12 Christmas Gifts for a Genealogist

Here's a list of a dozen gifts your favourite genealogist might like for Christmas. Maybe you could even sneak one or two for yourself!

1. Ancestry.com subscription
2. DNA Kit 10% off AncestryDNA Nov 29-Dec 14 in U.S.A. or Ancestry DNA in Canada
3. Echo Smart Pen by Live Scribe for recording Family Stories and Memories. I love my SmartPen which I bought on Amazon. I use it to record my 93 year old auntie's stories of her childhood, then I plug it into my laptop and the digital record transfers. Using the pen while auntie speaks, I make jot notes in the special notebooks. Then I can play the recorded stories by touching any word in the notebook. Very cool!
4. Legacy Family Tree Webinars subscription
5. Rootstech 2017 Registration
6. A loupe for magnification so you can scrutinize old photos and documents for clues.
7. A Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, Nook, or other e-reader so you can purchase genealogy books and read them in airports, waiting rooms, on the beach or pretty much anywhere
8. A subscription to the Genealogy Magazine of your choice. I like Family Tree Magazine, but the one you drool over could be very different.
9. A beautiful journal for writing your own memoirs. I love Iona Handcrafted Books and have asked my hubby to buy me another one this Christmas as I'm on my last one. Tip: If the checkout won't accept a non-USA order, just email or phone as they do accept international orders.
10. A Shutterfly gift certificate  I love Shutterfly for creating family photo books or calendars. It's also great for simply getting copies of your family photos so you can share them with family members
11. Acid Free Storage boxes for your treasured family photos and original documents
12. A copy of the Genealogical Mystery Novel "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, available in Paperback or E-Book. In this debut novel, middle-aged Janie Riley is off to Salt Lake City to research her ancestors. Little does she know that murder and mysteries await her!

Twile Integrates with FamilySearch

The following announcement was made last month by Twile and FamilySearch:

Twile and FamilySearch International have announced the launch of a new feature that will let FamilySearch.org users generate a family history timeline and share their research with other family members online.

The timeline is designed to make research and discoveries more engaging for the broader family—especially younger generations—and to encourage collaboration.

Connecting securely to FamilySearch.org, Twile imports a user’s tree and automatically adds events, such as births and marriages, to a personal, interactive timeline of their family history. Users can then browse the timeline, add photos, and share it privately with other family members.

By presenting a family tree as a timeline, Twile makes it easier for the non-genealogists in a family to explore their ancestry through events, stories, and pictures. It also encourages collaboration by letting them add missing details, their own life events, and recent photos.

UK-based Twile won two awards in the Innovator Showdown at RootsTech 2016, including the People’s Choice award. In response to customer requests, Twile immediately started development on its FamilySearch integration.

Third Annual 2017 RootsTech Innovator Showdown Boasts $100,000 in Prizes

The global innovation competition is now accepting entries

RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference, is now accepting entries for the 2017 Innovator Showdown—a “Global Innovation Competition” for developers and entrepreneurs seeking an opportunity to impact the growing multi-billion dollar family history industry while competing for $100,000 in cash and prizes.

The Innovator Showdown seeks to support, foster, and inspire innovation within the family history marketplace. The deadline for submitting to the 2017 Innovator Showdown is December 1, 2016. The winners will present on stage and be selected by judges and live audience voting at RootsTech 2017 on Friday, February 10, 2017. Go to RootsTech.devpost.com for more information.

Last year, 50 contestants, including six international applicants, competed in the Innovator Showdown. In 2017, the total cash and in-kind Innovator Showdown prizes will again be $100,000—making it one of the most attractive innovator contests in the nation.

Showdown Calendar:

    Submissions will be accepted: today through December 1, 2016
    Online Judging: December 1–20, 2016
    Semifinalists Announced: December 20, 2016
    Showdown Semifinals: February 8, 2017
    Showdown Finals: February 10, 2017 at RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Out of all applicants, the field will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists. Showdown semifinals will be held during lunch at the RootsTech Innovator Summit in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 8, 2017 where we will introduce the semifinalists and their products. Five finalists will be announced that evening.

