Book of the Week – face Book

I love the simple concept and layout of this book, described on the title page as “a week in the life of a branch library,” by photographer Keith Pattison. I wonder if this same idea could work well for a family reunion or another type of family gathering. Which makes me think, could I do something like this for my mom’s 90th birthday? I love the continuity that the gray backdrop and square cropping for all the photos. I also like how there are three basic page layouts; full bleed, white border and white border with four photos. This gives the book some variety but keeps the focus on the wide variety of people who come to the library in any week.

I also really like the idea of using a simple note-book for writing a message. This would also work for my mom’s 90th birthday. I could let each person write a short note to my mom. The book would then be like a birthday card. I hope I can figure out how to pull this project off.

Do you have a project that would work well with this type of layout?

My Grandma Mary Preview

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/3390190/1d88c31e254d9e270ab390083771ed83ad7964b3?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

Fedex tracking say I’ll be getting a proof copy of the book about my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor tomorrow. I’m so excited to see it. I’m expecting to need to make some changes before it will be ready but this is a big milestone for me.

 

Last day of RootsTech

Wow! What a conference. This morning’s keynote speaker was David Pogue. He was awesome. They don’t have the videos up yet for today but I’m sure they will be up soon. He was great! My classes today were:

  • Creative and Fun Ways to Cherish Your Family History
  • 365 Days of Story Prompts
  • Beyond Home Movies: YouTube Genealogy
  • Digital Storytelling: More Than Bullet Points Lab

I think my favorite class today was the one YouTube. But all of them had some great information. Digital Storytelling was my least favorite. It was about using Power Point to make a video and I learned some stuff because I’ve never used Power Point. Overall I liked my three hands on classes the least. I think because everyone moves at such a different pace on the computers and so the class has to move at the pace of the slowest person. It felt like I was exposed to the least amount of info in my hands on classes.

Overall it was a great conference and I’m looking forward attending RootsTech next year, on February 6 through the 8th. I can’t wait to start digesting this stuff and applying the things I learned.

 

RootsTech Day Two

Lots more great stuff at RootsTech today. You can catch the presentations on the main stage at RootsTech.org. I must make time to at least see the beginning of the keynote speakers this morning. We got there late and missed the first part. The classes I took today were:

  • Social Media Part 1
  • Social Media Part 2
  • Digital Photo and Document Organization: Understanding Metadata Lab
  • Do Your eBook right: Self Publishing Secrets for the Family Historian

I learned good stuff from all of them but I think my favorites today were the social media classes. I’ve not joined any of the social media things yet but I can’t put it off too much longer and I learned more about Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ today which well help me make more informed decisions about where to put my energy when I’m ready to make the plunge. It is tough to choose classes. There are so many great options. Just one more day of RootsTech.

RootsTech: Day 1

Open day of RootsTech is over! At least for me. There was an evening activity at The Leonardo followed by a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir about the music of Irving Berlin. But I didn’t buy a ticket to The Leonardo and I was too tired to wait around for the concert but I sure it was wonderful.

After the keynote speakers I went to the welcome for the Story@Home part of the conference. I went to the first Story@Home conference last year so I’m excited that they are now part of RootsTech. There seems to be a lot more emphasis on the story telling aspect of family history which I love. I wanted to go to “The Future of Genealogy” panel but since it was being streamed I decided I could always watch it later.

All of the presentations that were streamed live today are not available to watch on RootsTech.org. I’m looking forward to watching all the videos over the next few weeks. After lunch I went to three more classes.

  • Simple HTML/CSS for Weebly
  • The Cool Parts of Genealogy: Engaging My Teenagers Case Study
  • Content Planning for Genealogy Bloggers: How to Stay Organized and Never Be Without Post Ideas Again

The last class was my favorite of the day. Implementing what I learned there should help make this blogger better. I’m exhausted now and looking forward to good night sleep and all the learning opportunities that tomorrow will bring.

If you can jump over to RootsTech.org and pick one of the videos from today to watch. If you like a good storyteller, I’d try “Tell it Again” by Kim Weitkamp. She is very entertaining as well as informative.

 

 

Tomorrow is RootsTech!

I’m so excited for tomorrow (except having to get up way earlier than I normally do). For the most part I think I’m ready. I’ve made arrangements for a puppy sitter for Dune. She is not ready to be at work all day with Bill and way to young to handle an event like RootsTech. Zodiac will go with me. It will be a great socializing opportunity for him. I’ve gone through the classes and narrowed down my options. Some sessions it wasn’t hard to pick a couple but other hours I had trouble and only got down to seven options. I’m signed up for one hands-on workshop each day so that will be cool. I’ve got clothes picked out to wear so that is covered. I still need to coordinate with my friend, who is going to RootsTech too. Her very dear aunt died on Sunday afternoon and the funeral is today. So her life is in an upheaval. But we will get that worked out. I wish I could figure out how to pick up my registration materials tonight instead of in the morning. But I can’t justify the time it would take to make the trip downtown just for that. I should probably download the RootsTech mobile app to my phone. I’m still new to the smart phone thing and it would be good for me to learn a new way to use my phone. I don’t have a data plan on it so depending on how well the WiFi functions might decide how useful it is.

In a perfect world I’ll get posts written every night about RootsTech. But I might just be way too tired to get anything posted. So don’t hold your breath. I know I’m going to learn lots of great things in the next three days. I’ll try to pass on as much as I can here.

