Back to the Blue Lemon

Salt Lake City, 7 February.

Today's luncheon get together organised at the Blue Lemon by DearMYRTLE aka Pat Richley-Erickson brought together geneabloggers from all over the place. Having spent quite a deal of time with my Aussie mates I was pleased to sit with a group of bloggers from the US who had some interesting stories and useful tips for researching our collateral lines in the US.

As is my practice I tried to grab some photos of those in attendance. I find that having these pictures is a useful aide memoir when trying to remember people.

Thanks Pat and Russ for our beautiful blogger beads and for all your efforts in making us feel welcome in your city.

I love youse all

After one of his career triumphs Australian World Champion Boxer Jeff Fenech uttered the immortal words "I love youse all".

I am borrowing Jeff's phrase and sending it out to all those genimates who supported me in my crazy Sunday GeneaGala Day of Google Hangouts on Air. I had the most awesome time and thank all of you for being there with me.

There is not way I would have made the Finish Line without the support of my genimates DearMYRTLE and Cousin Russ who are Hangout on Air experts. Thank you for staying with me and providing moral and technical support during the wee hours (in your timezone). Your generosity knows no bounds. How can I ever thank you?

I don't know how many took part in the Hangouts but I was most grateful that I wasn't left alone on air at any time. Thanks to those who added to the conversations by posting comments in the chat areas of the events. What I found confirming was that I could see that right through the twelve hours we had people watching us on Youtube. Each and every one of you made a contribution to the day,

We all did our bit to support National Family History Month downunder.

If you wish to see the Hangouts you can view them via the GeniAus Community on Google+ (you need to join) or on my Youtube Channel.

GeneaSleepover

I don't know how they did it!

My friend in genealogy DearMyrtle (Pat Richley-Ericson) and her Cousin Russ (Russ Worthington) should be singing in best Dora the Explorer style "We did it, we did it, we did it, Hooray." but I suspect that they are sleeping after hosting the 24 hour Geneasleepover Hanagout on Air.

I cannot thank them enough for hosting this feast of learning and collaboration from which I learnt so much. It was fortuitous that Mr GeniAus was away on business so I was able to participate or tune in to the Hangout during my waking hours. I spent around 7 hours on the panel and another two hours viewing the proceedings from the DearMyrtle community.

As I am having trouble writing a coherent report on this event I will use my fave PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) thinking tool toorganise the thoughts I have about the event.

PLUS
* It was a worldwide event open to all members of the DearMyrtle Community on Google+ and invited guests to join the panel.
* Community members watching the show live could participate by making comments in the community.
* Anyone with access to the internet could watch the live show on Youtube.
* Dovetailing with the Familysearch indexing event was a brilliant idea.
* Myrt's relaxed manner makes panelists and viewers feel as though they are all taking part in a fireside chat.
* Myrt and Russ don't take themselves too seriously. They are willing to make and learn from their mistakes.
* Panelists from countries all around the globe joined in to share local knowledge.
* People from Familysearch joined in to keep us updated with latest statistics from the indexing event.
* I got to talk in real time to fellow genealogists I knew from the online genealogycommunity.
* I got a chance to spotlight and talk about "Australian Royalty". Thanks for the invittion Myrt.
* I had opportunities to talk about several topics as Myrt deferred to members of the panel.
* There was a huge range of topics for discussion - something for everyone.
* The online indexing demos were helpful.
* Being a panelist gave me an opportunity to ask questions of other experts. Thanks for the answers.
* Seeing young genealogist, Caitlin, online and representing Australia gave me a buzz.
* It was heartening to see Australians commenting in the community about their indexing efforts (Alex Daw springs to mind).
* My fave activity was watching and hearing Sherri, a Familysearch indexing arbitrator, demonstrate and discuss arbitration.
* My internet connection remained stable for most of the day.
* I completed and uploaded 5 batches of indexing to Familysearch.
* Russ will be timestamping the videos so we can go right to the sections that interest us.

MINUS
* Poor Myrt and Russ were sleep deprived.
* I was sleeping when my mate Sonia from Spain was on the panel.
* I had trouble minding my manners, it was hard not to interject but I tried to keep myself muted.
* I think that only two Australians took the opportunity to join the panel.
* My kitchen chair was uncomfortable. I dragged my office chair out for the last couple of hours.
* I probably won't find the time to watch the whole 24 hours of video.
* I only managed to index five Familysearch batches because I was enthralled y the Hangout content.

INTERESTING
* I can't fathom why more people didn't join the panel. When I was participating there were spaces left for others to join the panel.
* Perhaps in future 24 hour Hangouts so that Myrt and Russ can take a nap the reins can be passed over to various people with  just one of Myrt or Russ online at a time to co-ordinate proceedings.
* My internet connection became flaky around 6:00pm - peak time in Australia. I will reconsider the times I hold my GeniAus Hangouts on Air and may schedule them for times when the internet is more reliable.
* Perhaps I could hold a 6-8 hour GeniAus #hoa with guest speakers on different topics.

Back to Learning

You may or may not know that I keep in a page on this blog a record of my  genealogy related learning activities. I previously explained in a post from 2011 why I keep this CGD Learning Log.

I have recently taken a ten week break from more formal learning while travelling around the globe and visiting with Mr Geniaus many of the places on our bucket list. During this time I tried to keep up with happenings in the genealogy world and to conjure up a blog post now and then. I have not, however, save for a few visits to repositories in the UK been a diligent old researcher or learner.

For my first learning activity after my return I watched a Hangout on Air by two of my fave genealogists, Pat Richley-Erickson (aka DearMyrtle) and Russ Worthington. In this video which is now available here on Youtube Pat and Russ explain the importance of having a profile on Google+ that will allow others to recognise you as a person with shared interests.

If you are a Google+ user and wish to tweak your Google+ profile I recommend that you watch this video. If you are not a Google+ member it is time you joined up.