The exciting Showdown Finals are held during RootsTech before a panel of industry judges, including genealogy, technology and business gurus, and a live audience of 3,000 family history consumers, making the Innovator Showdown arguably one of the largest live audience tech competitions in North America. Finals will also be streamed live through RootsTech.org to tens of thousands of online viewers. This year, five finalists will pitch their innovations, field questions from judges, and await the announcement of the winners, while real time audience voting is taking place via texting to determine the winner of the People’s Choice prize.

Cash Prize Breakdown for Finalists:

    Judge’s 1st Choice: $20,000
    Judge’s 2nd Choice: $14,000
    Judge’s 3rd Choice: $6,000
    People’s Choice: $10,000

Besides cash prizes, winners will receive fabulous in-kind prizes from sponsors to assist in successfully launching their products to the awaiting world of family history enthusiasts, bringing the total prize value up to $100,000.

2016 Showdown winners represented a wide variety of family history related products that included:

    1st place winner, TapGenes by Heather Holmes—Tools to identify medical and genetic threads that tie your family together. TapGenes also competed in the 2015 competition.
    2nd Place winner, Studio from Legacy Republic by Michael Chang—Technology hardware and software for digitizing hard copy photo albums using off-the-shelf smartphone technology
    3rd Place winner, Twile by Paul Brooks from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK— Web app that populates a visual family timeline with data and media
    People’s Choice winner—Twile

Entries for the 2017 Innovator Showdown can be made through http://rootstech.devpost.com/ and must include a video.

Image Credit: Innovator+Showdown-lj-0566.jpg from FamilySearch.org

WikiTree Announces Source-a-Thon

Genealogy community donates $3,000+ in prizes to support sourced genealogy

September 7, 2016: WikiTree will be kicking off Family History Month with a three-day sourcing marathon, October 1-3, 2016. Individuals and organizations from around the genealogy community are coming together to support this event by donating door prizes for participants. Over $3,000 in genealogy prizes have already been pledged.

Citing sources is required on WikiTree’s collaborative, free family tree, but inexperienced genealogists don't always record them. As Mags Gaulden, a WikiTree leader, states, “In a perfect world all genealogies would be well-sourced, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. We have all run across online genealogies that are just repeats, copy-and-pastes, of what someone else had thrown up based on what aunt Mabel told them back in the 70s.”

Second-hand family information deserves to be preserved and shared, but it needs to be verified. Generous genealogists in the WikiTree community help each other every day by confirming the information in unsourced profiles and adding citations. 200,000 profiles on WikiTree's 12-million person tree are currently identified as needing independent verification. The Source-a-Thon is a major community event to slash that number, draw attention to the importance of sources, and to have fun doing it.

Live chats will be hosted every few hours during the three-day event for participants to cheer each other on. During the chats, random winners will be drawn for valuable prizes including full memberships at MyHeritage, FindMyPast, Ancestry, Fold3, Newspapers.com, and GenealogyBank, DNA tests from Family Tree DNA, conference passes for RootsTech, software, books, gift certificates, t-shirts, research assistance, and much more.

To be eligible for door prizes, participants must register in advance and get a “race number.” See http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Source-a-Thon

Prize donations will be accepted until race day. Contact eowyn@wikitree.com if you would like to support the Source-a-Thon with a donation for participants.

WikiTree: The Free Family Tree has been growing since 2008. Community members privately collaborate with close family members on modern family history and publicly collaborate with other genealogists on deep ancestry. Since all the private and public profiles are connected on the same system this process is helping to grow a single, worldwide family tree that will eventually connect us all and thereby make it free and easy for anyone to discover their roots. See http://www.WikiTree.com.

