Updated 25 Feb 2021
It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that a certain major family history / genealogy event is upon us. Yes, the global phenomenon that is RootsTech – or RootsTech Connect as this year’s virtual show is known – is under way.
There are now over half a million registrations for the event from around the world, and it’s not too late to add yourself to that number. If you’re at work while the presentations are being streamed, worry not, there's no need to miss out. The same applies if some of the keynotes and talks are going out at a time of day (or indeed night) that doesn’t fit in with your particular time zone.
The reason why you can relax is that the keynotes are being repeated at different times during the days over which RootsTech Connect is ‘live’ – and all of the talks will be available online for a whole year afterwards. This is also good news if you’ve come late to the RootsTech party and are concerned that there’s no point even looking at what's on offer!
One-place studies, as we like to say, are where family history and local history unite. RootsTech leans very heavily toward the family history side of that equation, and that is reason enough for most one-placers to take an interest. There are a few presentations which might have a particular appeal to us place- and community-focussed people – my thanks to member Liz Craig (Dunster one-place study) for highlighting the following on Twitter during #OnePlaceWednesday (update – I have added to the list, and comments with reviews / suggestions are welcome!):
Along with the online talks there will be web-based exhibitors selling their wares and chatting to virtual visitors in the electronic Expo Hall. These will include the American genealogy giants Ancestry, MyHeritage and of course FamilySearch, along with family history organisations, genealogy magazines, companies specialising software for family tree building or photo editing, and a range of others including our friends at Name & Place. Several of these (including N&P) will be offering promotions during the show.
A virtual show, made necessary by the ongoing global pandemic, has many positive points, not least its accessibility to a large, widely distributed and diverse audience. The big downside of course is the lack of meeting up personally with family history and OPS buddies (what some of us would give right now to be able to say Hello in person, hug, and have a drink with our much-missed mates!). To compensate to some extent for this, the UK’s Family Tree Magazine has organised two Zoom sessions to allow some of us to ‘get together’ safely:
For further details and the all-important Zoom links, visit Join us for Breakfast or Afternoon Tea on the Family Tree Magazine website.
Another way to make connections during the show will be the Twitter party organised by the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment (@21DayConnect) on Friday 26 February. This will run for an hour from 7pm GMT / 9pm EET (and 6am AEDT the day after) and will feature guests from several genealogy-related Twitter chats including #OnePlaceWednesday (run of course by our good selves), #TWIGChat, #ANZAncestryTime, and #GenChat. Use the hashtag #21DayExperiment to join in.
For more information on RootsTech Connect and how to make the most of it, see:
Enjoy the show! And don’t forget that RootsTech isn’t the only genealogy event on the horizon. THE Genealogy Show 2021 will be with us in June (on the weekend of the 25th and 26th) and the Society for One-Place Studies will have a virtual presence there!
Steve Jackson
Social Media Coordinator, Society for One-Place Studies
One-placer for Fawsley and Waters Upton
Society for One-Place Studies Social Media Coordinator. One-place studies of Waters Upton, Shropshire; Marton Hall, Shropshire; Fawsley, Northamptonshire.
The Society for One-Place Studies is a leading organisation dedicated to supporting One-Placers worldwide.
By email:
info@one-place-studies.org
By post:
Society for One-Place Studies,
7 Edge Lane,
Rossendale,
Lancashire
BB4 7SS
United Kingdom
© The Society for One-Place Studies
Steven Jackson