The Countdown Begins

Two years ago, I watched live streamed sessions from RootsTech 2012. I promised myself, less than 15 minutes into the keynote, that I would go. I would go to that conference, attend those sessions, meet those people. More than any other webinar, conference, hangout, or anything else I have ever seen, RootsTech was it. 

And now? 

Not only have I kept that promise to myself by attending RootsTech 2014, I am presenting a session, too. 

Sweaty palms? Check.

Butterflies? Check.

Anxious wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night panic moments? Check. 

(Ok, this last one is pushing it a bit. I'm not that nervous!)

What I have more of, though, is friendship and support. 

My mentor will be there. My #genchat friends will be there. Folks that I respect will be speaking, blogging, and otherwise networking (and maybe one or two will even come to listen!). People that I have never met before will be there; thousands of them. 

I always get a little nervous before public speaking, but within five minutes or so, I settle into my topic, and I'm good after that. I enjoy it! Engaging with people, bringing new information to them, sharing something I am passionate about; that is a part of my job I truly enjoy. It fits in so nicely with my three words for 2014, too, doesn't it? 

NGS 2013

While attending the National Genealogical Society Conference last May in Las Vegas, I met some really incredible people. Made some truly lasting friendships, and learned a great deal. Not just about genealogy (that's a given, right?), but about myself as well. I cannot wait to see what happens in Salt Lake City. 

I still have quite a bit to do before we head west, and I'm sure I'll be blogging as I go. If you are planning on attending, please leave a comment so we can connect in person! 

Beyond the conference, the session, and the great folks, I get to spend some time at the Family History Library, too... bliss. 

Explosion!

Photo Credit: stock.xchng.com

After an amazing week in Las Vegas at the NGS 2013 Family History Conference, I'm back at  home and settling into my usual routine. Right? 

Um, no. 

As it happens, during the conference, D. Joshua Taylor sent out this tweet: 

Little did I know (or him for that matter!) the level of excitement this idea would generate. 

Thankfully, we certainly were not the only people thinking about doing something like this. The wonderful Kassie Nelson had already started a Facebook group for the very same thing. However, as a full time student and Mom, it was tough getting things moving for her. We banded together, and I am extremely excited that The NextGen Genealogy Network (NGGN) now has over 120 members! 

Just another Facebook group? Hardly. 

The organization is doing just that: organizing. We have filed incorporation papers and while we wait for that process to be completed, we are working on creating our structure, finding volunteers to fill those necessary roles to make everything click, and generating ideas for projects, goals and other objectives. 

What exactly is NGGN? 

Well, our mission statement should give you a pretty good explanation: 

"The NextGen Genealogy Network exists to foster the next generation’s interest in family history and engagement in our community through digital channels which virtually connect members throughout the world."

Yes, virtually. Our meetings, conversations, educational programs... everything will be online. We are truly hoping to reach those genealogists and family historians that do not carry a typical schedule because soccer games and scout meetings get in the way. Those folks that are interested, but are trying to get to their Biology 101 class on time. The people that cannot necessarily afford to join their local society, or feel out of place in that environment.

If that sounds intriguing to you, I invite you to do any one of the following three things:


Join our group on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Fill out this Membership form to let us know you want in! 


As we continue to collaborate, we'll keep everyone posted on our progress. We do anticipate officially taking members sometime around the first week of July. Hope to see you online!

All of this is certainly keeping me busy, but it's such a good busy. I'm loving every moment of it. I am a proud, almost-card-carrying member ('cause we still have to make some cards!) of this organization, and I cannot wait to see what happens tomorrow!

NGS 2013: The Sessions

Although most of my NGS 2013 Conference blogging is taking place on The In-Depth Genealogist, I thought I would share a bit, here, too.

First, it was amazing. If you ever get the chance to attend a conference like this: do it.

We had wonderful opportunities to meet with other people, network, attend sessions, participate in un-conferencing discussions, and much, much more. My colleague and friend at IDG, Terri O'Connell, even won a registration for next year's conference in Virginia!