RootsTech Streaming Schedule

For those of us who can't make it to Salt Lake City Utah for RootsTech this year, great news! Several sessions will be live streamed! Here is the announcement from RootsTech.

Streaming Schedule

Not able to attend in person? Several sessions at RootsTech, including the general keynote sessions on Thursday and Saturday, will be streamed live on the home page of RootsTech.org. After the conference, recordings of these sessions will be posted on the website for a limited time.

Ancestry Working on Improved Website

For the past few weeks I've been a beta tester for the new website Ancestry.com is developing. I love it! It's visually appealing, easy to use,  and has all kinds of nifty features in the Family Tree section. We beta testers have had a few meetings with Ancestry.com executives and I'm happy to report they are listening to our feedback. 

Example of a page in the new Ancestry site

If you want to be a beta tester and are going to Rootstech 2015, you can sign up at the Ancestry.com booth. You can also sign up online (URL is given below)

Below is the official word from Ancestry on this new project:

Over the past year, we have been conducting extensive research and testing to gather user feedback on our existing Ancestry website and to identify critical pain points. As a result, we have been working on a groundbreaking initiative to evolve the Ancestry website to meet the needs of our users. We will introduce a new and improved Ancestry experience that makes it easier for anyone to discover and tell the rich, unique story of their family. 

The improved Ancestry website includes:

• A new LifeStory view to transform your ancestors’ facts and events into engaging, unique stories
• A new, intuitive, modern look to streamline your work flows and make your family story the focus
• Historical Insights to discover significant historical events that your ancestors may have experienced
• A new Facts View to make it easier to validate facts with sources, and edit and review facts contextually
• A new Media Gallery where you can consolidate all your media in one place

We will be showcasing the Ancestry beta at RootsTech, Feb. 12-14. Visitors to the Ancestry booth will be able to opt in to participate in the beta. For those not at RootsTech who would like to be invited to the beta, visit this link to request to be on the waitlist: http://home.ancestry.com/beta

We will be inviting new participants off the waitlist to join the beta over the next few months.

 

FamilySearch Works to Put the World’s Historical Records Online in One Generation

FamilySearch Works to Put the World’s Historical Records Online in One Generation

See Related Infographic

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—FamilySearch International (online at FamilySearch.org) is leading the way in digitizing and providing access to billions of historical genealogical records by collaborating with commercial family history companies and the online community. This collaboration will carve centuries off the time needed to increase access to the world’s historical records, enabling millions more people to quickly discover, share, and preserve family memories for generations.

Recent announcements of agreements with commercial family history companies are some of the first installments in fulfilling FamilySearch’s desire to remove the traditional barriers to genealogical research. FamilySearch CEO, Dennis Brimhall, explains that joining forces with other organizations, where possible, brings significantly more financial investment and technological resources to the family history industry than the nonprofit community could provide on its own.

FamilySearch plans to collaborate on digitization projects with commercial family history companies to publish new historical records collections on FamilySearch.org that have never seen the light of the Internet. Working with individual industry leaders such as Ancestry.com , Archives.com, findmypast, Fold3, and MyHeritage will also increase and broaden access to the records FamilySearch has already published online. FamilySearch plans to involve many other interested organizations that will provide records, tools, and other resources to allow more people to build, preserve, and share their family trees online.

In a keynote address at the RootsTech 2013 conference, Brimhall shared FamilySearch’s vision to empower people globally to share their family memories and save them for future generations. “Imagine if your ancestors had easy access to computers, digital cameras, and family history websites that allowed them to upload, preserve, and share important family memories through photos, stories, and vital names, dates, and places? How amazing would that be?” Brimhall said.

FamilySearch and its predecessors have been preserving and providing access to the world’s family history records for over 100 years. FamilySearch volunteers have indexed just over three billion records in extraction and online indexing projects, but they have only scratched the surface.
“For the top countries with the highest online research demand, using our existing resources and volunteers, it will take up to 300 years to index the 5.3 billion records that we already have,” Brimhall noted. “That means you and me and the next 10 generations of our posterity would not live to personally benefit from them. And there are another 60 billion records that still need to be digitally preserved. We can do significantly better by working together with other organizations and as a community.”

