NOTE: Because of the RootsTech 2023 schedule, Friday’s Family History Finds will be posted on Monday, 6 March 2023.
My typical RootsTech coverage in past years has been to write about live classes during the conference, followed up by a review of new-to-me vendors in the Expo Hall a few days later.
This year is a bit unique for a couple of reasons. I am a virtual attendee during the very first ever hybrid RootsTech conference. Second, I am aware that many of the conference specials offered by the vendors end with the close of the in-person conference.
Therefore, I’ve switched up my RootsTech schedule to talk about this year’s Expo Hall today, in the middle of the conference.
I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by the number of vendors in the virtual Expo Hall and I believe there are even more in the live hall in Salt Lake.
There are so many companies who are new-to-me (and that’s saying a lot given my previous in-person and online RootsTech experiences) that I can’t possibly highlight all of them.
Instead, let’s look at the big companies who sponsor RootsTech and make it happen and then I’ll provide links to a sampling of vendors with whom I’m unfamiliar.
Important to NOTE: My links are to each company’s website, not to their Expo Hall booth. BE SURE to visit the Expo Hall to learn about any conference specials! You need to be logged in to the conference to visit the Expo Hall online.
First, we have the Platinum Sponsors:
For those unfamiliar with Storied, it’s a newly launched company with which you can build your family tree based on stories and documents. I was part of the early testers and found it easy to use. It’s by subscription, but very affordable, and there is a $40 off special during the RootsTech conference.
Next are the Gold Sponsors:
Mylio Photos is a new company for me, also by subscription. The website invites users to “collect, curate, protect, and share your story and memories for the future.”
Now we have the Bronze Sponsors:
There are two newbies for me in this group. FileShadow is a “photo and file management system that you can use to gather your family photos and files into a secure vault.”
GENXT “offers open-source and subscription-based solutions for privacy-by-design collaborative genomic data analysis among personal genomics companies.”
Last, but not least, there are the Society Sponsors:
My Family Forward “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the serious health challenges our children are increasingly suffering with. Our mission is to help grow the family tree of humanity by transforming the way we conceive, birth, and raise our children.”
Scroll down to the very bottom of the page to check out the Featured Booths:
Now for just a handful of some new -to-me exhibitors, in ABC order, which can also be searched by CATEGORIES:
3DGenV – Showcase your family tree in innovative ways! (Products to purchase)
AniMap – Historical County Boundary Mapping: AniMap helps you target your search, informing you with details where a county was formed, what years changes were made including details on jurisdictional changes (RT Special $20/year)
EphemeraSearch – “We’re building a collection of old postcards, searchable by name and address.Our mission is to make it possible for you to peer into the everyday lives of your ancestors.” (Free, but solicits donations. sign up and share postcards in your own family collection, as well as view postcards already on the website.)
Family Tree Notebooks – “Easily Share Your Family History. Download the pages. Add text and photos. Print. Build books one page at a time.” (Six week master class for Guides Learning for $499 or Independent Study for $299.)
FamilyApps – A list of choices to connect with family members (Price isn’t evident and may vary with the choice of app in the collection.)
Germanology Unlocked – Products and services on offer to help with German research
MemoryWeb – A photo organizer for family historians (Free 14-day trial with no credit card needed, 6 mo. and 12 mo. specials offered during the conference.)
Related Faces – This company “uses AI to scan your photos and isolate faces. From here we compare those faces with our entire database, returning pairings with photos from your own collection as well as others.” (Free 14-day trial, 6 mo. and 12 mo. specials offered during the conference.)
The Search Party – This is a methodology course taught by Diahan Southard, Crista Cowan and Janet Havorka. ($97 for 17 lessons)
Finally, there are a LOT of companies offering various methods of storytelling. I didn’t feel comfortable picking out only one or two since I don’t have the luxury of speaking with company reps.
I do highly recommend taking some time today and/or tomorrow during the live portion of RootsTech to learn more about the massive list of products and services in the Expo Hall. You might find exactly what you are looking for!
