Tracing the Tribe's second blogiversary!

Tracing the Tribe is celebrating its second anniversary - excuse me, blogiversary - today. The badge (left) was created by footnoteMaven. Thank you, fM! (Oh, and where do I get a pair of legs like that?)

Where do I begin?

Rewind to May 2006 - if someone had told me then that I would be blogging Jewish genealogy in August of that year, I would have laughed. However, the better response would have been, "What's a blog?"

These two years - footnoteMaven says this equals 10 in blogging years! - have been an amazing adventure.

I've met the most wonderful and interesting people among my great readers and blogging colleagues, learned about technology (me do what????), widgets, Skype, Facebook, spoken at conferences, been part of breaking news and worn my fingers to the bone (destroying many a manicure!).

When I got that email and call from then-JTA Digital Editor Andy Neusner, I said , "you do know I'm older than 20?" to which Andy responded "20-year-olds don't know Jewish genealogy."

That's where it began - thanks, Andy.

Tracing the Tribe now offers more than 1,500 posts, has garnered nearly 175,000 page views, attracted some 12,000 readers during July from around the world (including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia and many other more likely countries).

It has weathered the recent Blogger blocking and locking. It has survived my tentative switching from the old Blogger template to the new one (Randy, it really IS easy!) and even survived opening a mirror site on wordpress and copying all posts in case of future problems.

What have I learned?

The most important experience garnered is that my blogging colleagues are great folks, always willing to help, and as nice in person as they are in virtual blogworld. The SCGS Jamboree attracted a great group.

What else?

-That some of us need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century - thanks, Thomas - to use new technology.

- That presenting diverse opinions help all of us understand different issues - thank you, Janet Brown and Craig Manson.

- That participating in group projects such as the Carnivals of Genealogy are as useful for us as for the larger community of readers of all our blogs - thank you, Jasia, Bill, and our other hosts.

-That meeting incognito bloggers in person is the best thing ever - thanks, footnoteMaven - and realizing we share so much, including smoked brisket and that amazing chocolate dessert. What could be better than talking genealogy (brain candy) in all its myriad aspects while enjoying an utterly perfect meal lasting three hours with brilliant companions.

- That Tracing the Tribe would be recognized as a great online resource by Family Tree Magazine, after such a short life and when the others sharing the award have been around for decades. This was a great honor.

- That blogging has provided opportunities to meet interesting people who have become good friends in Jewish genealogical societies, including Rosanne Leeson (JGS of San Francisco Bay Area), Lyn Blyden (JGS of Washington State), Marlene Bishow (JGS of Greater Washingon), Pamela Weisberger (JGS of Los Angeles) and many others, including Kathryn Doyle of the California Genealogical Society. Thank you to everyone!

My husband deserves a major appreciation award. He's the one who puts up with my blogging hours, and is always ready to make his special chicken-and-potato dish for dinner when I've lost all reasonable sense of time.

Regrets? None.

Any wishes?

- That there were than 24 hours in a day and more than seven days in the week and that I could figure out how to be in several places at once.

-That more readers would chime in with comments. I only wish more readers would chime in with visible comments on what they like about the blog or what they would like to read more of, offer topic suggestions or anything else. Feedback from readers is important for all bloggers. I know you are reading Tracing the Tribe, but I'd like to know more about how you feel.

Thank you to everyone, readers and bloggers alike, who have encouraged me along the way.