RootsTech Connect 2021 - 3 Days To Go

The countdown continues to the opening of the RootsTech Connect Expo Hall this Wednesday. One of the great things about RootsTech when it was in person was meeting everyone and having time to chat. I have met many people and made many friendships in the years that I attended RootsTech and I expect that many of you have also met some great people if you have attended the conference in the past. But now that we are all virtual, how will we keep up with our friends and colleagues? RootsTech has that figured out.

One way we will be able to communicate is through the RootsTech Connect chat. You will be able to join a chat room for each class session, discussion, and vendor that you are interested in. On the specific session's page you will find a Join Chat Room or Chat With An Expert button either under or above the session description. Click on that and you will be added to their chat room. To see which chat rooms you are subscribed to, click on the Connect button in the lower right corner. From there you can manage your chats, see if there are new discussions, and ask questions. This pop-up also has a Direct Message capability so you can send messages to your friends to see what they are up to. Also, there is a red + button at the bottom of the pop-up which allows you to create your own chat groups. This can be handy if your friends or genealogical society want to keep in touch during the conference. Each chat room is limited to 1,000 participants but don't worry because we have been told that once that number is reached a new chat room will be created for that topic. The chats will be open throughout the RootsTech Connect conference but will be closed at the end of the conference. So, if you want to keep parts of the chats for your future use you will have to copy them and save them in your own notes.

You can also find new cousins by checking the Relatives At RootsTech site on FamilySearch. You and your cousins will have to have a tree on FamilySearch for this to work since it searches the registered attendees against the data in their part of the FamilyTree to see your common ancestors. You can search by name or region and even invite your friends to participate if they are attending RootsTech Connect. As you can see in the image below, I don't have many relatives attending RootsTech this year but the 46 that I currently have is much more than any previous year. The surprising part is that I have no relatives from Germany but have 5 from Brazil. You can see how you are related to each person by clicking on their name or the dot on the map. You can also send them messages through FamilySearch messages when you want to chat.

These communication tools will help us reach out to fellow attendees, presenters, relatives, and friends. Each of us can participate in these chats and make this conference a more interactive experience, build our networks, and make new friendships, so try them out when you get a chance.

Remember, RootsTech Connect is free this year. You can easily register for it by going to the RootsTech website and filling out the registration form. I hope to see you there and feel free to message me and say "Hi".