Tag: MyHeritage

Ain’t No Party Like a RootsTech Party!

Published on by Cheri

Just a week ago, we were all flocking back home from an EPIC RootsTech 2026 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City – navigating jetlag AND the time change. The one thing to remember about any given year of RootsTech is that it’s never really over. While I focused my attendance on the in-person only classes, and main stage sessions, I still have weeks and months worth of sessions to watch at my leisure over the next year – and so do you!

Wide angle shot of the main stage arena – at capacity = 6,000 packed house.

**Important** While we are still in March – whether you attended in-person or virtually, make sure you take some time to thoroughly go through the RootsTech site to visit the exhibitor websites, download syllabus material (where available), and visit some of the social media experiences shared out there via several platforms with the hashtag #RootsTech2026. Some of these features will expire in the RootsTech site – so do not hesitate while things are still live. Yes, the recorded sessions will live on the main site for the next few years, but some features will naturally go away by April.

Now – Let’s get down to the main event. Some of the highlights below will be covered more in length via a podcast episode or larger review where noted. This year’s theme was “Together” which was apparent through the many stories featured during the conference.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) was driving the RT2026 bus!

Just like previous years, when DNA was the topic-du-jour, AI has risen to take that title. I have been learning a lot about AI, but I’m personally still trying to wrap my head around the concepts and tools available to researchers – and the multi-faceted implications of AI applications – some seen, and many in the background.

One huge reminder about AI is that the major companies (FamilySearch, Ancestry, etc.) have been utilizing AI in the background for over a decade. If you have ever accepted a shaky little leaf hint for your family tree, you’ve used AI – even if you didn’t know it. When the 1950 census was released, AI tools were hard at work in the background to transcribe the handwriting – eliminating the need for volunteer indexers. And RootsTech 2024 introduced FamilySearch’s full-text search option in their lab area – but now it’s fully integrated into the research experience (long before RT2026). Finally, let us not forget the amazing AI toys that MyHeritage gave us several years ago to bring our family photos to life. In other words – AI has been a part of our lives for a long time – but we’re just now waking up to this common technological thread – and how we can use it in our own research process, through tools outside of the genealogy industry vendors. 2026 is definitely AI’s time to shine!

On a side note – my RT2026 experience began this year when I was invited to attend the ARC (Archives & Records Custodians) Symposium in person on Wednesday. There were a lot of sessions that addressed the use of AI in the archival process – in conjunction with the research process, but I came away with more questions than answers at this point – simply because I’m not using AI in my own archival processing during my day job. Also, while I was blown away by the work and networks being developed on a global scale, historical concepts and context are still fluid descriptors when talking about AI in this field – and I have some thoughts about this that will be featured in a future post and podcast episode – stay tuned! Sneak peek phrase from one of the sessions: Think of the past as a beta space! BTW – I encourage all archivists in the field to go watch the sessions – they are free, online!

As part of this invitation, I was also granted VIP status for the main stage – and given a special behind the scenes tour of the Church History Library which I will cover in a separate post. With the new colleagues I met, and the projects featured, this was a wonderful experience and I would love to take part again!

Big Vendor Announcements:

Every year, software upgrades and new features are launched during RootsTech week. If your favorite software has a new look or special announcements – pay attention. Here are just a few I caught wind of while attending the conference – there are SO many more:

MyHeritage: This company introduced two new tools – Scribe AI and Country Coding for their pedigrees. Scribe will help you with handwriting and context analysis for documents and photographs. Also – they have a new AI assistant coming soon (GAIA) – and a family infographic feature that will really shake up the family history sharing world – so check back with them throughout 2026!

Steve Rockwood and Dave Rencher at the FamilySearch Influencers Social

For FamilySearch – they already have their hands full putting on the biggest genealogy show in the world – but as a platform, they will be expanding their AI generated full-text search throughout the global records they are digitizing at a rapid rate. And always be checking out their lab section of the website to catch new tools as they come available. Playing with these new features before they go fully live helps them gain valuable feedback as they work on development.

Storied also presented us with some new features that help you build one of their family history books and online trees – such as enhanced transcription features, API integration with FamilySearch, and new story telling features from newspaper information extraction.

GedMatch also had an entire presentation on their new features which will include a much more user friendly interface – with new toys going live for their Tier one customers! This interface overhaul has not went live just yet – but in-person attendees got a sneak peek.

LifeWeaver is not only a brand new company, but also a new platinum sponsor of RootsTech. This company aims to take all emails and texts from your phone and turn them into shareable snippet stories and histories to make sure we capture the important moments we are sharing via the technology in our hands. I hope to cover this company at a later date since I have some additional questions regarding privacy and shareability of the digital stories – but for now – they have several videos that introduce their range of features.

Main Stage Fireworks – Literally!