As new historical record collections are published under the latest agreements with FamilySearch’s affiliates, they will be available on FamilySearch.org and for free on Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, or MyHeritage.com to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch offers free public access to Ancestry.com and findmypast.com through 4,715 local FamilySearch-owned family history centers worldwide. Additional details regarding expanded records access will be announced sometime in 2014, when they are available.

Infographic: Putting the World’s Historical Records Online in One Generation

A Genealogy Baker's Dozen Gift Ideas

Every year I publish a Christmas Wish List for Genealogists. Here are a few of my items from last year plus a few more. Start your Genealogy Christmas shopping now and surprise your loved ones (or yourself!) with a creative Genealogy gift.

1. Ancestry.com World Subscription (or any other genealogy subscription-based site you like)

2. Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner to take to Archives, Libraries and on field trips. Read my first review from November 2010 at Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

3. RootsTech Registration. Ask your loved one to register you for RootsTech 2014 coming up February 6 - 8, 2014

4. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac (PA03656-B005)  I recently bought one of these and I am loving it! It's a wireless document feeder scanner. I can scan up to 25 items at once and they appear automatically on my computer in one file (or in Evernote or Dropbox or many other choices!)

5. Evernote Moleskine notebook. I don't have one and am pretty anxious to try it out! Apparently you write in the notebook and with a click of your smartphone camera, can transfer your notes to Evernote. See The New Evernote Smart Notebook by Moleskine

6. DNA Test Kit from Family Tree DNA (or any other DNA Testing company you prefer)
 
7.  Livescribe 8 GB Echo Smartpen for recording Family Stories and Memories. I love my SmartPen. I use it to record my 89 year old auntie's stories of her childhood, then I plug it into my laptop and the digital record transfers. Using the pen while auntie speaks, I make jot notes in the special notebooks. Then I can play the recorded stories by touching any word in the notebook. Very cool!

8. Don't miss out on this great opportunity. Byron Rempel of IDrawZombies.com can turn a photograph of you (or anyone else) into a zombie portrait. Rempel has been featured in Undead and Loving It in The National Post for his Art project 1000 Zombies. You can also obtain his Zombie Colouring Book to release your inner artist. The cost for the colouring book "Scrapbook of the Dead" is whatever you decide to pay - how cool is that?

9.  A subscription to the Genealogy Magazine of your choice. I'd like Family Tree Magazine, but the one you drool over could be very different

10. Jawbone JAMBOX This tiny powerful speaker allows you to connect via bluetooth to any other bluetooth enabled device (laptop, computer, iPhone, iPad etc) and play your favourite podcasts or listen to any audio with much better quality sound. I have one and I love it.

11. A beautiful journal for writing your own memoirs. I love Iona Handcrafted Books and have asked my hubby to buy me another one this Christmas as I'm on my last one. Tip: If the checkout won't accept a non-USA order, just email or phone as they do accept international orders.

12.  A Shutterfly gift certificate  I love Shutterfly for creating family photo books or calendars. It's also great for simply getting copies of your family photos so you can share them with family members

13. And in blatant self-promotion, how about asking for one of the genealogy and history books I have written and published?

Credits: "Santa Pushing Gift Bag" by digitalart on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don't Miss RootsTech 2014 Coming in February!

Registration is now open for RootsTech 2014, which will be held on February 6-8, 2014, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

This annual family history conference, hosted by FamilySearch, is a unique global event where people of all ages learn to discover and share their family stories and connections through technology. 

 
Did you miss RootsTech 2013?  Watch archived streaming videos from RootsTech 2013.

