Vote Now for your 2017 Rockstar Genealogists...

The “Rockstar Genealogist” Awards is back again for a sixth year, but this time it’s actually back “due to popular demand”, and as always John D. Reid from the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, (one of my fav bloggers by the way) plays host to this. So let’s start with his definition of what a Rockstar Genealogist is … Rockstar genealogists are those who give “must attend” presentations at family history conferences or as webinars, who when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy, or who you follow avidly on social media. Last week he announced the 2017 Rockstar Genealogist nominees, and called for any extras to be added. There are so many on that list that I admire, through what they write be it in magazines, books, or on their blog, as well as those who I love to listen and learn from when I can. The list of those nominated is long and has people from all around the world listed (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Scotland. So it’s great that people from all corners of the globe getting recognition. Many I know, and totally admire for many reasons. Others I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting yet. But what I can say for sure is that the amount of knowledge between (at least those that I know) is phenomenal. And somehow my name has made it on to the list on nominees. So thankyou to whoever has nominated me. I really am flattered. But I’m still not sure I’m there, as I’m not a public speaker, and I haven’t written books, I just write on my blogs. So to be named amongst such a great group...

Blogger Recognition Award...

I got a huge surprise when I found out that Barb from the Decluttering The Stuff blog had nominated me for a Blogger Recognition Award. To say I was blow away is an understatement. Thankyou Barb, I’m truly honoured. So to accept the Award, there are some ‘Rules’: – I must thank the Blogger who nominated me and provide a link to their blog. – I must write a post to show the award. – I must write a brief story on how my blog started. – I must give two pieces of advice to new bloggers. – I must select 15 bloggers to pass this award on to. – I must comment on each of their blogs to let them know they have been nominated for this award and provide a link to this post. So a brief history of how I started … well I started genealogy blogging for work back in 2009, but was finding I was wanting to write more about my own family, and experiences in genealogy, and having my own works far better than mixing it with my work one. So in 2011 Lonetester HQ was born, and I’ve been writing ever since. Two pieces of advice … hmm narrowing it down to two, that’s hard, so I’m going to make it five. – Write in your own “voice”, then it sound like you. – Have share buttons. Never underestimate the usefulness of them. If someone can’t share your post easily, they won’t. – Photos. They are important as people do like graphics (ie. Instagram, Pinterest and a decent portion of Facebook). – Have categories. As your blog grows add categories, and file them into them, because it’s ridiculously hard to find something on someone’s blog if it’s just one l-o-n-g...

Vote Now for Your Favourite Rockstar Genealogists...

For the fifth year running, one of my favourite genealogy bloggers, John D. Reid from the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, is running his “Rockstar Genealogists” Awards. Let’s start with his definition of what a Rockstar genealogist is … Rockstar genealogists are those who give “must attend” presentations at family history conferences or as webinars, who when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy. If you hang on their every word on a blog, podcast or newsgroup, or follow avidly on Facebook or Twitter they are likely Rockstar candidates. Last week he announced the 2016 Rockstar Genealogist nominees, and called for any extras to be added. There are so many on that list that I admire, through what they write be it in magazines, books, or on their blog, as well as those who I love to listen and learn from when I can. The list of those nominated is long and has people from all around the world listed (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Scotland). Many I know, and some I don’t. But what I can say for sure is that the amount of knowledge between them all incredible. I’ve felt that at conferences before, and I get that same feeling just reading this list of names. And while I was a nominee in the Rockstar Genealogist Awards in 2015, I am still surprised that I have made it on to the 2016 nominees list as well. Seriously, even to be on this list is truly an honour. Afterall, I’m no public speaker, and I’m no book or magazine author, but I do write my blogs and I hope that some people read them, enjoy them, and...

Doing a Whole Lot of Dancing!...

Monday last week was a crazy (weird crazy) day. It started off with a call from a guy about some heirlooms another person discovered, and I’ve been traced as being the “nearest relative who is interested in them (and who won’t sell them off)” – but all of that is a story in itself, so I’ll save all of that for another day. But as any genienut knows heirlooms are awesome, so as you can imagine I was on a bit of a high, and yes, felt like dancing. Then I got the mail at work, and I finally got my copy of Inside History Magazine’s September/October 2014 Issue (No. 24). I’m still a paper copy magazine type gal so had to wait impatiently for Australia Post to deliver it. While I’m into some techy-stuff, magazines and books, the old school paper-ones do it for me. Anyway while I’d been waiting for my copy to arrive, I’d seen a number of comments on social media from those that got the digital copy so was really excited, as this issue had their annual Top 50 Genealogy Blogs list in it which I knew about thanks to Jill Ball announcing that it was coming in her 50 blogs you need to read post. Anyway I love these lists, as there’s always blogs I discover from them. And as Jill says … “There you will find example of blogs that are challenging, charming, chatty, classy and clever. There is something for everyone.” Compiled by Australian queen of geneablogging, Jill Ball primarily known for her Geniaus blog, but also author of Android Genealogy and GeneaDictionary to name a few of her other blogs. Inside History Magazine’s now annual “top 50 genealogy blogs” list...

The One Lovely Blog Award...

