It is already Friday! I can’t believe how quickly this week has flown by. We had more slushy now fresh on the ground this morning, but there is also bright sun and it is not as cold today as it has been.
After an hour and a half in the library, I headed to the Expo Hall in the convention center so I would be ready and waiting when they opened. I visited with quite a few vendors and will have a post on Monday sharing some of the companies and the products and services being offered this year.
The first sessions began at 11. I couldn’t pass up Ryan Millner and How to Bring Your Blog to Life with MooseRoots.
He shared links and explained the different historical and statistical records on MooseRoots that can be accessed and used with no worries about copyright restrictions. If it is on MooseRoots, it can be posted on our blogs. Even if you don’t write a blog, but share family stories online, MooseRoots is great resource and it includes that word that helps to stretch the budget – FREE. If you haven’t heard about this relatively new company, it is well worth a visit.
The afternoon session choice was Technical Tools for Land Research by Rick and Pamela Boyer Sayre. Pamela began by reviewing the differences between colonial (metes and bounds) and land state records and how to locate them. Quite a few sites were visited to show the depth of the time span and records that can be accessed.
The last part of the talk was devoted to platting programs available, such as DeedMapper from Direct Line Software (which is not freeware). I have done quite a bit of work through the years digging through land records and I have to say the Sayres gave a very thorough overview of sites and tools out there.
The last session of the day that I visited was Professionalize Your Blog or Website: DOs & DON’Ts by Laura Hedgecock. Tips to present a professional looking website included, first and foremost, fresh and unique content. Laura then reviewed platform choices, theme choices and other details. Further recommendations about graphics, including images and videos, readability and injecting personality into a blog site were suggested.
I have learned so much about setting up a blog and navigating the administrative end of my website in the last two years and I was very pleased that I have done most of the tips that Laura suggested.
This was yet another brain churning, fast-paced day, but one not to be missed.
My dilemma tomorrow will be deciding how many more minutes I can squeeze into the library around the morning session. Unfortunately, I have to miss the last RootsTech session because of my flight departure time.