Don't Miss Out on Early Bird Prices for RootsTech2013

 Olive Tree Genealogy is pleased to be an official blogger again at RootsTech 2013! And as such I'm even happier to tell my readers about the early bird savings if you register now for RootsTech in March 2013. 

Registration is now live for the 3rd annual RootsTech conference on March 21-23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, offers an opportunity unlike any other to discover the lastest family history tools and techniques, connect with experts to help  you in your research, and be inspired in the pursuit of your ancestors.  

You will learn to use the  latest technology to get started or accelerate your efforts to find, organize, preserve, and share your family's connections and history. 

New in 2013! A full track of Getting Started classes and labs will help those new to family history learn where to start, how to build their family tree, and how to use technology to explore their connections. 

Register NOW and Save $70 with Early-bird Pricing!

Registration Options

Full 3-Day Pass Access to everything RootsTech has to offer (250+ classes).	$219 $149 (Early-bird Pricing)
One-day Pass Full admission for just one day.	$89
Student 3-Day Pass Student ID required.	$39
NEW! Getting Started 3-Day Pass Beginner track with access to over 30 classes.	$49 $39 (Early-bird Pricing)
Getting Started One-Day Pass A selection of fundamental classes to help get you started.	$19
Developer Day Pass (March 22) A full-day technology program just for developers.	$89

Learn more and register at  www.rootstech.org.

RootsTech has something for everyone, whether you are an avid genealogist, just getting started, or simply want to discover the latest technologies and solutions to better connect with your family. At RootsTech, come prepared to experience world-class content from speakers all over the country, an exciting exhibitor hall, and great keynote speakers.

Genealogy Idol Competition

This is an intriguing contest offered by Legacy Family Tree ....

Attend the first-ever Genealogy Idol competition - from home or in person

The first-ever Genealogy Idol competition will take place during the RootsTech conference on Thursday, February 2, 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Anyone can participate regardless of where they live or whether they attend the conference.

Four contestants (2 live at the conference and 2 online) will compete (apply below to be a contestant). In the three rounds of competition, contestants will demonstrate their gen-tech expertise and try to woo you with their favorite gen-tech secrets. Everyone will learn - but only one will leave with the title of "RootsTech Genealogy Idol 2012."

For more details click on the link for Genealogy Idol competition at the start of this blog post. 

 

 

RootsTech - Are You Going?

Are you ready for RootsTech 2012? I'm looking forward to it!

RootsTech 2011 was so much fun and I learned a lot. I was super busy being one of the Official Bloggers (as I am again this year!) and so didn't get to as many of the workshops as I would have liked but those I did get to were very informative.

The Vendor area satisfied my insatiable desire for all things technology. I think I drove my husband crazy walking around checking out all the latest toys developments. Oh and enjoying the freebies that many vendors had.

Some were handouts and giveaways but others such as Ancestry.com and Bright Solid were allowing access to their subscription databases at their vendor booths.

So far I've got my room booked. I'm going a few days ahead to do some research in the Family History Library. I still need to book my flight and will do that next week.

I'm hoping to meet some of you in the Salt Palace Convention Center so please let me know if you're going or drop by the Media Hub! You won't regret going, it's an exciting and stimulating experience.

Early Bird Special RootsTech

It's not too late to get the Early Bird special rate for RootsTech 2012 (Februrary 2-4).

Offer ends November 30th so don't delay. Usual price is $189.00 but the Early Bird special is $129.00

What is RootsTech? It's a terrific genealogy-technology conference held in Salt Lake City Utah. I was there in 2011 as an Official Blogger and I loved it.

I'm very lucky to have been invited again for 2012 as an Official Blogger so if you're going (and I hope you are!) drop by the Media Center and say "hi"!

Early Bird Registration Savings for RootsTech 2012

Well it's official. Olive Tree Genealogy is going to Utah in February as an official RootsTech 2012 blogger.

I was there last February as an official blogger for RootsTech 2011 and it was amazing. Combining genealogy and technology - what a great idea. The presentations were very informative and helpful.

