On Monday and Tuesday I watched as blogs, tweets, YouTube videos, and other buzz unfolded across cyberspace. I think my favorite was the Waaa badge from a blogger who wanted to be at RT, but got sick.
Tuesday evening I was in a bit of a quandary when I arrived home and {shock} did not have to keep working on RT until 2 AM as I have for the past several months! Just to keep things lively, I hammered out my taxes that night (because I love to do my taxes, of course).
Wednesday I met with the conference committee to gather their reports and begin the post-mortem process. On Thursday I was corrected by Laura Prescott on Facebook for calling the debriefing a post-mortem, since RootsTech was anything but dead! I then pulled my {hopefully} last all-nighter on RT, compiling the numbers and feedback into a lovely PPT for our CEO, Jay Verkler the next day.
Since you weren't there, and since this is your conference, you should know that there was a lot of talk about how to make this better. We were discussing YOUR feedback, and sharing what we heard from YOU that would make RT better! There was a lot of discussion about how we could get a community website up FAST and how this isn't about just a conference. This is about connections and communicating with one another.
We talked about having YOU help us develop next year's conference, learning what topics and speakers you felt were missing, and many more ideas. Every time we discussed this or that change, I said, "We should ask the attendees what they think of that before we make that decision," and Jay readily agreed each time.
What does this all mean? It means we have something amazing! I have seen so many already "owning" RootsTech, like the great blogger who posted the RootsTech Daily. Illya D'Addezio sent me a message on Facebook, showing me how he implemented the learnings from my Text-to-Speech class on his website - just click on the "ear" located in the top righthand corner to aurally "read" his blog! We also received several kind notes discussing a task force on how to help update societies technically, a possible product of Jay Verkler's Unconferencing session on Societies and Technology. There have also been several developer groups buzzing about building a new Genealogy Data Standard, also a product of RT's collaborative session on that subject! Thanks to everyone who took the time to send me feedback. I am drafting a play book for RT, so my next question is, what should be the governing principles, the constitution to keep those parts of RT that you loved alive? Minds like mine want to know!
Thank you for keeping us all informed on what goes on in the planning and considerations around the conference. I definitely agree with the idea of establishing a community website. There are so many aspects that we can all follow-up on after RootsTech that would be of great use. I wasn't even there but felt so inspired and it's encouraged me to move forward with a personal goal I've had in mind for awhile (more to come later). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you for streaming some of the talks - I found many of them inspiring and informative. Please set up a site to ask what people want from the next rootstech conference. It would be helpful for those of us who were not at the first one but plan on attending the next one.
ReplyDeleteI do attend conferences and seminars and I think one of the most important things is to get as much interaction among the attendees going as possible. Oftentimes these conferences are so overscheduled that there is little down time to just visit with others who have the same interest AND discuss topics of interest not in a classroom setting. Additionally there need to be more "icebreakers" at the start as I have found as a newbie that people are catching up with folks they already know and/or so focusing on attending courses and researching that they don't make connections. Signup sheets for people from the same areas, researching certain areas, researching same names (with 3,000 attendees the chances might be good), or using same technology.
Something I would be interested in hearing more about (you mentioned in your opening intros) was the "challenge" or small group unconferencing - what were those and how did they work? Another thing would be to plan for something with "new faces in genealogy." There needs to be the ability to bring in new folks to the "fold."
All in all - GREAT JOB! Love the fact that technology, genealogy and television are bringing family history into the 21st century!
Taxes?? Oh joy.
ReplyDeleteregards,
Theresa (tangled trees)
Welcome to the Geneabloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.
ReplyDeleteMay you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill ;-)
http://drbilltellsancestorstories.blogspot.com/
Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
and "13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories"
http://www.examiner.com/x-53135-Springfield-Genealogy-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-58285-Ozarks-Cultural-Heritage-Examiner
So glad that my waaaaaah badge made you go heeee! I'm finally better now --went to gym tonight. Yeeesss!!!-- am happy to say. Strangely enough, while I've been ill and not traveling, I've been working on a conference that's a 2nd cousin to RootsTech, kinda sorta a leedle bit. Not in size and scope, oh no. (teentsy by comparison) But in terms of capturing history, yes: The Southwest Oral History Assn conference in L.A.
ReplyDeleteOkay, more on topic: I'm very impressed that you (et al) are thinking in terms of "What do our attendees think?" A remarkable sign of success. How fortunate that you have the ability to see all the blog-dom and tweetle-dee and facebook statusmania to aid your listening. Cluetrain lives!