Blogging Genealogy: Put Those Surnames in a Cloud

04/22/2013

12 Comments

 
Are you a family history blogger? Here's a quick tip for your Blogger blog - Surname Label Cloud via BloggingGenealogy.com
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:
  1. Log into Blogger.com.
  2. Select "Layout" in the left side menu.
  3. 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.
  4. If you are currently using the Labels Gadget, then select "Edit" on that gadget.
  5. 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
 


Comments

Elizabeth H. link
04/22/2013 19:33

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.

Reply
Caroline Pointer
04/22/2013 19:54

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

Reply
Mariann Regan link
04/23/2013 07:51

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.

Reply
Caroline
04/23/2013 10:46

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

Reply
Jody Clark Jones
04/25/2013 06:47

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

Reply
Caroline Pointer
09/01/2013 20:40

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

Reply
Catherine Pendleton link
04/28/2013 16:23

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 :)

Reply
Caroline Pointer
09/01/2013 20:42

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

Reply
Anne-Marie Brown
06/23/2013 13:34

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

Reply
Caroline Pointer
09/01/2013 20:35

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

Thanks for stopping by!

~C

Reply
Bernita link
01/26/2014 07:13

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

Reply
Pauleen Cass link
01/29/2014 15:38

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..

Reply



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