Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wednesday at FGS 2013

Just a quick recap of the conference so far. I arrived on Tuesday just barely in time to attend the Family Search bloggers dinner. It was a good opportunity to learn about what's new with Family Search, to connect with friends, and to meet new people.

                                                       Me and Jennifer Holik.

                                   Terri O'Connell, Jennifer Holik, and Shelley Bishop

Wednesday was focused on societies and I got to hear D. Joshua Taylor explain how to overcome the "we have always done it that way" attitude. It was an excellent lecture about how to reach new members as well as connect and communicate in a positive way with both new and existing members. My take-away from this session--no matter what changes you propose to your society, always present a plan along with it. Change simply for the sake of change may be no more positive/negative than doing things the way they have always been done.

After lunch in downtown Ft. Wayne it was time for Tina Lyons session about social media for societies. Tina went through the list of  main social media sites and ways they can be utilized for the benefit of our societies. Another excellent session, and I was glad to have the opportunity to meet Tina since I have been following her for some time on Twitter.

Last night was the opening  social which was held in the Foellinger-Friemann Botanical Conservatory. Despite the long line,  it was a pleasant evening of food, music, and conversation.



Today I'm attending a session by Thomas Jones called "Planning and Executing Efficient and Effective Research: A Case Study." After that, I'm free for the day to do research at the Allen County Public Library and maybe even have time to explore the city and learn a bit about its history. Stay tuned!