Blogging as a way to preserve memories?

[Pink Fairy]

I love looking at other people's blogs for ideas, but I'm wondering if anyone blogs simply as a way to record family memories.

 

If you blog as a way to remember all those sweet (and maybe not as sweet) memories, how hard was it to set up, and are you happy with what you've done? Any tips you could share? Also, is there a way to occassionally back up a blog so that it's not completely dependent on the host site?

 

:bigear:

[Remudamom]

I've heard you can get your blog printed into a book. I'd like to do this but haven't found out where/how.

[hornblower]

I guess I kind of do that. I just blog b/e sometimes I have something to say. And other times I don't have anything to say for a long time & that's ok too. But when I look back it does remind us of what we were doing 'back then'.

 

My blog sends me an email whenever I post - I guess I could save all those emails and that would be a back-up. Kind of a good idea now that I say this ... :)

 

You can also set up your blog to allow forwarding by email & then email it to yourself at a couple different email accounts (on your own computer and on webmail). If your computer crashed AND the hosting service lost your blog, you'd still have the emails in your webmail. Unless the webmail host also crashed. LOL.

[Hen]

blogs are really easy to set up, and yes you can back up, in blogger there is a place where you can choose to export it to a hard drive or flash drive.

 

there are companies that will make your posts into a book, I've read that other bloggers have done this and have been very happy with it. When you do the books, you can also go through and pick which posts to include.

[Margo out of lurking]

...

[Wheres Toto]

I blog mostly our "school" activities but I also put in anything else that I might put in a journal. I've tried many, many times over the years to do a handwritten journal and I've never kept it up for very long. I type much better than I hand write so blogging is perfect.

 

The only back ups I've seen for blogs involve paying someone to bind it. I've been copying all my posts and pasting them into a Word document. I do it every 2-3 posts so it doesn't take long. I do paste them in order so the oldest post is at the beginning and the newest post is at the end (opposite of the way they are in the blog). I plan to eventually (maybe once a year?) print off the pages and put them in a scrapbook/binder of some sort.

 

If my journaling becomes more personal I will probably set up a second blog and keep it private.

[Melanie]

I blog about "whatever" and then bind each year's posts into a book using Blurb. My kids LOVE these books! I think it's the best thing I've ever done for them. I've used several different blogging platforms; my absolute favorite is Squarespace, but if I needed something free I'd go with Wordpress.

 

The best tip I have is to store your pictures somewhere like Flickr. If you put them directly on your site it's a real pain in the neck to transfer your blog to a different platform later on.

[i.love.lucy]

Yes! I began blogging without a purpose. It was EASY, easy. Three and a half years later, I still haven't found my "purpose," but it continues to be a wonderful way to look back on the changes in the life of my family. My kids will often browse through. It's also been nice to share with long distance family.

 

I don't write much usually right now, but I make it a point to post pictures and silly little things for us to remember. This has been the BEST way for me to keep any kind of family record. I never was one to journal, and I'm terrible about organizing photos (or even printing them, ha!).

This is me too! Terrible at journalling or any kind of photo organization. And most family is out of state. So I blog mostly our "happenings" or things about school (mostly) that you'd normally want to share with grandmas and aunts, etc. I just started late last year so I don't have too much on there, but I will eventually and it'll be a great way for us to remember our homeschool journey.

[SamuelsMommy]

I've heard you can get your blog printed into a book. I'd like to do this but haven't found out where/how.

 

Check out http://www.blurb.com They will put your blog into a book form. They have different sizes and covers to choose from and are pretty reasonably priced. I haven't actually done mine yet, but I plan to use them when I get a chance to do it.

[chickenpatty]

Me too! I rarely print photos, so without the blog, they are hidden away on my 'puter.