08 May 2013

NGS UNofficial Notes -- Day 1

It's been a while, but I'm back to genealogy!  To celebrate, I've come to the National Genealogy Society conference in Las Vegas. Needless to say, I am nowhere near one of the select, official bloggers....

We actually arrived yesterday. The flight was a bit rough but our room at the conference hotel is super and the buffet was great, especially the dessert section....first things, first!

Today, I had a great day attending 3 sessions:
How the Genealogist Can Remember Everything with EverNote by Lisa Louise Cooke  --  I've heard such great reviews of EverNote that I decided I had better make a better effort to see if it can't do something for my genealogy.  I had tried it about 2 years ago but it didn't seem worth the effort.  After this excellent presentation, I am going to download it and make it work for me as soon as we get home.  The possibilities seem virtually unlimited.  Cooke said that it can actually use OCR to search the text on screen clips I download from any site!  The tagging and folder options also seem extremely useful.  This was my 3rd time ever attending a Cooke session and she continues to present solid content with great skill. 
The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action: Case Building by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  Yes, the Elizabeth Shown Mills!  This was my first time hearing her in person and that alone may have been worth the trip to Las Vegas! Excellent, succinct overview of the Genealogical Proof Standard with a mini case study example very charmingly presented.  Excellent handout in syllabus. 
ResearchTies: The Power of an Online Research Log by Jill Crandell, the originator/developer of this product for online research logs.  By now, you can see that the theme of my selections for today was all research analysis structure & organization.  The thought that has gone into this new (and still developing) product is awesome.  The plan is to eventually have it integrated with genealogy database software.  Right now, I don't think it's quite where I'd like it to be for me to jump in.  Best wishes to Jill and I will definitely keep checking back with ResearchTies.

I spent a bit of time in the exhibit hall and already have 3 new books to take home with me (more on that later).  I also have new pens, highlighters, catalogs, and other goodies to examine!

Overall, this looks like my first venture to a national genealogy conference is successful.  It is very well organized and great attention has been paid to details.  The syllabus was in my registration bundle on a flashdrive.  I am writing this post from the free WiFi hotspot sponsored by FamilySearch, NGS, and FindMyPast.com: I'm surprised how easy it was to get on and how fast it is.  Thank you, NGS, for all your hard work!

Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow!

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