This has been a busy with with RootsTech 2022 happening and it is not surprising that Randy Seaver chose the conference as the challenge for this week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1)  The RootsTech 2022 Virtual Conference was Thursday through Saturday (March 3-5) this week.  Did you register and attend classes?  Did you watch the Keynote talks?  Did you visit the virtual Expo Hall?  What was your favorite experience?

I registered several months ago for RootsTech 2022 and spent quite a bit of the last three days wandering around the virtual conference.

I began my visit during the two-hour preview of the Expo Hall, as I like to browse the vendors to see what goodies are on sale. I start a list of products in which I am interested and then return later to browse some more and make my purchases.

Since the Expo Hall closes on Saturday, but the keynotes and class sessions are accessible for at least a year, I want to make sure I get my shopping done in a timely manner.

The only keynote I have listened to so far was the opening general session on Thursday morning, hosted by Steve Rockwood.

I got six blog posts written – with a wrap up tomorrow – showcasing the Expo Hall and provided tips for navigating the conference and creating a playlist.

I attended a number of class sessions:

Secrets of ScotlandsPeople by Alison Spring

Where Are My Poor Scots Ancestors? by Alison Spring

Place Takes Precedence. Local Genealogical Sources in the Library of The Society of Genealogists by Else Churchill

Your Ancestor’s FAN Club: Using Cluster Research to Get Past Brick Walls, Parts 1 & 2 by Drew Smith

Photo Clues That Reveal Family History by Maureen Taylor

Inferred Chromosome Mapping: Maximize Your DNA Matches by Jonny Perl

The most fun time was trying out LiveStory by MyHeritage, whereby a photograph of a person is animated and actually tells his/her life story based on the facts that are entered in the family tree. I used my Nana.

I had the same reaction as when Myheritage first animated the faces a year or so ago. Fun, but a little creepy!

I also had one completely new experience this year. I belong to the Essex Society of Family History, based in Essex, England. They manned a 57-hour Zoom session and monitored the chat at the same time.

They needed someone to help out from 6-9 p.m. MST, which is my time zone. I joined in and actually stayed for 4 hours, until 10;)) p.m. They have dedicated members as there were two people live in the UK, three Americans and one in Australia.

6:00 p.m. is 1:00 in the morning UK time! Their willingness to help resulted in a number of new members joining. 🙂

It’s a good thing we have a year to view the class sessions because there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I wanted in three virtual days.