RootsTech 2017: Come Celebrate 10 Years with Us!

by | Feb 8, 2017 | 01 What's New, Conferences | 2 comments

RootsTech 2017 is the biggest genealogy conference of the year, and Genealogy Gems will be celebrating in a big way! Here’s your chance to win fantastic prizes, and join in even from home through our live-streaming, as we celebrate 10 years and 200 episodes of The Genealogy Gems Podcast.

RootsTech is being held on February 8-11, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is sponsored by FamilySearch International and is a conference that brings together family history lovers and technology innovators for a truly one-of-a-kind event.

RootsTech 2017 Exhibit Hall: Visit Genealogy Gems Booth #1039

Free 30 Minute Sessions
Join us for our famous power-sessions at our booth #1039, very close to where we were located in the hall last year!

Not able to make it to Rootstech in person? Join us for a selected classes via live-streaming via the free Periscope app, or on our Facebook page.
Look for the Periscope symbol next to the live-streamed sessions on the schedule above.
(All time listed are Mountain time)

Prizes!

As part of our 10th year & 200th episode celebration, you will have a chance to win fantastic prizes at every session in our booth. This is thanks to the generous genealogy community and our podcast sponsors! Here’s what you can win:

Thursday, February 9

  1. 10:15 AM – Beginning Genetic Genealogy with Diahan Southard
    Your DNA Guide Video Series ($29.95)
    Getting Started Quick Guide ($8.95)
  1. 12:15 PM – 5 Ways to Jog Memories with Sunny Morton
    Story of My Life workbook ($19.99)
    Famicity Premium Subscription ($95.88) This is a brand new, private family social network. Think of it as your family’s Legacy Center!
  1. 12:40 PM – Naturalization Records with Amie Tennant
    RootsMagic 4 CD Set ($119.80) includes RootsMagic Software from our long-time and valued sponsor, the spectacular RootsMagic!
  1. 2:30 PM – German Ancestral Villages with Jim Beidler, video from Family Tree University
    Trace Your German Roots Online book ($21.99)  Fabulous resource for Germany research!
    Genealogy Gems: Ultimate Research Strategies book ($15.95) Lisa Louise Cooke’s hard to find first book.Google Drive and other tips
  1. 4:00 PM – Google Methodology with Lisa Louise Cooke
    The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox book, Second Ed. ($24.95) Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google Methodology in one complete and updated volume.
    Genealogy Gems Premium Membership (New or renewal) ($39.95) Includes over 30 class videos and over 140 exclusive Premium podcast episodes!

Friday, February 10

  1. animoto how a genealogy society can grow membership10:15 AM – Creating Family History Videos with Lisa Louise Cooke
    Animoto Subscription ($96.00) You’re going to flip for this tech tool! Click here to learn more right away.
  1. 12:15 PM – Your Ethnic DNA Pie with Diahan Southard
    Exciting DNA themed prize to be announced soon!
  1. 12:45 PM – Genealogy Jackpot with Sunny Morton
    SnagIt Software by Techsmith ($49.95) Lisa uses SnagIt constantly, and you’re going to love it for genealogy! TechSmith tools are tops!
    Ultimate Family Tree Chart Templates CD ($29.99) Every genealogist needs this from the #1 genealogy magazine, Family Tree Magazine.
  1. 4:00 PM – Mastering Ancestry.com video from Family Tree University
    Genealogy Gems Premium Membership (New or renewal) ($39.95)
  1. 5:45 PM – Journaling & Scrapbooking Tech with Amie Tennant
    FlipPal Mobile Scanner ($149.99) You’ll flip if you win this wonderful prize from our good friends at FlipPal.
  1. 6:15 PM – Organize with Trello with Drew Smith
    Organize Your Genealogy book ($25.99) After you win the book, Drew will sign it for you!

Saturday, February 11

  1. 10:15 AM – “Big 4” Databases with Sunny Morton
    Findmypast Premium Subscription ($239.50) You don’t have to have just British ancestors to love this prize!
  1. 2:05 PM – Google Earth Strategies with Lisa Louise Cooke
    Google Earth for Genealogy Video Series ($24.00) This series will help you go into the genealogy geography stratosphere after learning the basics from Lisa’s session.
    Genealogy Gems Premium Membership ($39.95)  7 of the 30 video classes included are on geography and genealogy, like Time Travel with Google Earth! Sweet!

