FamilySearch: WOW!! As an event planner and having the opportunity to work with FamilySearch at our events I want to congratulate them on an amazing and outstanding job of putting this ?World Class? event together. I didn?t find anything missing.
It was a real treat for me to attend RootsTech, I actually attended classes and visited every vendor booth in the exhibit hall.
A lot of insight and growth for exhibitors and their staff took place at the conference while they assisted conference goers to learn about new resources and technology available to them. When talking to Rachel Denning, general manager of censusrecords.com, at the?brightsolid booth she mentioned how eye opening it was for her to get to really know the audience they serve. Rachel was excited at the response users had to the product and said serendipity happened when showing patrons how to use the site. Brightsolid is the home of family history and their tagline ?If you?re looking into your past, we are your future? is right on. They are home to censusrecords.com, findmypast.com, ScotlandsPeople, The British Newspaper Archive and more.
Devin Ashby from the RootsTech booth showed me how the RootsTech app was built and just in case you didn?t know it will work on a Blackberry too. It was amazing to get all the latest updates on the cell phone or iPad. You can expect to see this happening at more and more events. Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree planners used something similar at their conference last year too.
There was never a quiet moment at the1940census.com booth. I talked to Jim Ericson near the end of the conference and he said they had signed up more than 970 volunteers during the conference!! If you haven?t registered yet do it now!
FamilySearch.org, Arichives, and findmypast.com have joined forces to allow indexers the opportunity to be involved in a history making event while making history available to all seeking records in the 1940 Census. Thank you!
Dell Computers booth was fun and Sterling Fuhriman was there manning the booth when I stopped by. He was thrilled to see ?the older generation? using technology. He was quite surprised actually!
Besides FamilySearch there were other online family tree building companies including?AGES-Online,?MyHeritage, and Geni.com were pleased to demo their sites and help you to set up an online account. Isn?t it wonderful to know you can access your records anywhere you travel? I recommend that you put your records in more than one place as it hurts when a disaster destroys your hard work. These companies have the ability to help you collaborate and share.
Cemeteries are places I like to hangout in when doing onsite research and I found some help from BillionGraves.com, QRMemorials.com, NamesInStone.com, and Memory Medallion. These sites have different advantages from home and in the field you can contribute and you can search for your family that another user has shared.
Competition and opposition in all things creates strength and assists us to be the best we can as we overcome the challenges. We have had the support and friendship of software developers AncestralQuest, Legacy Family Tree and RootsMagic over the years. Legacy Family Tree has given away a netbook computer at several of our Expos. Not to be outdone at RootsTech, RootsMagic gave away an iPad2 (one at the show and another online for those who could not attend). Thousands of entries in the Treasure Hunt yielded a lucky winner with miles of smiles as we all waited for our name to be drawn. I love the drawings and there is always something new coming from these fantastic developers!
The Ancestry.com booth was always full of enthusiastic attendees who had lots of questions. I saw Crista Cowan and others instructing and demonstrating the site. Even CEO Tim Sullivan had time to speak with attendees. Ancestry.com is approachable and willing to assist you with your research needs.
Oh boy, Family Roots Publishing and Maia?s books were ready to fill your sack with some good stuff. Family Roots Publishing not only sold mountains of books but I heard they sold over 140 Flip-Pal scanners.
Family ChartMasters (formerly GenerationMaps) had all the new charts and designs on display and offered to design any speciality chart you can possibly imagine. Genealogy Wall Charts debuted at RootsTech this year and they were welcomed by the crowd too. They had their printer going nonstop. Friday night the venue allowed them to keep their printer running until Midnight to handle the free chart special they offered.
Publishing companies, storytelling opportunities, genealogical associations, wiki info, and so much more!
A family history, technology, or any other conference is not complete without vendors and an exhibit area. Be sure to check out the specials offered by vendors ahead of time to get your best advantage. And always support the vendors as they are a huge part of the whole event.
If you missed RootsTech this year plan to attend next year. I?ll be there too! In the meantime I look forward to seeing you at an Expo in your neck of the woods.
Source: http://www.familyhistoryexpos.com/wordpress/2012/02/outstanding-rootstech-exhibitors/
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