If you want to attend one of the best genealogy events on the West Coast (and in the United States in my opinion), make sure you register for this year’s Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree by end of day on Sunday, May 28, 2012!
The 43rd annual Jamboree will take place from Thursday, June 7 through Sunday, June 10 in Burbank, California, and includes the following events:
Family History Writer’s Conference
Tech Tracks
Kid’s Camp
Movie Night
Research Morning at the SCGS Library
Autry National Center Tour
Genealogy World Discussions
Genealogy Society Development Workshop
Beginners Genealogy First Steps
Beginners Genealogy Next Steps
Librarians’ Genealogy Boot Camp
Hollywood Gala – What are you wearing? Jeans, T-shirts, Evening wear!, Fancy hair styles? You will see it all!
Saturday Breakfast And the Rockets’ Red Glare: Online Resources for War of 1812 Research
Saturday Breakfast – Jamboree Genealogy Idol
Saturday Banquet – How “Psychic Roots” Became an Unsolved Mystery
Sunday Breakfast – The Strange and Unexpected, Dealing with Research Surprises
Sunday Breakfast – Cigars, Murder and Women: Reconstructing A Signature Quilt’s Community
In addition you can select from over 130 presentations delivered by 63 speakers! And there will be over 60 members of GeneaBloggers in attendance – see here for more details.
SCGS 2012 Jamboree – Don’t miss it!
Disclosure: Please see Disclosure Statements for more information on my material connection with the Southern California Genealogical Society, SCGS Jamboree and other genealogy vendors.
Below is a list of bloggers who have indicated they will be attending. Stay tuned here at GeneaBloggers where we’ll be listing the latest RootsTech news and posts (and tweets with the #NGS2012 hash tag).
Note: if you are a member of GeneaBloggers and your name does not appear below but you will be at NGS 2012 please let us know!
Disclosure: I am a speaker at NGS 2012 which entitles me to a free registration, speaker compensation and more. Please see Disclosure Statements for more information on my material connection with all genealogy vendors, genealogy events and genealogical societies.
[Editor's Note: this post is part of an Open Thread Thursday conversation at GeneaBloggers.]
RootsTech – Hype and Expectations
Did RootsTech live up to your expectations or the hype, especially if you were a first time attendee (in person or online)?
My perspective is different since it seems that I’ve been involved with several aspects of RootsTech for several months including social media, planning and trying to get the word out to the genealogy community. And since this is my second RootsTech, my perspective is a bit skewed.
My hope is that for all those first-timers, RootsTech did live up to or exceeded expectations.
RootsTech – The Home Game
If you “played along at home” via the RootsTech website, how was the quality of the content? Were there any technical problems in watching the live stream? Are video clips and handouts easy to find?
The feedback I’ve seen on Facebook and other areas of social media is that the ability to participate in RootsTech from afar was a blessing for many. In fact, the RootsTech staff told me there were over 3,500 nodes on the live streaming at one point on Thursday morning. Genealogists and family historians from as far away as Europe, Australia and New Zealand were participating.
I appreciate the daily recaps on the RootsTech site and I am looking forward to the individual videos. I did find the syllabus materials difficult to find however – visit the Downloads section for various materials.
RootsTech – The Tech Genealogy Mix
What about the mix of genealogy and technology? Was it too “techie” or perhaps not enough tech?
The tech vs. genealogy conversation was a huge one, even before RootsTech. I heard from many techies that it wasn’t techie enough. I heard from many genealogists that some of the technology was “over my head.” I believe RootsTech will work, and even struggle, to find the right mix. The attempt in late 2011 to not have booksellers was part of this struggle. [Note: I am not mentioning this to bring up "old news" - I think the way the genealogy community helped bring resolution to this issue was a success for all involved. I'm just stating a fact.]
Just like a fine engine, RootsTech will need constant tweaking in this area. Perhaps there should be more than just a User and a Developer track for next year’s event. Also a pre-RootsTech survey to help attendees determine their tech comfort zone and then perhaps let them know what sessions might be best for them to attend.
RootsTech – The Venue
If you attended in person, anything about the logistics or the facilities that you would change? Does RootsTech need a larger section of the Salt Palace Convention Center next year?
I despise the elevators in the section of the Salt Palace where RootsTech was held. I call each one a “bread box of death.” They don’t serve the venue well and as a speaker I found it difficult to get from one place to another.
With a 35% increase in attendance this year, I wonder if RootsTech will need to expand to another part of the Salt Palace which is actually quite cavernous.
Oh, and lower the volume on the overhead system. Many times it was like a passing jumbo jet – I had to sit there and wait until I could continue a conversation with someone.
If I Were King of RootsTech
If you were King or Queen of RootsTech and planning for 2013, what would you do differently?
Bring in the young folks. I know this is the big challenge for genealogy overall, but we still have far to go to make sure that the under 50 crowd is finding the genealogy industry.
More industry-related events and focus. For me, I spend quite a bit of time talking about the “business of genealogy” with vendors and others. RootsTech would do well to have events or sessions that discuss where the genealogy industry is and the future.
Bigger venue. See above.
Refine the tech mix. Bring in new vendors but don’t abandon our genealogy traditions of booksellers at conferences. Remember the best way to introduce technology, especially to an older demographic like genealogy, is to walk that balance beam.
Use a conference manager for 2013. RootsTech didn’t fool anyone with its attempt to run an event with lots of committees and no conference manager.
My RootsTech Elevator Speech
What would your elevator speech be for RootsTech if someone unfamiliar with the event were to ask you “What’s RootsTech?”
During RootsTech, the FamilySearch video crew had the chance to interview me and ask my thoughts about RootsTech. This is basically my elevator speech about RootsTech:
