19 February 2014

RootsTech Quick Survey Results

Of 77 responses to the quick survey posted on February 11th regarding RootsTech in Salt Lake City in 2014 only 2 respondents had attended in person.

32 respondents, 43%, had watched a streamed presentation.

64, that's 84%, intended watching archived presentations.

33 respondents left comments. Here they are, unedited:

  • The streamed presentations were great, thanks. A much better experience than attending in person in 2013.
  • Would like to attend but don't leave home in the winter as travel can be too iffy! I've encountered snow in SLC in both late April and early October but in both cases it disappeared quickly. SLIG is also something I'd like to attend but not as long as it's held in the winter.
  • Biggest yet, but in a bigger venue so did not feel cramped. Too many keynote speakers per session, lessens the impast of each. Less 'buzz' in the media hub that usual, possibly due to absence of Thomas McEntee, Dick Eastman and Jill Ball.
  • Very grateful to watch some of these great presentations!
  • The streamed presentations I watched were excellent.
  • Large crowds limit interaction
  • Presentations streamed live we're excellent. The zipped files of speaker notes will provide helpful information for a long time.
  • I can't attend in person and I appreciate having the sessions archived for us.
  • Really enjoyed the Speakers! Great content! Really nice from my sofa.
  • Streamed presentations were great for those of us who could not make it. More recorded presentations would be even better.
  • I just can't get as excited about RootsTech as the people on the platform did.

  • Someone said www.geni.com was free--yes, free to put in your own details, but one pays through the nose to latch on to other people's information. Let's get our facts straight.

  • Good quality presentations - enjoyed them very much. We had some "time-lag" problems, so not sure if these were a technical problem from the source, or our own internet service provider not having enough band-width, but all-in-all,another great experience. A minor nit,however, and that was some presentations were a bit late in starting, from their scheduled times.
  • We had technical problems with 2 of the streamed ones - One had the speaker freeze part-way though. The one about doing genealogy in your sleep never even started. But we enjoyed the ones we did see.
  • Would've attended but the timing was bad for me.
  • I wish it weren't so far away so that I could afford to go. I do enjoy reading the blogs and I'll catch up with archived presentations.
  • How about a RootsTech in Europe? EurootsTech??
  • If I hear hag they (eg through Anglo-Ceeltic) then I might attend.
  • No
  • I am new to this group and look foreward to learning more.
  • The quality of online streaming gets better each year of RootsTech and is extremely helpful to those who do not travel. As one of the 20,000+ thousands online, I really appreciate the streamed videos as my means of attending the conference and sense of being there. A big Thank You! to all!
  • I'd like to watch archived RootsTech 2014 presentations but the technology used by RootsTech doesn't work and there's no support. On trying to watch an archived video I get the message: The error you have encountered is caused by a failure to connect to vital video content services. I've looked at http://admin.brightcove.com/connect_failed.html but that hasn't helped.
  • I really appreciate having the syllabus material available for download. How generous of everyone involved to provide so many sessions AND all the notes FOR FREE! What an opportunity to learn!
  • So many exciting developments continue to unfold.
  • keep up the good work
  • Thank you for sharing through streamed and archived presentations.
  • Very Informative and so grateful that we are able to watch live stream and view the archibed sessions. 
  • I wish there were choices on who we watch for the live streaming.
  • The presentations that were streamed seemed to be the most "popular" i.e. basic ones.
  • Thanks for sharing the streamed presentations. I greatly appreciate it.
  • I get the impression that, like many kinds of conferences, there are at least two groups of potential attendees: the amateurs, like myself, who get as much out of watching and/or reading presentations on the web; and, the pros and bloggers who have the opportunity to 'network' in person.
  • Planning to read all the blogs, then decide what to watch in full.
  • Program looked vey unexciting.
  • Superb! Had a great time.
My own comments.  I did not attend in 2014 having done so last year.  Savings in travel, accommodation and the stress of travel were major positives in staying home.  I did watch a few presentations live, and more that were archived. While the experience is not as rich I enjoyed the presentations I watched even though they mostly weren't those I would have chosen to attend had I been there.  Thanks RootsTech.

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