The main stage keynotes were scene stealers, as always! From academy award winning actress, Marlee Matlin, football great Steve Young, Irish dancers – the Gardener Brothers, and author/adventurer Tara Roberts! You can watch all of these great speakers on the RootsTech website, plus a few other international bonus speakers. Coming soon – I’ll be reviewing Tara’s book and featuring some of her post session interview in a future post and podcast episode.

America 250 was also well represented with a huge booth that featured ways to volunteer – and mapping where your revolutionary ancestor was during the American Revolution. Ancestry also announced their enhanced search feature for their Revolutionary War pensions in Fold3 – AI driven full text search that can find multiple family members! Of course, I (along with a couple of my instructors) was also passing out bookmarks to promote our virtual NGS GRIP 2026 Course coming this summer – Navigating Independence which will teach attendees about the life experiences of the Revolutionary War generation – shhhh – I’ve heard seats are already half gone – so you better hurry if you want to take our course!

The most visually impressive feature was the ball pit in the middle of the exhibit hall. Side note – the exhibit hall was larger this year by over 30 booths! Obviously, this conference just keeps getting bigger every year. Back to the ball pit – people of all ages enjoyed this ginormous ball pit with over 50,000 plastic balls inside. Each blue and green ball had a specific question that you could answer if one was thrown to you!

Media/Speaker folks getting an early taste of the ball pit extraveganza!

Relatives at RootsTech – is still going on if you have built a tree in FamilySearch! At last count, I had almost 40,000 cousins attending RootsTech and opting into the feature!

Disclaimer: I was an official member of the RootsTech Media team which means I was able to interview several people, including most of the mainstage keynotes – which will be featured on my site over the next several months. This also means I was a guest at media events from several vendors which allowed me to feature their new product enhancements in this post: MyHeritage, Storied, FamilySeach, etc.

For more photos from the week – check out the latest photo dump on my Instagram account. And for those wanting to join the party next year – it is already set for March 4th-6th, 2027! #savethedate

GSI: Genealogy Solves It – DNA Mystery Event

Published on by Cheri

One little detail that I left out of my previous post was a very special RootsTech Eve event: GSI – Genealogy Solves It – DNA Mystery Dinner! This brand-new DNA/genealogy based murder mystery dinner was created by authors and DNA chums, Nathan Dylan Goodwin and Diahan Southard. These two are well known genie celebrities – you may have read one of their books, or attended a class given by either. Regardless, I’m sure you’ve heard their names over the years.

Just in case you haven’t a clue who I’m talking about…. With DNA as the foundation of their work (and careers) – Nathan writes genealogy/DNA murder mystery fiction books – Diahan writes and teaches about DNA and genealogy – the pair decided to create a unique experience that not only educated but greatly entertained their audience!

R-L: Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Robert Bristow
Author Diahan Southard signing one of her books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sealed evidence bag – they warned us not to open them until the proper time – “we’ll know if you tamper with them!”

In review, I can honestly say I was a tad jolted at the attendance price tag when one of my friends excitedly sent me the announcement. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $150. However, here’s what we got for that price – personally signed copies of both of their current titles: Your DNA Guide and The Sawtooth Slayer (a $50 value). Attendees also received a lovely dinner with dessert. A goodie swag bag (embellished with gold glittery event acronym on the side) was also provided that included the case workbook, a mechanical pencil, a 60% off coupon from MyHeritage, and a sealed evidence bag with tons of little clues to help solve the case. (Really loved the sealed evidence bag – nice touch!) In other words – all of this fit very nicely into that price tag.

Then, for the next four hours, each attendee had to work on solving the case – with their fellow team members at the table. If you just groaned at the thought of four hours – I am delighted to report, it passed very quickly because we were all having so much fun! I really had my doubts about their ability to create an event that could entertain and educate without overwhelming us with DNA fundamentals. But the details that went into the creation of this event made it a delight from start to finish.

Can you see that our table got just as messy as if we were trying to solve a real case? Proof we were really into it!

I’m going to concentrate on the details for a second – without revealing the nuts and bolts of their event. The hosts were all dressed in steampunk inspired costumes. The workbook was professionally printed on very high quality paper with gradual lessons that utilized the clues encountered along the way. There were fun moments when we had to roam about the room and ask for other clues, which got us up out of our seats. There were special celebrity genie guest appearances in the form of videos that took on character identities from the Sawtooth Slayer – including a surprise guest in the room (Shhhh – Rich Venezia!) and surprise video from CeCe Moore congratulating us on our work!

Where’s Rich Venezia? Do you see him in the crowd?
Surprise! It’s CeCe Moore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we got to open the sealed evidence bag, the red viewer and sealed envelopes for phased openings kept us all busy and in hot pursuit of the killer. What a feat they pulled off! To keep a large group of seasoned genealogists laughing, entertained, and engaged for four hours is nothing short of a miracle. I don’t think I spotted one bored person in the room. Oh – and BTW – I was one of the winners of a year’s subscription to the full MyHeritage site! That was a fun little nugget of adventure as we looked for gold stickers on our chairs.