Saturday Starting at 12:15 p.m.
Pick up an entry form, fill it out, and bring the completed form to our booth starting at 12:15 on Saturday for a chance to win our GRAND PRIZE and get our FREE syllabus e-book with all of our booth session handouts. No purchase necessary, and you must be present to win.

Grand Prizes – Saturday at 12:45 PM

3rd Grand Prize: 1 Complete MyHeritage Subscription ($250.74) AND MyHeritage DNA Test Kit ($99.00) from our wonderful podcast sponsor. Thank you MyHeritage!

2nd Grand Prize: Discovery Research Package from Legacy Tree Genealogists ($350.00) Hit a brick wall? These experts will help you bust through! The winner will receive 3.5 hours of research in a digital format which includes: preliminary analysis on your family tree or DNA; discovery of what records are available for the area and time period of interest; development of a research plan; and some work towards your research goals.

1st Grand Prize: 1 Year Ancestry.com World Subscription ($298.00) AND Ancestry DNA Autosomal Test Kit ($99.00) An amazing duo from our friends Ancestry.com.

Book Signings: All Week

Lisa will also be signing copies of her books, including her books Mobile Genealogy: How to Use Your Tablet and Smartphone for Family History Research
and The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox Second Edition. Sunny Morton will be available to sign her new book, Story of My Life. Diahan Southard will also be there answering your DNA questions!

RootsTech 2017 Classes: All Week

Lisa Louise Cooke and her regular Genealogy Gems team members will be teaching several sessions:

Wednesday:
3:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Google Books: The Tool You Should Use Every Day!  Location: Ballroom C
3:00 p.m. Diahan Southard: DNA: The Glue that Holds Families Together  Location: Ballroom J

Thursday:
11:00 a.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Organizing All This Stuff (Beginner)  Location: 155D Getting Started Pass
1:30 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Eliminate the Eye-Rolling with These 7 Awesome Apps!  Location: Ballroom C
3:00 p.m. Diahan Southard: From Click to DNA Connection (Lab)
5:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: 5 Amazing Things Google Earth Can Do for Genealogy (Rootstech Demo Theater, Exhibit Hall)

Friday:
3:00 p.m. Sunny Morton: Comparing the Big 4 (Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, FamilySearch; Location: Ballroom B
3:00 p.m. Amie Tennant: Crowdsource with Social Media Breaks Through Walls; Location: Room 251D
3:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Google Search Power Strategies (Rootstech Demo Theater, Exhibit Hall)
4:30 p.m. Diahan Southard: From Click to DNA Connection (Lab)

Saturday:
11:00 a.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: How to Create a Free Google Earth Map Collection; Location: Ballroom G
11:00 a.m. Diahan Southard: Let Your DNA Tell the Story
11:00 a.m. Amie Tennant: Troll Virtual Cemeteries & Using Cemetery Records; Location: Room 254A
1:30 p.m. Sunny Morton: Relatively Recent Relatives: the 20th Century Search; Location: Room 150

We can’t wait to meet as many of you as possible! We hope you have a marvelous experience at RootsTech 2017.

How to Watch Elevenses with Lisa

by | Jul 26, 2021

How to Watch Elevenses with Lisa Elevenses with Lisa is a free weekly genealogy webinar show by Lisa Louise Cooke. It premieres live and then is available to watch as a video replay both here on our website and the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel. Over time older...

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 239 DNA and The Lost Family

by | Mar 13, 2020 | 01 What's New, DNA, Genealogy Gems Podcast

The Genealogy Gems Podcast is the leading genealogy and family history show. Launched in 2007, the show is hosted by genealogy author, keynote presenter, and video producer Lisa Louise Cooke. The podcast features genealogy news, interviews, stories and how-to instruction. It can be found in all major podcasting directories, or download the exclusive Genealogy Gems Podcast app to listen to all the episodes and receive bonus content.

Click below to listen to this episode:

Podcast host: Lisa Louise Cooke
March 2020
Download the episode mp3

In this episode we’re going to delve into how DNA testing has changed our world with award-winning journalist Libby Copeland, author of the new book The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are.  

Lisa Louise Cooke Roots Tech 2020 Photo Identification Class

Lisa Louise Cooke presenting her new class “3 Cool Cases Solved: How to Identify Your Photos” at RootsTech 2020. Video coming soon to Genealogy Gems Premium Membership!

