Month: March 2020

Hello Everyone!

What a busy few months it has been, and with the 10th Anniversary of the RootsTech, many of us were happily involved with genealogy and family history for that enlightening weekend.

We even had a meet-up at Rootstech on Friday of the conference at the every loved Blue Iguana cafe in Salt Lake City. If you were there and took pictures, be sure to share it with us! Use the hashtag #IamNextGen.

But this year, we wanted to do something a little different with our recap of RootsTech and include all of you (especially the #NotAtRootstech folks) about what were your favorite lectures, what you wanted to see more of and your general thoughts on the 10th anniversary of the worlds biggest genealogy conference.

In our NextGen Genealogy Network Facebook Group (come join us!), we asked, “Even if you were watching online, what was YOUR favorite part of the conference this year? What was most surprising or something you’d like to see happen next year?”

And here is what you told us (responses edited for clarity and length):

Anita Rodgers said: “More of Crista Cowan – More day-to-day researching techniques. Study the number of people in attendance at the aired sessions…You had so many gifted genealogists in attendance.”

Chris Ferraiolo: “My favorite parts of the conference were learning what was coming down the pike from Ancestry, how to better use WATO and of course Blaine Bettinger’s lecture on Genetic Genealogy and its effect on Law Enforcement — I really hope that last one alleviated fears. Next year, I’d like to see more variety. More discussions about other ethnic groups.

Rebekah Jones: “For me, one of my favorites was Cheri’s presentation on tackling difficult stories. This is a topic that isn’t talked about much, and I was so thrilled to see it discussed, especially on the Livestream.”

Jamie Mayhew: My favorite part of RootsTech was being able to share it with my granddaughter. She was able to see me give a presentation and participate in the excitement of thousands of family history enthusiasts.

Katie Goodwin: It was my first time attending and I had a blast! I would love to see more advanced sessions. The ones I went to were pretty packed or ran out of seats.. so perhaps bigger rooms, too

Krista Thompson: Learning about and hearing from the “Berlin Candy Bomber” (Picture Below) was a highlight for me!

There were so many wonderful things about RootsTech this year from the speakers to the vendors and the lectures – and we’d love to hear your experiences. Tweet us, comment below or share on Facebook — and don’t forget to hashtag #IAmNextGen!