TopFamilyTravelBlogs.com
When we were first thinking about attempting a year-long family road trip in an RV being a web-head one of the first things I did was look online to see if other families were doing it. We managed to find some, but the sites that were listing and linking to them were not user friendly and the listings were often out of date (lots of families start blogs then quickly find out the amount of time and effort they take, so many are soon abandoned).
We collected a bunch of blogs, and subscribed to their RSS feeds using feed reader software, but I know that many less-technical people don’t understand the workings of RSS. I’ve long had it in mind to do something better and easier for non-techies to grasp and save them the headache of doing the same searching I did.
I had started to build something custom but came across paper.li in my travels and thought I’d give it a try. Basically you setup a new paper.li, point a bunch of sources to it (blogs, twitter accounts or hashtags, etc), and each day paper.li generates a new “issue” from the new content in those sources. It’s not everything I was going to build but it’s close enough that if it saves me the trouble it’ll be worth it. You can get the updates via email if you subscribe.
I had already purchased the domain of TopFamilyTravelBlogs so I’ve directed that to the “paper” for ease of navigation and bookmarking: http://topfamilytravelblogs.com. The TopFamilyTravelBlogs paper is currently getting content from over 60 blogs plus a couple of YouTube and Instagram feeds.
I don’t mind the effort and expense of putting this together, but only if it’s going to prove useful. So let me know if you like the idea and find it useful enough to keep coming back to or subscribing!
Logos
Show the world your blog is included in TopFamilyTravelBlogs - and help readers of your blog find other blogs from traveling families. Download one of these logos to use - just right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) on one, and choose Save Image As. When you use the image please link it to http://topfamilytravelblogs.com.
If you need HTML it would be along the lines of:
<a href="http://topfamilytravelblogs.com"><img src="/path-to-your-images/FeaturedOnTFTB250.png"></a>
The path to the image will depend on where it resides on your webserver - shoot me an email if you need help figuring it out.
150 pixels wide sidebar:
250 pixels wide sidebar:
650 pixels wide banner:
200 pixels wide footer:
Stephanie writes:
Hey guys! This is so wonderful.;)
Thanks for including our blog on it, too. Keep up the great work. I DO think this is very helpful for newbies, as well as seasoned rvers.
Blessings,
Steph
Euan writes:
It’s been a while since I looked at paper.li but I now see they have a Pro package which might be what I’m looking for for a new site. Wouldn’t have come across it without this post so thanks.
Boyink writes:
Thanks guys. Yes, I’ll probably up for the Pro version. Cost-wise it’s what I would have spent on hosting for a custom site.
James writes:
I agree with the above - thank you for putting it together. I have been scouring the web to find good content like this. I will be subscribing today.
Boyink writes:
Thanks James - glad to hear it!
Stephanie writes:
Hi there! So, I have your logo on my blog, I just wanted to make sure that I did it right?!! HA!
Thanks,
Steph
Boyink writes:
Yep - looks good! Thanks!
Dusty Baker Adamson writes:
Thanks! We got the link to work on our site and are enjoying the daily feeds!
boyink writes:
Cool Dusty - glad to hear it.
Lisa writes:
Thank you for this resource! Wow, we were just talking about taking our business on the road and wondering how to do it with our 3 boys. When I googled and found this resource, tears almost came to my eyes. Really. We already homeschool so that’s less of an issue - living in a small space…that we’re wondering about.
Boyink writes:
Hey Lisa -
So glad to hear it! Curious, what terms did you search on Google for?
If you are a Facebook user look for a “Fulltime Families” group - there is lots of activity there from helpful traveling families.
Funny side-note, we’re also smoothie people (not entirely, but definitely daily). The blender is running now….;)