On my way to RootsTech 2013

As I prepare to leave for Salt Lake City, to attend the 3rd RootsTech conference next week (Thurs 21st - Sat 23rd March), I am a little unsure of what to expect.  As with any trip in mid March, a combination of clothing types is recommended  and I am also taking both my laptop (for blogging) and my ipad (for travelling and note-taking in sessions) with me, hoping that this won't be "overkill".  I am also taking my latest gadget, my New Trent Powerpak icarrier, to keep both my iphone and ipad charged while I am travelling. I am definitely NOT "travelling light!"

For anyone unable to attend RootsTech in person, I can recommend catching some of the sessions through the RootsTech free streaming facility.  I did this last year, and found it immensely informative. In fact it was watching those sessions, and the accompanying chat on Twitter, that got me interested in attending in person.  The announcement of which sessions are to be streamed live can be found here and you can use the same link to watch the live webcast window when it appears.

As you probably know I have been invited to attend RootsTech this year as an "official blogger", and in that role, I shall reporting back from as many of the talks as I can possibly get to.  However, I am not superhuman and when faced with the choice of 15 talks for any one time slot, I will simply have to go with my instincts as to which one to attend.  I will, however  be attending all the Keynote sessions which kick off at the start of each day, so if you're watching the live streaming, you can look out for me in the audience!  Before Thursday, I shall be taking a look at the detailed Conference schedule on my RootsTech app, and selecting which sessions to attend.

I also plan to interview several fellow genealogists over the course of the three days, and if all goes according to plan, I shall be posting the video links here on this blog.  At present I have interviews booked with Marie Dougan (of Ancestral Consultants), Else Churchill (of the Society of Genealogists), Alec Tritton (of the Hasted Trust) and Geoff Swinfield and Di Bouglas (of Geoff Swinfield Genealogical Services).

But of course, conferences are as much about the networking as about the talks themselves and RootsTech is no exception - there seem to be plenty of networking opportunities for me to get stuck into!  As well as the Official Blogger's dinner on the Wednesday evening, which is invitation only, there are plenty of social events open to all RootsTech attendees, from the Hosted lunches (some of which sold out very early on) to the Special Evening Events, some of which I shall be attending.  I have also signed up for Dick Eastman's EOGN Dinner on the Saturday evening, after RootsTech, which already has 60 people signed up!

Do come back and visit this blog regularly over the next week - I will do my best to update you on what I'm up to and more importantly, what is going on in the RootsTech world.

Rosemary Morgan
London Roots Research

Disclosure:  As an Official blogger for RootsTech 2013, I have received a complimentary registration for the conference.  This does not influence my views or opinions of the conference or the sponsors in any way.