RootsTech Countdown - 1 Day to Go

RootsTech is probably one of the most fun things a genealogist can do in a week. It is amazing being in the presence of all these dedicated researchers and developers. Even though yesterday was the day before the start of RootsTech, I was still busy. My wife is accompanying me on this trip. This is her first RootsTech since the pandemic. 

Queue outside the FamilySearch Library

First thing in the morning, right after breakfast, we lined up outside the FamilySearch Library with a good number of other people. I saw several of my genealogy friends and chatted with them while we waited. It's always good to catch up and see what they have been up to for the last year. When the doors opened at 9:00am there was a mad rush (Black Friday style) for the elevators. Ok, maybe it wasn't Black Friday style but everyone calmly headed to their respective floors to begin their morning of research. We went to the US/Canada book collection on the third floor to see if we could find early 1800s records for several counties in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Our research goal was to establish the next generation for my wife's Walker line. We didn't find what we were looking for so we left about lunch time and headed over to the Salt Palace to get our badges for the conference and take a look at the Expo Hall.

IIGS Booth

In the Expo Hall we met Angie Breidenbach, the President of the International Institute of Genealogical Studies, where my wife and I are studying for our degrees in genealogical studies. We helped her set up the booth and chatted for a while. We also took some time to see how everyone else was getting along with their booth construction. Everyone was busy getting things ready for today. There are over 120 vendors in the Expo Hall this year so it will be a fun experience. We were able to chat with Ellen Goodwin, CSO of Artifcts while she was waiting for supplies for her booth. Artifcts specializes in saving memories while decluttering and preserving the value behind your things. They give you a digital way to organize stuff and capture the meaning behind objects. We also visited with the LaFreniere family who own Related Faces. I wrote about their company last year and this year they are back and ready for another RootsTech. Related Faces uses AI to scan your photos and isolate faces. Then their program compares those faces with their entire database, returning pairings with photos from your own collection as well as others. These pairings can help you fill in the blanks of your photo mysteries as well as connect you with users who may have more details. Then I had to run over to Ballroom G and room 155E to do tech checks for my talks. 

Lego Family Tree set

The evening was very busy with attendance at two socials and dinners. The first dinner was at the Speakers Social. We sat down and heard from Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch. He talked about how far we had come in genealogy, from microfilm to digitization to DNA and now the exploding world of Generative AI. He commented that Generative AI is now at the place where DNA was 7-8 years ago for genealogists. After that dinner some of us headed across the hall for the Media Social and another dinner. There we heard from Steve Rockwood again. Steve talked about his family history and discovering his ancestor, Tim Rockwood. David Lambert, one of the attendees, had given Steve a book written in the 1880s which contained the genealogy of Tim Rockwood. Steve Rockwood also talked about Generative AI at this event and about the new Lego set that recently came out. This set is a Family Tree. After the socials we were given a tour of the Expo Hall to see how much work had been completed and get a general lay of the land. 

Day 1 starts in the morning, and I am up at 4:00am writing my blog and getting ready for my first talk at 8:00am. But before my talk I will have a breakfast event with Storied to hear more about their big news. More on that to come. Have a fun day at RootsTech whether you are here in person or watching the virtual conference from home.

 

RootsTech 2024 Countdown - Forums or Classes?

We arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday and decided to take it a little easy. Coming in from the east coast means early to bed and early to rise when you are on Mountain Time. And it also means a 40-50 degree drop in temperatures. It is below 30 this morning...brrrrrrr. Today will be a day for preparing for RootsTech which starts on Thursday. We will be headed to the FamilySearch Library at 9:00 to take advantage of the RootsTech hours and do a little research on my wife's Walker family. Then head over to the Salt Palace around lunch to get our registration and tour the venue. Then to the Expo Hall to help set up booths. We will be meeting Angela Briedenbach from the International Institute of Genealogical Studies and also try to help The Family History Guide get set up. After that I have a tech check for the rooms that I will be speaking in and then the Speakers Social and Media Social tonight. I will also need to go over my schedule to make sure that I have the sessions on my calendar. That means deciding on attending Forums, General Sessions, or classes.

Why should you consider attending the Forums? I like the forums because you can see short presentations from a variety of speakers and companies. This is where the future is presented. 

Thursday at 9:30 is the FamilySearch Tech Forum. This is an opportunity to hear Craig Miller, CTO of FamilySearch and see demonstrations of the new products that will be released. Early word is that the Family Group Trees will finally be released after several years of development. Family Group Trees will allow you to share the private individuals with your family group so you all can work together to update the tree. There will also be some additional new products released that will make family history more productive.

Thursday at 10:00 is the Innovation and Tech Forum. This is the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in family history from various companies. The features speaker will be Jared Sparato, Corporate Vice President of Modern Work and Business Applications at Microsoft.

Friday at 9:30 will be The Impact Forum. Speakers will talk about how family history has a positive impact on individuals, families, and society. 

Saturday at 9:30 is the FamilySearch Global Forum. FamilySearch will talk about the work being done around the world to promote family history. Some new things that you may learn about during this forum could be the FamilySearch Cemeteries Project, the FamilySearch African American Ancestors Project, individual country and region landing pages, and new collections.

All of these forums will be broadcast online as well as attended in person. 

On the other hand, there are so many classes to choose from. Most sessions have 15-20 classes so how do you choose? You can choose to follow a track of classes. They have a track for Beginners and an advanced track that BCG is hosting which focuses on professional development. You can follow a track based on your research interests such as German research or DNA. Or you can mix and match. There are over 250 in-person classes and 150 classes online so I am sure that you will find something of interest.

So, no matter what your interests, there will be something for you. And you also have the opportunity to watch classes from previous years in the archived videos. So sit back, gather your snacks, select your sessions and have a fun RootsTech Conference!

