the information useful. I used to have 2 of them until I created my Surnames/Locations Page. But, you are right. That is definitely a good option! Whatever makes them stay, read, and connect with us is definitely a plus in my book.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. I appreciate it! :)

~C

Mariann Regan link

4/23/2013 12:51:42 am

Hi, Caroline! This is a super idea, and I'm going to put it on my to-do list: SURNAME LABEL CLOUD. I'll ask the @wptribe peeps how to do this on Wordpress--I'll bet it can be done. I've been chugging away at my family tree and my pile of documents, and I've got a crowd-cloud of surnames. Thanks so much for this great idea.

Caroline

4/23/2013 03:46:35 am

Thanks, Mariann. I'm glad you found it helpful. I mentioned some Wordpress Plugins for this on the BloggingGenealogy.com Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/BloggingGenealogy

Thanks for stopping by and reading, Mariann! =)

~C

Jody Clark Jones

4/24/2013 11:47:40 pm

I want to add my thanks for your recent posts. Your step-by-step instructions for adding a contact form were exceptionally clear and easy to follow. I am new to blogging, do not have many tagged surnames, but look forward to adding the surname cloud feature, thanks to your informative post.

Appreciatively,
Jody

9/1/2013 01:40:27 pm

Jody, I'm so glad you found this post helpful, and thank you for your kind words.

And thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it. =)

~C

Catherine Pendleton link

4/28/2013 09:23:47 am

Wonderful! Thanks for posting instructions. I had to go add some more labels---been lax on making sure I've done that. I noticed from the size of the fonts which surnames I've been writing about the most. Nothing like a visual :)

9/1/2013 01:42:02 pm

Catherine,

You're right. The visual is incredibly helpful -- for you and your visitors {and potential cousins}! I'm glad you found the post helpful.

And thank you for reading! =)

~C

Anne-Marie Brown

6/23/2013 06:34:05 am

Thanks for teaching me how to add a cloud of surnames, I've now done this before my blog gets too big.

9/1/2013 01:35:05 pm

Awesome, Anne-Marie! Hopefully, you'll help out and catch a few cousins. =)

Thanks for stopping by!

~C

Bernita link

1/25/2014 11:13:01 pm

I love this idea. I am going to use it on my blog. Thank you for this great tip.

Pauleen Cass link

1/29/2014 07:38:56 am

Caroline, thanks for this. For info of WP.com bloggers they can't add plug-ins but they can still have a cloud. I'm not sure you can isolate out surnames nut it works for all tags - I have one ony wp.com blog..

Blogging Genealogy: Put Those Surnames in a Cloud

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