Attending my First Genealogical Conference

Two weekends ago, I was able to attend the APG PMC (Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference) which was virtually held from the 19-21 September. This was the first time I was able to attned a conference synchronously, in the past I have watched RootsTech webinars but after the fact. I wanted to share my experience at the APG PMC and what I was able to take away from it. 

The Setup

The APG PMC was held virtually on Whova, which is a platform that has various functions such as holding conferences, setting up schedules, posts/message boards, chats, etc. On the platform I was able to see what and when people were presenting and thus it allowed me to create my own schedule of the difference conferences that would be occurring that weekend. I wanted a mix of creating/owning your business, financial literacy, and how to manage a brand. Therefore, I gave those conference slots a preference in my schedule.  

Attendance

Since the conference was virtual, I could do it from the comfort of my own home. I was a bit bummed when I found out it would not be in person since I really wanted to attend a conference in person and thought this would be the one; however, at the same time I was able to save money on travel, hotel, food, etc. by doing it from home. Similarly, people that are farther away in other countries were able to attend as well and thus I could expand my network outside of just the geographic area of where the conference would have been held. 

Using the Whova platform on my phone and on my computer were easy, though weirdly enough there was a weird hiccup where if I opened both my computer and phone it would basically drop the conference because two devices had it opened and then caused it to lag and sometimes I could not easily re-enter. So for example, if you started on your computer but wanted to get up for lunch and switch to your phone – the transition was not going to be as smooth as you might have liked it (at least I found).

Other takeaways

I really enjoyed listening to the difference chats and I learned a good amount about all of the difference topics I wanted. Some of the topics such as financial literacy are harder for me to grasp/process since I do not have a background in this, so for sure it is something I would have to continue learning about to make sure I feel comfortable with it if I ever decide to create my own LLC or business. 

Also, in the future, I would probably try to leave my schedule completely blank for those days in order to just attend the conference those days. Since I work remotely, I decided to work prior to and after the conference which made the days feel much longer. Equally, I found myself moving around my office space since a lot of the conference was just listening and so I imagine I missed some parts of what was being said. 

I really enjoyed the breakout rooms and meeting others and I would have liked to take more advantage of chatting with people and reading the message boards. I did not do this at all since I had my personal job to do on the off-conference hours. 

Future of Conferences

I am hoping I can get a chance to attend some genealogical conferences in person in the future since I personally like meeting others in the flesh. I think virtual conferences are also a great alternative when it involves worldwide members, but for other local societies that hold conferences in situ, keeping them in person might be beneficial to them (and us genealogists as well). 

Now that I am back stateside, I am hoping to find more conferences I can attend in order to continue learning, expanding my network, and hopefully in the future give chats as well! 

I think conferences can be a great way to combine my previous experiences as an educator with my passion for genealogy. 

I can’t wait to attend more!  

Cover Photo: “Set sail: Navigate your Genealogy Career””, APGen – Association of Professional Genealogist (https://apgen.org/2024_conference_registration.php : accessed 7 October 2024).

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