RootsTech2024 Countdown - 4 days to go

Hello everyone. Have you been wondering where I've been? It has been a busy year! In my previous post I mentioned that I had started a course of study at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. The classes there have been great. I am currently working on the Advanced Methodology classes and taking classes in transcription, paleography, and DNA. Once I complete the 14 classes in that track I will start my American Studies and German Studies courses which have 12-14 classes each. My wife is also taking classes and will focus on DNA and English Studies. We also started our genealogy research company called OurAncestories Genealogy. We have been busy working on projects and getting that business started. Of course my speaking engagements have continued with three programs during February and two presentations for RootsTech this week. I have continued working as the Education Director for The Family History Guide and you may have heard we just signed a contract with NGS to be their official education partner. And I was able to write a couple Wiki articles for MyHeritage over the summer. Is that everything? Well, I still continue to work my regular day job and have had frequent trips to South Florida to work with our partners restoring the Everglades. My plan is to retire at the end of 2025 so I can focus more on the genealogy part of my life.

Now to the subject of the post. RootsTech2024 is this week! I am getting prepared to fly to Salt Lake City on Tuesday to get ready for everything that I need to do. I will be speaking at 8:00am MST on Thursday and Friday and my topics will be Using Census, Maps and Newspapers to Enhance Your Research and Adding Social History to Your Family History. Both of my classes will be in-person only.  If you are there in person you may also find me in the Expo Hall where I might be in the Media Hub doing interviews, or at The Family History Guide booth introducing people to their great website, or at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies booth talking to people about genealogy education.

This year, RootsTech will be a hybrid conference with over 150 classes broadcast online and nearly 270 classes in-person. Additionally, there will be presentations from the various exhibitors in the Expo Hall. So what is the cost? Virtual registration and Expo Hall attendance are both FREE! In-person conference attendance is $109 for three days. Classes are available for people of all experience levels and interests. I have some German classes and Artificial Intelligence classes that I am particularly looking forward to seeing while my wife is planning on attending several DNA classes and possibly some Irish classes. You can see the schedule of classes on the RootsTech Schedule page.

RootsTech will have several celebrities present during the event. 

• Henry Cho will be on stage on Thursday. He is a comedian with a variety of appearances on TV and film. 
• Lynne M. Jackson will be on stage on Friday. She is the great-great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott of the Dred Scott Decision and founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation.
• Nancy Borowick will join Lynn M. Jackson on stage on Friday. She is an internationally renowned photographer, author, teacher and speaker.
• Katie James will be joining the virtual portion of RootsTech on Friday afternoon. During her artistic career of more than 15 years she has released 5 albums and has toured stages in Mexico, Italy, Holland, Scotland, the United States, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia.
• Kristin Chenoweth will be on stage for the closing keynote on Saturday. She is an Emmy® and Tony® Award winning actress and singer and she received a coveted star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What else can you do at RootsTech?

• Family Discovery Day - All day Saturday. This program is FREE and you can participate in dozens of family discovery activities, watch a shoot out with basketball legend Jimmer Fredette, receive a free copy of the 2024 RootsTech Family Recipes eCookbook, and watch pros play an exhibition pickleball game!
• Archives and Records Custodian Symposium - There will be a variety of live and virtual sessions specifically designed for Archivists during the week.
• Young Adult RootsTech After Party - RootsTech After Party for ages 18–30 Friday evening. See a special address from Elder Kevin S. Hamilton of the Seventy and Sister Kristin M. Yee, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency and stay for live music, dancing, a service project, and family discovery activities
• FamilySearch Tech Forum - This forum is Thursday and will be in-person and broadcast virtually. It is a special forum focused on the offerings of FamilySearch. Hear about the newest innovations FamilySearch has to offer.
• Innovation and Tech Forum 2024 - This forum is Thursday and will be in-person and broadcast virtually. Artificial intelligence is changing family history. Come learn from industry leaders and partners as they share the latest developments created with you in mind.
• The Impact Forum - This forum is Friday and will be in-person and broadcast virtually. Learn about the impact of family history in and beyond the genealogy community. 
• FamilySearch Global Forum - This forum is Saturday and will be in-person and broadcast virtually. Hear from FamilySearch global leadership, including Ann Harrison, Stephen Valentine, Tom Gill, and Michael Colemere as they discuss efforts to make family history accessible world-wide.
• Night at the Expo Hall - On Thursday evening from 6:00-7:30 RootsTech is holding a “Night at the Expo Hall”. The theme is a masquerade ball, and they will have masks for you at the door or you can bring your own masquerade ball mask.
• Pickle Ball Demonstration - There will be a pickle ball demonstration in the Expo Hall on Saturday and some of the players will highlight the importance of remembering our family sports heritage, and how to document it properly is just as important as other family facts.

Check-in begins at noon on Wednesday in the Salt Palace. I recommend that you pick up your registration packet on Wednesday and tour the Salt Palace to see where your favorite classes will be held. That way you are prepared for your first class at 8:00am Thursday (when I am speaking in Ballroom G) and won't have to wait in registration lines.

If you will be joining RootsTech in person remember these basic recommendations:

1. Bring comfortable shoes. You will likely exceed your step goals every day.
2. Bring water and stay hydrated. Salt Lake is a dry environment and staying hydrated is very important (especially for those of us from places like Florida).
3. Dress in layers. The conference rooms are cool and the outside temperature will be in the 30-40F range. Make sure you are prepared for a variety of conditions. There is a coat check area under the main stairway where you can store your heavier items.
4. Have fun! This is the Disney World for genealogists. Attend classes, visit the Expo Hall, see old friends and make new ones. And don't forget to check the Relatives at RootsTech app to see if you have new cousins.