Genealogy Gems Mailbox

Jenn shares her journey into genealogy and her brand new family history blog.

Jenn writes:

You even inspired me to start my own blog! This is something I thought I would never do, but with your helpful tutorials and encouragement I got started last month and I already have 7 posts!

My question is about getting my blog to show up in Google Search. I am using Blogspot. I have used Google’s Search Console to request indexing for my url’s (they are all indexed). I have included labels and pictures. I use the key words often that I think folks will search for. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Can you help me?

I have tried the following searches in Google to no avail:

“William” “Poland” 1788…1856 ~genealogy -Polish -Russian -Austrian
“William * Poland” 1788…1856 “Ohio” “Indiana” -Polish -Russian -Austrian -China ~genealogy 

Here is a link to my blog: Poland Family History

Jenn has crafted some great Google search queries to see if her blog will come up in the search results. However, the query does need a few adjustments.

Numrange Search: 1788…1856

Use two periods – not three. 

Synonym Search: The tilde (~genealogy)
This search is no longer supported by Google, and in reality really isn’t necessary due to the updates and improvements it has made to its search algorithm.

Simply include the word genealogy at the end of your query and it should provide search results for words like ancestry, family tree, and family history.

It can take Google up to around a month to index your site so that it will appear in search results. Give it a little more time. In the meantime, I would recommend setting up Google Analytics and Google Console for additional traffic data. 

Run this search to verify your family history blog has been indexed:

site:https://polandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ 

This blog post by Neil Patel is a great source of additional information about how to get your site found and showing up in search results.

Lisa’s Recommended Strategy:

  • Be Patient
  • Keep Consistently Blogging
  • Use free tools like Google Analytics and Google Console.

Genealogy Gems Book Club: Libby Copeland, author of The Lost Family

From the book: “In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, and delves into the many lives that have been irrevocably changed by home DNA tests.”

Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 239 DNA

You’re listening to episode 239.

Get your copy of the book here.
Thank you for using our affiliate link. We will be compensated at no additional cost to you, and that makes it possible for us to be bring more interviews to the free Genealogy Gems Podcast.

The Lost Family How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland

Click image to order “The Lost Family”

Libby Copeland is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Washington Post, New York magazine, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and many other publications. Copeland was a reporter and editor at the Post for eleven years, has been a media fellow and guest lecturer, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

Libby Copeland author of The Lost Family

Libby Copeland author of The Lost Family

Quotes from Libby Copeland:

‘I think that America in many ways because of commercial genetic testing is becoming a nation of seekers, and we’re all sort of seeking out our origins.”

“It’s hard to tell your story when you don’t have a beginning.”

“So, we’re sort of operating in the dark in a way. It’s like we have a flashlight and it only illuminates what’s directly in front of us.”

“We have all this information that’s available with the intention for it to be used for one thing, and we cannot anticipate the ways in which it might be used in coming years.”

“So, DNA is…really causing in many ways, the past to collide with the present. And that’s what I find so fascinating.”

Quotes from Lisa Louise Cooke:

“When you say, ‘what’s coming in the future?’ and he (Yaniv Erlich) says ‘oh, I don’t have a crystal ball, but you don’t need one because you look to the past.’ This is what we as genealogists do all the time!”

Get your copy of the book here.
Thank you for using our link and supporting author interviews and the free Genealogy Gems Podcast.

The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox , 3rd Edition

By Lisa Louise Cooke

    • Fully Updated and Revised!
  • Brand New Chapters
  • Featuring Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google Search Methodology for 2020

A lot has changed and it’s time to update your search strategy for genealogy!

The Genealogist's Google Toolbox Third edition Lisa Louise Cooke

Click to order your copy of “The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, Third edition” by Lisa Louise Cooke

Discover the answers to your family history mysteries using the newest cutting-edge Google search strategies. A comprehensive resource for the best Google tools, this easy-to-follow book provides the how-to information you need in plain English.

This book features:

  • Step-by-step clear instructions
  • quick reference pages.
  • Strategies for searching faster and achieving better results.
  • How to use exciting new tools like Google Photos and Google Earth.

Visit the Genealogy Gems Store here to order your copy.

Read our latest articles at Genealogy Gems:

 

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