Tonight I had the pleasure of attending a media dinner hosted by FamilySearch on the eve of the opening of RootsTech 2015.
This is always one of my favorite conference events because FamilySearch tells us the latest developments in their organization, and they do so in style:
Shipley Munson talked about the major points of RootsTech. He said there was a "conservative" estimate of 20,000 unique attendees, but if everyone shows up it will be closer to 30,000. People are coming from 49 states (no West Virginians in the house) and 35 countries, There will also be 200,000 viewers from around the world.
FamilySearch previewed several moving videos that will be presented during the conference. When one presentation ended, we found that we were part of it. We are the storytellers... and so are you.
New (or reinvented) this year is the Innovator Showdown, giving developers a chance to present their tech tools for a chance at a cash award. There are $25,000 in prizes, expanded sponsorship, and 51 entries whittled down to four finalists. The winner will be crowned during the conference. The whole competition has a Shark Tank feel to it.
One of the bigger takeaways from this event was the mention of the FamilySearch app gallery. You can see it at FamilySearch.org/apps.
The theme of this conference is "Who Inspires You?" I love this thought, because everyone can answer the question. It's not just for the crazy genealogists. We are all doing family history, most of us just don't realize it. FamilySearch is out to change that.
Thanks again to FamilySearch for including me in their media dinner.
I liked that too. I had to talk about my Grandfather Ike Ivery again over Twitter. Glad you are sharing. I missed out on so much not being able to attend. This was great!
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