Terri O'Connell at Opening Session right after
winning a 2014 registration!

I was able to attend several sessions, some of which held local interest for me, which was great. Here's the list of what I was able to see:

• People, Policy, and Records: The Importance of Historical Background (Opening Session), Marian Smith
• Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, Mary Penner
• The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action! Case Building When No Record States An Answer!, Elizabeth Shown Mills
• Birdie Monk Holsclaw Memorial Lecture. Impossible Immigrant! I Know Everything About teh Man Except Where He Came From, F. Warren Bittner
• Maximizing Your Use of Evidence, Thomas W. Jones
• The Civil War in the American West, Rick Sayre
• Borders and Boundaries: Creating Locaility Profiles for Research, D. Joshua Taylor
• ProGen Study Groups Breakfast, Angela Packer McGhie
• To See the Elephant: The Lure of Riches, Jean Wilcox Hibben
• Solving Historical and Family Mysteries with DNA, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
• Baker's Dozen to Writing Research Reports, Elizza Scalise Powell
• Striking it "Rich" with a Great Genealogical Career: A Guide For Professional Researchers, J. Mark Lowe.

I've been asked more than once already which was my favorite, and my answer is... well... I just cannot say. They were all good in their own way, all the speaker's brought something completely different to the podium, and the lessons learned varied with each. 

As an Official Blogger for the conference, I am very grateful to F. Warren Bittner, D. Joshua Taylor, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and J. Mark Lowe for letting us sit down with them for some one-on-one time. You will be able to read more about those conversations on the IDG site. 

Some truly fantastic ideas came out of the week in Las Vegas, and I'm looking forward to being a part of some new projects and taking advantage of all that networking to move closer to reaching my professional goals. 

I made several new friends in the industry, and we had some very good times, enjoying each other's company and talking about dead people. We raised a glass to Uncle Boone. I have so much more to write about, I really don't expect my "job" as an Official Blogger to be over any time soon. I might be able to get it all done before NGS 2014.... 

Packing My Bags

Hello. My name is Jen, and I'm a blogger. 

In exactly one month from today, I'll be heading slightly southwest to Las Vegas, Nevada for the National Genealogical Society 2013 Family History Conference! I am excited for a whole bunch of reasons, and I simply cannot wait to get there! 

During the conference, I will be blogging away as an Official Blogger... but not here. Nope! I'll be over on The In-Depth Genealogist blog, collaborating with fellow pirate women, Stephanie Pitcher Fishman and Terri O'Connell, who are also attending. Together, we will represent the team at IDG, missing only 1/4 of our leadership; Jennifer Alford (but, she'll be at home helping us out!)

Another piece of the week I am super excited about? The three of us will also be hosting #genchat from the conference! The twitter based collaboration for genealogists will occur on Friday, May 10 LIVE from Vegas! We will be releasing the details as we get closer to departure date, but you can bet that a true social media event will be taking place that evening, and we are certainly hoping that many of our fellow conference attendees will join us in the fun! 

(If you haven't yet experienced #genchat, read all about it on Conference Keeper and come learn with us on April 12, as we discuss the FamilySearch Wiki!)

Over the next four weeks, I'll be posting more and more - on all the accounts I have! - about the conference. I love conferences. I love social media. It's all coming together for me in May! Posts will be here, on IDG and on the Conference Keeper blog: CK Updates! 

I am going to issue an invitation, too, to you. If you blog, if you blog about genealogy, if you are going to or will be blogging about the NGS Conference this year, please join our little group over on Facebook. IDG has created a group just for Genealogy Bloggers at NGS 2013; and we're using it as a platform for geneabloggers to communicate, make plans, share ideas and little tidbits we pick up about Vegas itself. All sorts of preparation for the conference. During the actual event, we'll be using it to share posts and arrange meet ups. Come be a part of the community! We'd love to have you.