What an amazing day! RootsTech got off to a great first full day with numerous classes, starting at 9 am – on site, as well as online. I was pleased to see that the online classes were done in such a way, that folks at home got the feeling that they were very much involved (and they were!).
In the afternoon, FamilySearch CEO Steve Rockwood gave the opening keynote address, firing everyone up for great things to come. The day was sponsored by a DNA company that last year had only a 10 ft. booth, and has been nearly overlooked in the growing DNA business community. After Steve’s talk, they again took the stage (they had a session earlier in the day). LivingDNA has been making innovations that I believe will force all the DNA testing companies to work just that much harder. The Living DNA test attempts to give results that are more locality specific than most DNA tests have been (although they all have gained specificity – and will continue to do so). It’s a British company, so it makes sense that England and Ireland are the first areas with the most specificity. The test offers your DNA mix across 80 world regions, including 21 in Britain and Ireland. They also offer 3 tests from one kit, instead of the typical Autosomal only. Their test gives results for Autosomal, Mitochondrial, and Y-DNA (all relatives, mother’s direct line, and father’s direct line). Normally $159, the test is currently being offered online for $99. A RootsTech discount making it $89 is available for online ordering this week. And if you are at RootsTech, the test kits are just $49 – while they last! There was a stampede to their booth in the exhibit hall last night – with lines the likes of which I’ve not seen before.
Hosted by Scott Fisher, the Innvoation Showcase kicked off in the latter stages of the general session, with judges Curt Witcher, Judy Russell, and David Rencher offering their unique perspectives on the future of records. DNA panelists included Ran Snir, Jim Brewster, David Nicholson, Robin Smith and Sarah South. Brewster Kahle served as the panelist for the digital memories segment. Each of these panelists shared their unique expertise and made bold predictions for the future of the family history world.
The opening of the expo hall was as exciting as ever. I noted that DNA kit prices during the evening were: Ancestry DNA $59, MyHeritage DNA $49; Living DNA $9. Now bad prices… The room was filled with over 150 exhbitors, many of which have exhibited since the very first RootsTech.
