Even though Spring is not officially here for another two weeks or so, I’m off on a multi-week tour filled with some genealogy speaking engagements.  You can see my entire schedule at the Appearances tab for details.

I’m looking forward to meeting the attendees at these events and I know I’ll see some new faces and some familiar faces as well!

• March 16, 2013
  Building a Research Toolbox
  Internet Archive:  A Gold Mine for Genealogists
  Social Networking:  New Horizons for Genealogists
  You Use WHAT for Genealogy?  Wonderful Uses for Unusual Tools
  Lectures, 22nd Annual Spring Seminar
  Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society, Sacramento, California

• March 20, 2013 – 1:30pm MST
  Launching an Effective Marketing Campaign
  Lecture
  APG Professional Management Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah

• March 21-23, 2013
  Backing Up Your Genealogy Data
  The Future of Genealogy
  Wikis for Genealogists
  Lectures and Panel Discussions
  RootsTech, Salt Lake City, Utah

• April 6, 2013
  10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy
  Building a Research Toolbox
  They’re Alive, Searching for Living Relatives
  Creating a Family History Workspace
  Lectures
  Olympia Genealogical Society, Olympia, Washington

• April 13, 2013
  Spring 2013 Seminar
  Lectures
  North San Diego County Genealogical Society, Carlsbad, California

• April 20, 2013
  Genealogical Uses for QR Codes
  Google for Genealogists
  NERGC 2013, Manchester, New Hampshire

• April 25-27, 2013
  Building a Research Toolbox
  Twitter – It’s Not Just “What I Had for Breakfast” Anymore
  Lectures
  Ohio Genealogical Society 2013 Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio

• May 25, 2013
  Building a Research Toolbox
  Creating a Family History Workspace
  Successful Collateral and Cluster Searching
  Ten Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy
  Lectures
  Colorado Genealogical Society, Denver, Colorado

©2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee

This Friday, November 16, 2012 at 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central, join me  for a FREE webinar entitled 10 Ideas for Great Gifts Using Your Family Photos:

Once a precious family photo is scanned using the Flip- Pal® mobile scanner, you can do more than just send the image to friends & family and add to your family tree. We will quickly cover how to scan an original, then print for use in gift projects. A few of the ideas we will share using these prints: ornaments, sweat shirts, quilts, wall hangings, holiday decoration and more. This seminar will be packed with ideas and step by step how-to details from these two creative individuals. We’ll also cover how you can use various sites such as Zazzle, Café Press and even superstore sites such as Costco, Walmart, and Walgreens to create calendars and photo books as gifts.

Click here to register for this FREE online webinar: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/403700638

I am pleased to announce my affiliation with the creators of an exciting new product for the genealogy market – ReelGenie.

I’ve dubbed ReelGenie “The Genealogy Technology to Watch in 2013” since it will revolutionize family history storytelling through its intuitive, web-based movie platform. ReelGenie combines three of the most popular computing trends—online video, social media and the cloud—with a rapidly-growing interest in genealogy.

The result? The only online platform that fulfills every item on the consumer’s wish list. Here’s what ReelGenie offers:

• Ease of Use. Have fun creating movies (not just simple slide shows) with drag-and-drop ease—and see immediate success. Users can import digital images and data from partners’ websites or upload from their computer. And adding voiceovers and background music is a breeze.

• Elegance. Using pre-designed templates and video effects relevant to the story’s content, ReelGenie produces visually stunning movies. This process is supported by the “StoryGenie”, which walks users through the process of telling a captivating story. ReelGenie’s  Storytelling Advisor delivers expert insights via blog posts and sample videos.

• Rich Content. ReelGenie’s curated library of premium images and music is tailored to telling family stories.

• Affordability. ReelGenie is accessible to all users at an affordable price.

• Social and Collaborative Appeal. Through ReelGenie’s collaborative editor, users can invite family members to contribute to the movie. With the ability to share online via Facebook and other social networks, users receive the validation and motivation to enjoy the movie-making process and come back for more.

Visit signup.reelgeniefilms.com and sign up for a sneak peek at ReelGenie once the product is launched!

I will be providing ReelGenie with the high-quality analysis, evaluation, marketing, social media and business development services which I provide specifically for the genealogy and family history community of businesses and non-profit organizations.

I’m excited to share information as I can about the ReelGenie product with the genealogy community . . . Stay tuned!

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

I’ve been featured in an article entitled Career Shift: Turn Your Hobby Into a New Job at nextavenue which is a collaborative media platform by media partners PBS, American Public Television, National Educational Telecommunications Association, and Huffington Post.

I was interview a few weeks ago by Nancy Collamer, a career coach, speaker and author of Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement. You can learn more about Nancy at her website is MyLifestyleCareer.com.

The opportunity to share my “second life” career path is an honor and in the article you’ll learn how after my last firm went bankrupt, I was able to transform my hobby of genealogy into a profession. In addition, from what the author has told me, this article will be carried on Forbes.com early next week.

Stay tuned!
©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

My latest article entitled “The (Not So) Private Lives of Our Ancestors” has been posted at Archives.com.  This is one of many articles you’ll find as part of the Learn from Experts series at Archives.com – check it out and you will see some familiar faces among the genealogy blogging crowd!

The most recent article discusses the meaning of privacy for our ancestors and how you can actually be a genealogy “snoop” to find out the details of their lives.

Visit the  Articles page here at High-Definition Genealogy for my other recent and past articles on genealogy.