If you haven't registered, now's your chance to sign up during the early bird registration period (September 7 to November 30, 2011). This is a savings of $60.00 so well worth signing up now.

Discoveries at Archives.com

Try a Free Search

Recently I started playing around in Archives.com and was pleasantly surprised at the changes and additions to the website.

There are various death records in particular that I found of interest but I was impressed by the large collections of various vital records from different states.

I can't list them all here as there are far too many but you might want to have a look for yourself. I was also happy to see that Archives.com also provides a Request Service - an on-site county search for any court, criminal, or civil record in the United States.  That's so helpful to those of us who don't have easy access to records we need for our ancestral lines.

One of the reasons I  got interested again in Archives.com  is that Anne Roach, RootsTech 2011 conference developer and chair, will join Archives.com as the Director of Content Development. I met Anne at RootsTech 2011 and she's amazingly talented. I can't wait to see what new content she manages to bring to Archives.com

Chatting With Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch International

Shortly after the Awards Ceremonies at the end of the 3-day RootsTech Conference, I sat down with Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch, International. I asked Mr. Verkler how he came up with the idea of combining Technology with Genealogy to create RootsTech. "GenTech had the idea first" he said. Almost every idea was a team effort. The key was thinking together with others and as such, the entire team was part of the creative process in developing the conference.

What about the older generation, I asked. Often they are afraid of new technology or they like using it but don't care how it works. How would Mr. Verkler suggest we reassure this group and find ways to engage them? Mr. Verkler's response was a surprise. He pointed out that some people are at a stage in their lives where they don't care about learning anything new. And that's absolutely okay. But said Verkler, they probably care about getting things done. So who can they ask for help? One of their children? A friend? As long as someone is there to help them, do they really need to learn the new technology? Mr. Verkler doesn't think we should drag them, kicking and screaming, into it. But he also pointed out that sometimes it just takes a bit of encouragement to get reluctant users to plunge in because they are often more capable than they realize.

The bottom line is that the new technology tools are much better than doing things manually. FamilySearch has a course on the basics - using a computer, using a mouse and so on. Volunteers at a local Family History Center are always willing to help, as are the staff at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Libraries offer assistance too. All we need to do is encourage the reluctant or fearful users to find someone or some place that will help them.

I moved on to a question about participant feelings about their RootsTech experience. At the time of the interview, the email surveys had not gone out and I asked Mr. Verkler if he had any feedback at this point. He replied that of approximately 500 comments already turned in at that time, about 498 responded that they were having a great time.  Only 2 of the 500 had suggestions for improvement. [Note: These were the numbers a half hour after RootsTech ended]

What did Mr. Verkler hope RootsTech participants would take away with them? Mr. Verkler prefaced his answer with an analogy. RootsTech was like making a cake, he said. You put together the best ingredients but you aren't absolutely sure how it will turn out or how it will taste. However many participants said they learned some practical solutions. Connections were made between vendors, with others and with associations. CEOs said they would return to a future RootsTech Conference just to work with such highly talented people. And there would be another Conference, in fact the dates for RootsTech 2012 are established (February 2-4, 2012).

I asked Mr. Verkler to take out his crystal ball and tell us what technical innovations are forthcoming. He replied that we will see new things at RootsTech 2012 that don't exist in the public domain at the time of this writing. Mr. Verkler could not share specific details at this time but he stated that technology will be moving at a faster rate than seen in the past.  RootsTech 2011, being the first, was an experiment to see what worked and what didn't. You must do more to determine if you have the right mix. If future Conferences are as good or better than 2011 then we can look for it to be a permanent feature. It will always be in Salt Lake City as there are  many good reasons to  hold it there. The Family History Library being nearby is a huge plus. He added that RootsTech will keep its theme and try to be effective not necessarily huge.

