A few days ago, about 75 RootsTech ambassadors participated in a Zoom discussion with FamilySearch and RootsTech leaders about what to expect at the free virtual conference being held next week, and several posted on social media and wrote blog posts about what to expect.
In her blog post, Customize Your RootsTech Conference: 96 DNA Sessions to Choose From!, Roberta Estes writes, “The session format has changed this year. Most sessions are 20 minutes, not an hour. Think genealogy TED talks from your favorite presenters. There are a few advanced sessions that are an hour in length.”
Sue McNelly on KindredPast shares a graphic that lists RootsTech statistics, such as 11 officials languages and almost 315,000 registrants.
Ellen Thomson-Jennings writes in RootsTech Connect Is Going To Be Incredible, “There will be 746 classes and 280 tips and tricks for a total of 1026 things that will be available on-demand for one year. Just think of it like Netflix for genealogists. You’ll be able to search for speakers, and you’ll also be able to find categories for various topics.”
Ms. Thompson-Jennings also explains how the virtual marketplace will work. “The Expo Hall has 72 exhibitors and 20 sponsors for a total of 92 booths. There will be a button you can click, and you’ll be able to take yourself into the vendors’ booth and connect with them live if they are available. The vendor chats will only be available during the event from February 24-27th, but the vendor booths will be available even after RootsTech Connect is over.”
On Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver explains how the website, classes, keynotes, and Expo Hall will be organized. “The ‘Explore Sessions’ page will provide an index to the classes – by topic, by speaker, by region, and by language. All of the sessions are pre-recorded, but some will have a live chat schedule. There will be a link to all of the sessions, and each session will include a link to the syllabus for that session, if it’s available.”
Linda Stufflebean gives a good run-down of how the conference will be organized on her blog, Empty Branches on the Family Tree. “There are 72 Exhibitors in addition to 20 Sponsors, providing an excellent opportunity to view products, chat with vendors and make purchases.”
If you have Dutch ancestors, you’ll want to read Yvette Hoitink’s blog post, Quick Tip – Dutch Topics at RootsTech Connect.
James Tanner, in his blog post, How to participate in RootsTech Connect 2021: A Survivor’s Guide, writes that he thinks RootsTech will continue to be online after the pandemic. “My best guess is that the next conference (and all those hereafter) will be online. The economies of scale are too great and the number of people reached is way too big for RootsTech to regress and hold a live conference.” I hope he’s right.
If you’re curious about what the Canadian speakers’ classes, check out my blog post from last week.
There is plenty of information still to be added to the RootsTech website before the conference begins February 25.