At the conclusion
of the first-ever 100% online RootsTech event, FamilySearch CEO Steve Rockwood announced
that this was only the beginning. “It’s
just the opening weekend," he declared. "This is the ribbon-cutting". He went on to explain that the three-day
genealogy extravaganza, which had clocked up over a million attendees, signalled
a year’s worth of access to all the presentations, which have been made freely
available.
Hopefully this immersive online, wholly accessible experience will become a permanent part of future RootsTech
events. Mr. Rockwood hinted at this: “We’ve
always had an online way to attend RootsTech, but now we’ve really made that
core versus ancillary. So I think it’s
very safe to say that there will always be a core way for you to enjoy the
learning and the spirit and the excitement of RootsTech online.”
This new
format for the annual conference, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, was the
first time many people had participated in the event, enabled by the free
global access. Attendees from around the
world were no longer prevented from taking part by financial or time
constraints; all the classes and presentations were pre-recorded and free to
view on demand. The only requirement was
a stable internet connection and 20 minutes or less at a time, the length of a
typical presentation.
I certainly enjoyed
the event immensely. Although not quite
tied to my laptop for the entire three days, I certainly clocked up more screen
hours than I normally would. Time wasn’t
just spent taking in the classes, although that was a great deal of it; I also
chatted (virtually) with other participants and answered questions about the two
presentations I had provided, helping researchers identify Scottish resources
and research strategies that might benefit them.
A significant
drawback of giving presentations in person at a conference is not having enough time to speak
to individual members of the audience who have questions after the presentation. However, with this format it was wonderful to
be able to interact one-on-one without having to worry about getting to the
next class. Including my contact details
in my videos allows viewers to get in touch with more detailed questions
for me.
Another
aspect of the conference that I found valuable was the Expo Hall, where
commercial vendors shared promotional videos, downloadable handouts, and
special offers on their products. As a
result of one of these promotions, I was able to upload my DNA results to a
different provider at no cost, allowing me to widen the net as I search for my
elusive Irish great-grandfather.
However, as
there were hundreds of classes, I didn’t quite manage to view them all during
the “opening weekend”. I've used the
RootsTech website’s playlist function to make sure I don’t forget to watch any
of my pick of the videos. Just
knowing that there is a library of learning available to me any time is
inspiring, as were so many of the guest speakers.
My personal favourites were Pat and Jeffrey Holland, who with their
family took us on a memory-laden tour of their hometown in southern Utah.
So if you
haven’t yet made it to RootsTech, you’re in luck – get along there as soon as you can and check
out the huge range of video sessions on offer, including my contributions (click on the picture below for those). You’ve only got a year left!
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