Do you need a presentation at your next genealogy society meeting? Here's a method that you may not have thought about. I used it successfully this past weekend.
At the Family History Expo held in Mesa, Arizona, November 14 and 15, Beau Sharbrough was scheduled to give a presentation entitled, "An Introduction to Footnote.com." Unfortunately, Beau got marooned in a blizzard near the Nebraska/Wyoming state line. He missed the Expo as he sat in a motel room for two days waiting for the blizzard to subside.
I was already in Mesa and was asked if I could step in and give Beau’s presentation in his place, which I did. Sort of. Actually, Beau gave it in absentia, but he didn't know that he was giving it.
More than a year ago, Roots Television recorded my interview of Beau Sharbrough in which he described Footnote.com in some detail. That video is available today at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_conferences.php?bctid=979196317. I reviewed the video a few hours before the scheduled presentation to make sure it was appropriate and then decided to use it. His introduction on the video was perfect. He covered the same topics in the video as he needed to cover in the Mesa presentation.
At the appointed time, I started the presentation by playing the Roots Television video on my laptop computer and projecting it onto a large screen to an audience of about 100 people. For audio, I simply placed the presenter's microphone next to the laptop computer's speakers. There was no Internet connection in the room; I used a Verizon air card on my Mac laptop. At the end of the video, I followed with my own comments.
I was amazed at the results: it all worked perfectly! About 100 people in the room seemed to enjoy it, and feedback after the presentation was very positive.
The moral of the story: when you are stuck for a last-minute presentation, use Roots Television or one of the other online video services. You may already have a “canned presentation” by a genealogy expert, waiting to be used at your next meeting!