I’ve been nominated for the ONE LOVELY BLOG Award by the one and only lovely Debra Watkins of the A Pocket Full of Family Memories blog. To Debra, firstly thankyou for reading my posts, and secondly for nominating me, I am really honoured with the Award – so thankyou. To everyone else, do yourself a favour and go visit Debra’s blog, there’s lots of good reading there! And you can read her One Lovely Blog Award post here. Debra is one of my online friends. Although she lives in Australia (as I do), we live in different states, and as yet our paths haven’t crossed in person. But we have communicated a lot via social media – blogs, twitter etc. for the past couple of years. If I’ve nominated your blog, please don’t feel under any obligation to join in with this; I was just pleased to be nominated so that I could share the blogs that I like. =========================================== Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award: • Thank the person that nominated you and link back to that blog. • Share seven things about yourself – see below. • Nominate 15 bloggers you admire – also listed below (or as many as you can think of!). • Contact your bloggers to let them know you’ve tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award. =========================================== Seven Things About Me Hmmm … where do I start? 1. I’m a country girl – I grew up in the Adelaide Hills, and currently live on a 1 1/4 acre block on the outskirts of Adelaide’s suburbia. So I get the country life with koalas and kangaroos and a local peacock being regular visitors to my backyard, while still only...

50 Genealogy Blogs You Need to Read...

One of the highlights from Inside History magazine’s July/August 2013 edition was the list of “50 Genealogy Blogs You Need to Read”. From all the wonderful genealogy blogs that are out there, imagine my surprise in when I saw that my Lonetester HQ blog made it on to the list. Wowee!! Penned by Australian blogger Jill Ball who authors the Geniaus blog, for the second year in a row Inside History magazine’s top “50 blogs that every genealogist needs to follow” includes libraries, archives, societies, personal and professional genealogists, speciality topics and organisation blogs from around the world. Some of the criteria that was used to choose those on the list was: … a blogger does not have to post daily to have commitment, but it needs to be on a regular basis be it daily, weekly or monthly. Readers also need to know what to expect, and this should be communicated in an About page on a blog. Other static pages such as calendars, contact details, disclosures and other relevant information also add value. Originality was the feature that received the most mentions and this has been a big factor in determining the awards. In the words of one respondent, we were looking for blogs that contain more than ‘simply press releases’. There are a whole heap of fabulous blogs on this list, including many I that I regularly read, together with some that I shall now go and discover. You can view the full list of 50 Genealogy Blogs You Need to Read on the Inside History website. And if being listed here wasn’t exciting enough, then the ‘cherry on top’ was most certainly seeing that the Genealogy & History News blog (my work blog) also made the...

My Blog of the Year 2012 Award...

When I started this blog (Lonetester HQ), it was simply created so that I can have my own place to share my own  genealogy, as opposed to the genealogy blog posts I write for work (Genealogy & History News). So when I received advice from Shauna Hicks (who just happens to be one of Australia’s top genealogy experts) nominating my blog for a “Blog of the Year Award” I was simply blown away. Shauna writes: “Lone Tester HQ, Alona Tester – for her family history through the alphabet challenge which inspired many to tell their family stories”. Well, never in a million years (ok, minor exaggeration) did I expect to receive an accolade like that … I’m blushing. But thank you Shauna, I am truly honoured. The ‘Family History Through the Alphabet’ blog challenge was fun, a little challenging at times (fort some letters anyway) and a whole lot of learning. And it’s exciting to see people still discovering the Challenge even now, and taking it up. Through the challenge I have met a heap of wonderful bloggers from around the world who shared amazing stories about their families, and learnt a lot about different countries. I’m thankful for Shauna and everyone who reads my blog, for taking the time to do so. And while I always find it fun to write posts, and a bonus to get comments, an award like this is simply the icing on the cake (which by the way has to be chocolate icing … the best icing there is!!). Thank you Shauna for the nomination, it is most appreciated. I was one of five blogs that Shauna nominated, you can see post with the others here. Nominating blogs for this award is difficult...

Illuminating Blogger Award...

What can I say, I am honoured to have been nominated for the Illuminating Blogger Award, and the fact that the nomination came from the person that I consider to be Australia’s No. 1 Geneablogger, Jill of the Geniaus blog fame just adds to the honour. I was one of six nominations that she gave, and in her nomination Jill says: LoneTester HQ – Alona, is a young, enthusiastic blogger from South Australia who brought a youthful freshness to blogging. She deserves this nomination the effort she has put into setting up and curating the Family History through the Alphabet Challenge. I love blogging, and it started as I was given the task of blogging for work (Genealogy & History News), but as I continued I felt I needed my own blog to share my own experiences and opinions, which is not something you can always do through a work blog – so hence lonetester HQ was created. I wasn’t sure if anyone was even going to read my posts, but then figured I was doing it for me, not others. And now to be recognised for doing what I love by a fellow genealogist, someone that not only have more genealogy experience than me, but also WAAAYYYYY more blogging experience has simply blown me away. But enough about me … As a condition of accepting this award I am nominating six blogs. I have chosen ones that I believe haven’t already been nominated, so as to share the award around. So here’s my choice of nominations: Clue Wagon Kerry is a genealogist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and she has the most unique (and coolest) blogging style that I’ve seen, and I look forward to every new post from her....