Disclaimer: this was an assignment for Archives.com in which I was paid to produce a an article on the subject of genealogy webinars.  In addition to payment, I also received a complimentary membership to Archives.com.  See the Disclosure Statements page for a list of all material connections I have with genealogy vendors.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

If you are in the Chicago area on Saturday, October 13, 2012 think about taking advantage of this FREE genealogy workshop entitled Genealogy Workshop: High Tech – Low Tech which has the byline “Old-fashioned Genealogy Meets the 21st Century.”

I will be one of several speakers that day and I’ll also be available for networking during the lunch period!  I hope I’ll see you there.

Genealogy Workshop: High Tech – Low Tech
Old-fashioned Genealogy Meets the 21st Century
Saturday, October 13, 2012
9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Ruggles Hall

The genealogical fundamentals of evidence, analysis and documentation don’t change whether you’re using online tools or not. Join Marsha Peterson-Maass, Matt Rutherford and Thomas MacEntee for a free full-day workshop discussing these low tech fundamentals plus ways to use high tech online tools to make your research easier.

Agenda:

9:30 – 10:45 Low-Tech Fundamentals (Peterson-Maass)
10:45 – 11 break
11 – 11:45 Repositories and Archives (Rutherford)
11:45 – 1 (Brown bag lunch)
1 – 2:30 Building a Research Toolbox (MacEntee)

Bring a bag lunch and join informal discussions with the speakers and Newberry staff during the noon-time break.

Cost: Free

Registration: Pre-registration is required. Register online or by calling the Public Programs office at (312) 255-3700.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Just before the start of the RootsTech conference, I will be one of the presenters at the Association of Professional Genealogists’ Professional Management Conference on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at the Radisson Salt Lake City hotel.

The topic I’ve been asked to present is Launching and Effective Marketing Campaign.

• Description: Have your past attempts at marketing your genealogy products or services been haphazard, disorganized and ineffective?  Learn how to build an effective marketing campaign and measure the results for repeated success!

• Summary: Participants will learn how to track marketing campaign projects and tasks, how to build a marketing network, why timing is important in marketing, and how to measure the effectiveness of a campaign.

I hope to see many of my genealogy colleagues at this year’s APG PMC! I know it will be a fantastic even filled with educational and networking opportunities for genealogy professionals.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

I am pleased to announce my affiliation with the makers of an exciting new product for the genealogy market – Saving Memories Forever™.

Saving Memories Forever provides a new online system to create and preserve family memories through audio recordings. Each subscriber has a dedicated area on the site to upload and manage their recordings. Available through the iTunes store, the new app is free and is a seamless connection between the website and recording process. Users with any computer can record, save, and upload their recorded stories with or without the app. For additional information visit http://www.SavingMemoriesForever.com.

I will be providing Saving Memories Forever with the high-quality analysis, evaluation, marketing, social media and business development services which I provide specifically for the genealogy and family history community of businesses and non-profit organizations.

Harvey and Jane Baker are the founders and developers of Saving Memories Forever. They have three grown children who, over the years, have asked them lots of questions about their family history. Click here to learn more about the Bakers and their vision for capturing and preserving family stories.

I am excited to share the Saving Memories Forever products and services with the genealogy community . . . Stay tuned!

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

I will be one of several genealogy educations participating in the Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference at Family Tree University, September 14-16, 2012.

What’s a virtual genealogy conference?  Just like a conference you attend in-person but with more flexibility and just as many opportunities to network with other genealogy researchers. You’ll find pre-recorded webinars (a total of 15!), scheduled chats where you can ask the experts various questions, a message board and even a virtual gift bag filled with genealogy goodies!

The Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference is a great alternative for busy genealogists as well as those that can’t travel long distances to attend genealogy conferences.

See the press release information below and I hope I’ll “see” you online in September!

A Special Coupon!

Family Tree University was nice enough to create a special coupon code just for me so I could pass it along to friends who want to join me at the conference.  When registering enter FRIENDSOFTHOMAS to get a 20% discount!  This code is also good for any other Family Tree University course!

* * *

Take part in pre-scheduled social media Q&A’s to get to know your experts

For a fraction of the cost it takes to travel to–and attend–a live event, Family Tree University’s Fall 2012 Virtual Conference provides attendees with an all-access pass to 15 half-hour video sessions presented by the same experts you’d pay an arm and a leg to see speak at a regular conference, all online, from the convenience of home. Enjoy all three days, Friday, Sept. 14, at 9 a.m. through Sunday, Sept. 16, at 11:59 p.m., from the comfort of your bed, desk chair, couch or coffee shop–wherever you have internet access.

Between message board discussions and live chats on topics such as “Researching Courthouse Records” and “Choosing a Cloud Genealogy Program”, you’ll have ample opportunity to engage with fellow genealogy enthusiasts as much as you want, as often as you want. You’ll also receive a “swag bag” of genealogy freebies from ShopFamilyTree.com. How long, you ask, will these great research materials be available to you?

Forever. That’s how long you will get to keep all the session videos and live chat transcripts. Download them to your desktop and use for future reference, whether that’s in in two months or two years! Find out how to register at http://www.familytreeuniversity.com/virtual-conference.

Learn more about the conference presenters and their sessions during our upcoming “Meet The Presenters” social media series. Simply log on to Facebook or Twitter at the prescribed times and follow Family Tree Magazine to watch and participate in live Q&A’s with our genealogy experts. Here is our current lineup:

Read presenter bios and view the conference program. Click here to register.

You can purchase the webinar on CD which also comes with a four-page handout at the Legacy Family Tree store by clicking here.

©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee