DearREADERS, During last week's MORE Blogging for Beginners Webinar, questions arose about "embedding" a .PDF file in a blog. Though Blogger.com doesn't host those files and accepts only image files, there are a number of possible solutions from outside sources. CAUTION: This is going to be a long blog posting, so save this for a time when you aren't rushed. OPTION 1 During the webinar, Ol' Myrt here suggested uploading the .PDF of your family group sheet or pedigree chart to Google Docs, and then making the file public. For the item to show up in your blog, you'd ...

DearREADERS, Congrats to the new genealogy bloggers out there. At your request, this post will spotlight some great blogs for ideas. Ol' Myrt here has confined her list to just a few of the blog posts I've read today. My comments appear in italics below. What is Ephemera? posted by Gena Ortega. Defining a perhaps unfamiliar word with a hyperlink to more info at another website. It's always a good idea to link to more resources on a topic.How Does a Wiki Work? posted by James Tanner. Part of a series describing technology and how it might apply to genealogy. Your series of ...

DearREADERS, Thank-you for the positive feedback from yesterday's MORE Blogging for Beginners Webinar, now available in archive and CD format. (Hint: The CD version has the handouts.) Here's a sampling of comments from attendees: I am creating my first blog and have the courage to do it now. Thanks for the push.Excellent follow up to DearMYRTLE's previous blogging webinar. Learned lots of new things.Enjoyed the presentation, very clearly presented.I was too intimidated to blog because I didn't understand how to do it, now because of ...

NOTE from DearMYRTLE: As a Genline subscriber, I just received the following information from our friends at Genline.com. Please address all inquiries to usinfo@genline.com or support@ancestry.com. Last summer, Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource, acquired Genline and Genline is now part of the Ancestry family. Today, we are happy to announce that Genline's Swedish Church Records archive is now available in the Ancestry's World Deluxe Membership collection. For Genline customers with active subscriptions, service will continue to ...

DearREADERS, As I prepare for today's upcoming MORE Blogging for Beginners webinar, across my desk comes comes a note from ZDNet with exciting news: "Bing is certainly popular worldwide. StatCounter is reporting that Microsoft’s creation has passed up Yahoo! as the second most-used search engine globally." See: ZDNet's Bing Surpasses Yahoo Bit, by bit, Ol' Myrt here has noticed Yahoo's offerings have been slipping. For instance, unlike Google Reader, Yahoo's blog aggregating service ...

DearREADERS,Our friends at Legacy Family Tree are hosting DearMYRTLE's MORE Blogging for Beginners Webinar TOMORROW. We did a quick run-though yesterday to be sure all systems are go! Here's the DETAILED scoop of topics Ol' Myrt here will discuss during the webinar:at LegacyFamilyTree.Adding followersAdding a graphic on the side barAdding the Google Search BoxTemplate Designer – colors, backgroundsTemplate Designer – layout width adjustmentsMonetize – Amazon Associates Add Page (like a tab) on your blog for disclosure statement.Backing up your ...

DearREADERS, It's the first day of a brand new month, and time for the latest installment of Ol' Myrt's monthly organization checklist. (And you thought I'd forgotten, eh?!) HA! The 2011 DearMYRTLE March Organization Checklist is hot of the press, and ready for your immediate review. This month you'll tackle binders G-L (or computer folders, as ScrapyGen prefers). You'll continue attaching digitized photos and scanned documents to the appropriate ancestors in your genealogy software program  The photo at the right is of my maternal grandmother ...

DearREADERS, For several years, Ol' Myrt here has recommended that researchers clean up their genealogy databases because it won't be long before FamilySearch will give access to what for years was called "new" FamilySearch, not to be confused with the newly revised website design that we've all been working on since the turn of the new year. Now comes word from Ancestry Insider that finally, the first hope of public access to the "Family Tree" part of FamilySearch, that here-to-fore only members of the LDS Church have been able to access. AI writes: "In February 2011, ...

NOTE from DearMYRTLE: The following was posted by our friends at the Lifehacker blog. Gmail Glitch Seemingly Wipes Everything from 150,000 Accounts (So Back Yours Up Already) [Backup] - Lifehacker by Kevin Purdy on Feb 28, 2011 5:02 AM About 150,000 Gmail users, or 0.08 percent of the webmail service, logged in over the weekend to see everything gone—email, chat logs, contacts, and attachments. Google's working to restore the accounts, but in the meantime, take it as another vivid reminder of the value of local ...

DearREADERS,Hope to see many of you at the More Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE webinar. This one marks a new era in my webinar presentations. You'll notice some of the nice "PowerPoint" slides, but much of this  webinar is a live demo. Thanks to the folks at Legacy Family Tree for hosting this webinar. "Back by popular demand, DearMYRTLE continues her discussion about free software at Blogger.com to get your message out to the world. This session's topics include adding gadgets such as links to other websites, add book suggestions from Amazon.com, ...

DearREADERS,Looks like Mr. Myrt and I will be driving home through ice and snow between St. George and Salt Lake City and will miss the Scanfest scheduled for tomorrow, 27 February 2011. (darn!) Here's part of the reminder notice from our hostess-with-the-mostess, Miriam Robbins Midkiff:The February 2011 Scanfest will take place here at AnceStories this coming Sunday, February 27th, from 11 AM to 2 PM, Pacific Standard Time. What is Scanfest? It's a time when geneabloggers, family historians, and family archivists meet online here at this blog to chat while they ...

Introducing GeneaWebinars We keep hearing about genealogy webinars held here, there and everywhere on the Internet.   Thankfully,  GeneaWebinars provides a single place to find out about upcoming events. Imagine, one calendar, and links to information on each webinar presentation in a single, centralized spot on the web! WHO WILL USE THIS CALENDAR AND BLOG? Researchers who want to attend genealogy webinars (online live seminars).Societies and companies hosting genealogy webinars. Individual presenters advertising  their upcoming genealogy webinars. HOW TO ...

DearREADERS,What's a DearMYRTLE Workshop Webinar© ? Real-time demos, very few PowerPoint screens. Small groups – no more than 100 attendees. Sound interesting? After registering participants receive a confirmation email containing information about logging in to the webinar. Only the first 100 who click to enter are accepted. Then 1 week, 1 day and 1 hour before the scheduled webinar, you'll receive a reminder email. To join (log in to) the webinar, attendees click on the link in their confirmation or reminder emails.Attendees' high-speed internet access will quickly ...

DearREADERS, Although we're neatly ensconced in our hotel room in anticipation of the St. George Family History Expo this weekend, we won't miss Friday night's Who Do You Think You Are? Season 2 Episode 4 featuring Golden Globe winner Kim Cattrall as she climbs her family tree. (Great run-on sentence, huh?) Kim is hoping to solve the mystery of her grandfather's disappearance 70 years ago. Visit www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are for a preview.Many of us have skeletons in our genealogical closets, and so it will be interesting to see how Kim handles the stress and ...

DearREADERS, Mr. Myrt and I will travel to St. George tomorrow to participate in the 7th annual Family History Expo. The event will be held at the Dixie Center 25-26 February 2011. Check out FamilyHistoryExpos.com for more details. Here's Ol' Myrt's schedule: Friday, February 25, 2011 7:00 am Registration Begins 8:00 am Opening Keynote Address in Ballroom AB Where Ol' Dogs Learn New Tricks: The Power and Drama of Original Records with Glenn Rawson 10am Sunbrook AB How Ancestry’s Trees Can Jumpstart Your Research (live demo) with DearMYRTLE12pm - 3pm ...