Two Days to RootsTech

One of the keynote speakers at RootsTech is Jyl Pattee of Mom it Forward. She put together a book called “Family History – 40 Ideas for Capturing your Family’s Story”. You can download the eBook for free on her website. It has lots of great ideas. I can’t wait to try some of them. Jyl says that “preserving your family’s life story doesn’t have to be a daunting or overwhelming task. The project can be as easy as capturing simple yet meaningful moments every day.” And I agree!

 

Three Days to RootsTech

Even if you aren’t attending RootsTech you can still enjoy some of the speakers. Each day of RootsTech there will be free live streaming available. Go to RootsTech.org to join in the fun.

Live Streaming Schedule (Mountain Time)
Thursday
8:30 AM Keynote – Dennis Brimhall, Syd Lieberman, Josh Taylor
11:00 AM The Future of Genealogy – Thomas MacEntee and panel
1:45 PM Tell it Again (Story@Home) – Kim Weitkamp
3:00 PM The Genealogists Gadget Bag – Jill Ball and panel
4:15 PM Finding the Obscure and Elusive: Geographic Information on the Web – James Tanner
Friday
8:30 AM Keynote – Jyl Pattee and Tim Sullivan
9:45 AM Researching Ancestors Online – Laura Prescott
11:00 AM FamilySearch Family Tree – Ron Tanner
1:45 PM Google Search… and Beyond – Dave Barney
3:00 PM From Paper Piles to Digital Files – Valerie Elkins
Saturday
8:30 AM Keynote – David Pogue and Gilad Japhet
9:45 AM Using Technology to Solve Research Problems – Karen Clifford
11:00 AM Digital Storytelling: More than Bullet Points – Denise Olson

Joy Jar

P1040284

Spring is really here! I guess the calendar says it arrives next week but it is really here. I’m so glad. I love having season but this year the winter seemed to last longer than normal.

  • deep blue skies
  • Zodiac with the kids as school
  • my cute puppies
  • finishing Dune’s blanket
  • finding my purse before I realized it was lost
  • taking a Sunday nap
  • crocus under our pear tree
  • Tricia stopping by
  • sweatshirt weather
  • warm sunshine
  • singing
  • sunny warm days
  • doing “go to bed” with Zodiac and Dune
  • taking a good walk with Dune
  • chatting with friends
  • planting starts for my garden
  • my lettuce coming up
  • Bill getting most of the garden rototilled
  • Dune and Zodiac snuggled together
  • how good Zodiac was at Costco

Six Days to RootsTech

Part of RootsTech is a big exhibit hall with tons of booths. This week I got an email with some of the great vendors who will be there.

Activities and Special Offers at RootsTech

There are many exciting activities and offers available at RootsTech this year. Some activities require an RSVP. Check out the details below!

Expo Hall Fun Pass

Complete the Expo Hall Fun Pass to be eligible to enter a drawing for an Apple iPad and other great prizes! Simply get the pass filled out, turn it in to the Expo Hall Help Desk, and attend the prize drawing on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Backblaze Demo Theater to see if you’re a winner! You must be present to win.

Print Your Fan Chart

GenealogyWallCharts.com – Booth #631

Last year GenealogyWallCharts.com printed over 400 genealogy fan charts during RootsTech.

Family ChartMasters – Booth #135

Family ChartMasters has a free decorative working chart for you! Just take the coupon in your RootsTech registration bag to their booth and you will receive a free 20×24 fill-in-the-blank chart worthy of being framed.

Scan a Book, Document or Photo

FamilySearch Book Scanning 

FamilySearch is pleased to offer free book scanning at RootsTech again this year.  They will have book scanners on site and will scan a digital copy of your family, county, or town history.

Mocavo Document and Photo Scanning – Booth #513

Mocavo is pleased to offer RootsTech 2013 attendees free document and photo scanning as part of an effort to bring them online for free.

You can bring any paper documents, photocopies of original records, paper family trees or other historical documents, and they will scan them safely for free! Within only 30 days of the conference you will be able to download your digitized record.

Simply drop off your documents at booth #513 on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday and they will contact you when your document is ready to be picked up. Click here to find out more details about Mocavo’s free scanning and what kind of documents they can and cannot accept.

Record Your Personal Story with a Video or Audio Recording Session

“Bring Your Stories to Life” 

Story@Home is pleased to sponsor the “Bring Your Story to Life” booth. Receive a free personal consultation and video/audio recording session to preserve your own personal family story or interview in the soundproof recording booth.  Once you have completed your recording session, you will receive a copy on a flash drive for your personal use.

Hire a Photo Detective for Free

 “Bring Your Stories to Life” 

Also available in the “Bring Your Stories to Life” booth, you can schedule a free 10 minute, one-on-one session with the Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor. Maureen is an internationally recognized photo identification and family history expert.

Earn the Boy Scouts of America Genealogy Merit Badge 

BSA Genealogy Booth 

Boy Scouts can sign up for a 20 minute workshop to complete the requirements for their Genealogy Merit Badge. Click on the links below for available session times. Workshop capacity is 40 participants per session time.

Backblaze Online Backup – Prizes and Discount Codes

Backblaze Booth – #530

Backblaze Online Backup is excited to help sponsor RootsTech 2013! They backup all of your precious photos, videos, and files to preserve your memories! Backblaze is the easiest solution available, you simply go to www.backblaze.com, create an account, download the client, and they will start backing up all your data right away!

Please visit the Backblaze booth #530 and they will be happy to tell you all about it! They’ll have prizes and discount codes, so stop by! Their social media guy Yev will also be emceeing the Backblaze Demo Theater, so check that out and see all of the other awesome products and services at RootsTech 2013!