Mr. Verkler pointed out that RootsTech is about the community. The people invited to participate (technologists, genealogists, speakers, companies) were some of the best in the world. The notion of participating as part of the community to make it better is extremely important. And RootsTech 2012 will be even better and stronger than RootsTech 2011.

Ready for a Genealogy Survey?

Are you an avid genealogist? If you answered yes, you may want to take this new genealogy survey being conducted by Myles Proudfoot.

Myles wrote to me to say that he attended RootsTech this year

"...and came away feeling very inspired to go discover more about the new generation of genealogists. As a way to give back to the genealogy community I have created a research survey about people's genealogy habits, attitudes and origins..."

Myles went on to say that he

"...will be happy to share the results with helpful bloggers, libraries, family history organizations or societies at no cost. If the results are really interesting I hope to share a paper at the next RootsTech about the new generation of family historians...."

Myles wants  to hear from genealogists  from all over the world. I took the survey and found it quite interesting.

Six RootsTech Videos Online

And RootsTech just keeps on giving... For those who missed the amazing RootsTech Technology-Genealogy Conference in February, now's your chance to watch a few selected videos

The following Videos are now online for all to enjoy:

* Jay Verkler, February 2011 Presenter: “RootsTech: Turning Roots, Branches, Trees Into Nodes, Links, Graphs”
* Barry Ewell, February 2011 Presenter: “Digitally Preserving Your Family History”
* Curt Witcher, February 2011 Presenter: “The Changing Face of Genealogy”
* Brian Pugh, “Cloud Computing: What It Is and How Its Being Used”
* Thomas MacEntee, February 2011 moderator: “Virtual Presentations Roundtable”
* Brewster Kahle, February 2011 Presenter: “Personal Archiving and Primary Documents”

Quoting from the RootsTech website: "Learn more about how technology is enhancing the world of family history—all from the comfort of your home or office."

I was privileged to interview both Jay Verkler and Curt Witcher during RootsTech. My interview with Mr. Witcher can be found here.

More Cool Things About Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner That I Learned at RootsTech

The Flip-Pal booth in the RootsTech Exhibit Hall was humming and packed with crowds every time I went by. For those who’ve been out of touch the past few months, the  Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner is the latest “must have” for genealogists. Facebook has been buzzing with comments from genealogists such as “this is on my Christmas/Valentine’s Day/Birthday wish list!”

The Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner is small, lightweight and does a top-notch job scanning photographs, documents and just about anything you can think of. The built in software that installs on your computer allows for simple editing and stitching together of individual scans of larger items.

This little device is a winner! I bought one when it first came on the scene and I love it. You can read my previous raves at Fun With 87 Year Old Auntie & Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and
Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

When I stopped at the Flip-Pal booth I chatted with a member of the Marketing team named Walt, who told me that there are new developments planned for the future. He also informed me that Couragent, Inc. (formerly Rocky Mountain Ventures Company) announced recently that the Flip-Pal™ EasyStitch software is now available for Mac computers. The latest software for both Mac and Windows is available to customers on the company website, www.flip-pal.com/customer-care, in the Downloads section.

Walt mentioned that "It is fascinating to hear all the different ways people wanted to use a Flip-Pal mobile scanner to collect genealogy information: pictures, documents, personal writings of ancestors and even scanning gravestones."

Diane & I with Flip-Pal

Walt introduced me to Diane, another marketing team member and part of the design team for the user interface and we had a brief chat. The crowds were clamoring for attention so I didn’t take up too much of her time. She did show me something they had brought to RootsTech to get a feel for reaction to it.

It's not a go and they didn't want me to share photos of it  but since 3,000 participants had an opportunity to take a peek, I will tell you what it was - covers or skins for the lid! I loved them and would have bought one immediately if they'd been in production and available. Fingers crossed that FlipPal goes ahead with the idea. If they do, I'll let you know about it here.

