Wednesday, February 8, 2017

RootsTech 2017 & Innovator Summit - Wednesday Summary


Today was a big day at RootsTech with the Innovator Summit, the Innovator Showdown Semi-Final and the first RootsTech sessions. Here's the quick summary.

Innovator Summit General Session with Liz Wiseman
Liz talked about "rookie moments." Hers was being tasked with starting Oracle University at 24, just one year out of university. As Liz put it, her only qualification was that she had been at a university.

The gist of her presentation, which included quite a bit of audience participation, was that when you are out of your comfort zone - having a "rookie moment" you are open to asking questions, networking and trying new things. You don't know any better so you are more willing to think outside the box.

Cheryl Hudson Passey, of Carolina Genealogy Girl, was sitting with me during the presentation. She summed it up perfectly by saying in essence that life is one rookie moment after another.

What's one of your rookie moments? Embrace them and see how they help you soar!


Innovator Showdown
Attendees picked up their box lunch to enjoy during the innovator showdown again this year. It's a great way to spend the lunch hour. The ten finalists pitched their innovations to the panel of judges and fielded questions. There were some great apps presented. I'm sure the judges had a challenging time whittling down the field. I was pleased to see that Double Match Triangulator and OldNews USA made the finals.

The Glue that Holds Families Together - Diahan Southard
Diahan's presentation was about her family's genetic genealogy journey.  She used it as an educational illustration of what we can accomplish by including DNA as a research tool. It was educational and incredibly moving. There weren't many dry eyes in the room at the end of the hour! If you ever have the opportunity to hear this talk. Go!

Using Identity Characteristics to Locate Ancestors - Angela McGhie
I'm so glad to see more advanced topics like this one at RootsTech this year.
Angela talked about going beyond looking at names and locations to identify same name individuals. Some examples are considering things like occupation, religion and signatures to differentiate one same named individual from another. I especially liked her practical use of tables to compare and contrast information on similarly named individuals.

Unfortunately, the room was too small to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend this session. Angela will be giving this presentation at other events this year. If you have the opportunity to attend, I'm sure you'll pick up some great tips.

Tomorrow the famous RootsTech Expo Hall opens. I can't wait!



Disclaimer:  I (Michelle Goodrum) am a RootsTech 2017 Ambassador and received complimentary registration to RootsTech along with other perks.
Any opinions expressed are my own.

 © 2017, copyright Michelle Goodrum

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