Top Secret – Some of the tools and clue packets inside the evidence bag.
GSI Swag Bag

This was such an epic night – and I am comfortable declaring it a rousing success! The word on the street is that they intend to create more of these events in the future – and perhaps – even some virtually! My advice to them on a virtual model – make sure the cost includes shipping everyone the swag, evidence bag and clue packets – these demonstrate the time and effort that went into making this event – plus, it’s a fun, tactile, way to get your hands dirty in the genealogy and DNA!

Be watching their websites to catch future events – you don’t want to miss out on this unique genealogy/DNA experience! BTW, as a post script – Nathan put out a link to gauge interest in future events (both in-person and virtually) – please visit his site to express your support!

RootsTech 2020: In Review

Published on by Cheri1 Comment

How do I begin to describe the 10th Anniversary of RootsTech? The only word that fits is “epic”. As RootsTech continues to grow past the decade mark, it is important to understand that the size of this conference means each attendee can have a completely unique experience. Today I will fill you in on the experience I had, including some great announcements that were made during the week. And to get a broader representation of the RootsTech experience, check out some of the blog posts published by other 2020 ambassadors!

The Story of YOU:

The biggest impact this year had to be “The Story of You”. As the theme of this year’s conference, you could see it everywhere. And as a librarian, the book motifs were geeking me out quite a bit. It reminded us all that our story and our ancestors’ stories are very intertwined. The story chain would not be complete without our story – urging everyone to buckle down and include their story in the family narrative.

By far, the best visual for this theme had to be the “What’s Your Story” interactive display. Attendees were encouraged to write a snippet of their story in one of the hundreds of empty journals lining the balcony on the second floor. By the time the conference was over, most of the pages were filled with colorful comments and stories.

Wearing Many Hats:

This year, I attended as both a speaker and ambassador which afforded different experiences, yet flowed together pretty seamlessly due to the wonderful work of the RootsTech organizational teams. With all of the moving parts, and such a small planning team, what they achieve each year is pretty remarkable. Below I will outline the highlights of each role in 2020.

Speaker:

As a speaker, I presented three sessions on various topics: Digital Citizenship, Difficult History, and Family History Preservation. Just remember that the syllabus material is still available on the app, and there are 20+ free sessions available right now in the 2020 video archive. You can watch my session on Tackling Difficult Chapters of Our Family History by clicking this link, or by watching the video link on the sidebar. I have to say, this session was my most rewarding so far, due to the sensitive and timely nature of the stories I included. Plus, I’ve had so many people thank me for the session, while sharing their difficult histories amid tears and hugs. We all have difficult chapters in the family tree – and this session will help you deal with them in a practical and sensitive manner.

For those of you who purchased the Virtual Pass, the recorded sessions are still being processed and should be available within the next few weeks. The Virtual Pass is still available for purchase until September. If you opt for this option, the 30+ sessions in combination with the free sessions will give you access to over 50+ sessions. Since no attendee can get to all of the sessions physically, this is a great way to keep learning from RootsTech over the coming months!

Ambassador:

As a RootsTech Ambassador, we are given certain updates and information to share with you all. Some of those highlights include:

RootsTech is heading to LONDON this fall! This, by far, was the biggest announcement by Family Search. Save the Date: November 5-7, 2020. Registration is already open.

Interview with Dan Call and Bryan Austad: These two Family Search “Experience Managers” are the masterminds behind the Discovery Centers – found in the Expo Hall and on the 1st floor of the Family History Library. Dan was even instrumental in helping to create RootsTech 10 years ago. So, they shared their views on how much the conference has changed, and their desire for the future of the Discovery Centers. Be looking for additional ways to Discover your family history through an expanded experience Discovery Experience on your own PC – coming very soon!

MyHeritage: During a dinner for Friends of MyHeritage (and throughout the conference) they showcased their new photo colorizing tool that quickly colorizes old black and white photos with the click of a button. They also announced a new U.S. City Directory collection that expands their digitized images to 1.5 billion.

Biggest Takeaways:

For me, the inspiration of the keynote speakers, and the importance of telling our stories had the most impact. We’ve all told ourselves to get writing, but this year, the tools available to help us, and the fleeting nature of life have spurred me to once again pick up the pen. We have work to do!

Fun Additions:

For this year, there were some cool additions that had us playing and learning at a greater rate.

Virtual Reality: There was a huge booth designed to allow VR participants to explore the land their ancestors called home. And for those who had ancestors on the Mayflower, MyHeritage was adding a fun twist to the experience.

The Discovery Center: Was expanded this year and placed in the center of the Expo Hall.

Shuttle to the Library: This year, there was a shuttle taking folks to the library and back to the Salt Palace – If you missed the shuttle, there were new, helpful sidewalk signs to help you find your way!

Thanks again to the organizers! They rocked it once again, and demonstrated how strong this conference is after 10 years. I was there the first year, and each year I attend, I am more and more impressed – and always come home greatly inspired. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring for RootsTech!

Until next time!