Fun and Friends at the Atlanta Family History Expo

This past weekend I was in the Peachtree State for the Atlanta Family History Expo. I had the pleasure of meeting these folks for the first time:

Valerie Craft of the Begin with Craft blog. She brought her sister and mother along as assistants.

Mavis Jones of Georgia Black Crackers and Conversations with My Ancestors blogs. She brought her mother as her assistant.

Drusilla Pair of the Find Your Folks blog. "ProfessorDru," as she's known, was also a guest on this week's African Roots Podcast (#84).

Ginger Smith of the Genealogy by Ginger blog. This was Ginger's first genealogy conference ever. I think we won her over.

Angela Walton-Raji of the African-Native American Genealogy Blog and the voice behind African Roots Podcast.

I also ran into some familiar faces in the genealogy blogging world:

Lisa Alzo, Tonia Kendrick, Thomas MacEntee, Linda McCauley, and DearMyrtle.

It's so fun meeting fellow genealogy bloggers for the first time, and even catching up with good friends. Because we know each other online, the introductions are short. We already know each other, if only through a computer, but that's enough to start the good times rolling.

At the Expo, we had our own set of tables in the exhibit hall. Because they were marked by a sign, people often came by and asked questions about blogs. Some didn't know what a blog was. Some didn't understand the value or appeal of genealogy blogs. Some wanted help starting genealogy blogs.

DearMyrtle and I spent much of both afternoons answering these questions and helping people build their own genealogy blogs. You know what? It was really rewarding.

People are starting to see the value of social media for genealogy. As the great Martha Stewart once said, "It's a good thing."