Walt sent me an email after I arrived home from RootsTech to tell me that they had 2 shipments of Flip-Pal™ mobile scanners and sold out both times. The booth sold out the first day and after the second shipment arrived the second day, they sold out of that as well. Every day of the show saw customers coming by the booth well before the show officially opened and until after the lights were dimmed in the evening. You can’t ask for more success than that.


Disclaimer: After buying, using and loving the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, I became an affiliate. I don't receive anything for telling you about Flip-Pal or how much I love it, but I do receive compensation if you purchase a unit through one of my links like this one - Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner.

Talking with Joe Everett of Ancestry.com (a RootsTech Interview)

I sat down with Joe Everett, Content Manager at Ancestry.com during the RootsTech Conference February 10-12.



EXPERT CONNECT

We only had a few minutes to talk so the first thing I asked Joe was why Expert Connect was discontinued. I mentioned there has been a lot of grumbling in the genealogy community about the sudden cut.


Joe pointed out that he was not involved in the decision, but Ancestry as a company has many ideas and has to carefully consider where to invest. Right now their biggest focus is in delivering more records and improving the search experience for users.


Other ideas and projects are secondary out of necessity. One of the questions the company asks themselves is “how much of our resources does this project take and how much does it contribute to our goals” They also look at whether or not a project or idea is cost effective.


Joe remarked that he personally liked the idea of the service and he was hoping to offer his services in translating Russian and German documents. In his talks with genealogists, he found that many loved Expert Connect, and successfully used it to connect with clients, while others were not in favor of it.


I asked if ProGenealogists, which has been acquired by Ancestry.com, is geared to pick up Expert Connect but Joe said, no, that ProGenealogists will not take over the ExpertConnect service. However, ProGenealogists will continue to provide genealogy research services as it has before and contribute to the Who Do You Think You Are series with research.


When ProGenealogists was acquired, the company considered it to be a complimentary service to ExpertConnect, and that together they would form a great combination. However, the company found that the expected growth of ExpertConnect did not justify the investment required to maintain it as a first-rate service




CONTENT ACQUISITION & FAMILYSEARCH

My next question was about the acquisition of content. I asked if Ancestry is rethinking their plan for content acquisition in light of FamilySearch working towards the goal of digitizing and transcribing all their records and providing them for free to researchers. Joe informed me that Ancestry.com plans to continue adding much more content and has no plans of slowing down.


Joe noted that Ancestry and FamilySearch have worked co-operatively in the past, for example the 1881 UK and 1880 U.S. Federal Census were collaborative projects. They have worked together on other projects such as improving the quality of images on the Ancestry site along with enriching the data. They are always looking at other ways to work with FamilySearch.


Ancestry, Joe told me, brings one set of resources while FamilySearch brings another, and thus collaboration is a win-win.


WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE

I wanted to talk about Who Do You Think You Are. Season 1 was very successful and now we have Season 2 which looks to be quite popular. I asked Joe if Ancestry is seeing a surge in traffic and subscriptions? Joe replied that usage of the Ancestry site increases dramatically during the time WDYTYA is aired, and that new people are being introduced to family history and Ancestry.com through the series.


I wondered if we Canadians might one day get our own version of WDYTYA. Joe informed me that there was a season in 2007-2008 of Who Do You Think You Are? specifically produced for Canada. It only aired for one season. The shows official website is http://www.cbc.ca/whodoyouthinkyouare/index.php. Ancestry.com was a sponsor.

If the producers decide to do another season of WDYTYA in Canada, Ancestry.com would be very interested.


MOBILE APPS


What about Mobile Apps, I asked. There is AncestryTree for iPhone but what else might be coming for mobile users. Joe reminded me that AncestryTree app has recently released an update. The update means that now users can view records and images that are attached to their tree, from within the mobile app. Joe explained that users could always see photos but now you can see the actual images and records on your phone.

That’s a very cool upgrade! I have the AncestryTree app but haven’t done my upgrades for a week so I’ve got to get that one.

I enjoyed my talk with Joe and want to thank him for giving up part of his lunch break to spend time with me!