More Dispatches from the SLA Virtual Conference (as They Pertain to Genealogy)

This is part 2 of my virtual conference experience. You can read about day 1 here.

Day 2 was similar in format and time to day 1. Three separate sessions with 45 minute breaks in between (most attendees were information professionals likely tuning in from their places of employment). Each session was offered as a GoToMeeting webinar with a distinct, unique log-in url. Session titles are in bold.

Ninja Skills for Librarians
Jennifer Doyle and Jill Strand

This session was received well at the 2013 SLA conference in San Diego, so they included it as part of their virtual conference. I'm glad they did.

The two speakers were friends and black belts in their respective martial arts disciplines. Much of martial arts deal with the mind and how you think and approach a situation. The speakers channeled that train of thought and applied it to information professionals.

They broke their presentation down into levels, similar to the colored belts one attains in martial arts. Here are some of the achievements:

Confidence - the speakers discussed introverts because there are so many in the library world. When you're not feeling confident, act like an extrovert. "Fake it til you make it" is a common saying in the info pro world. At a genealogy conference many years ago, I was approached by an employee at a Very Important Genealogy Entity and asked if I take paid work. "Yes," I said (I hadn't). Then the person asked if I ever go to Slighty Intimidating Special Archives in my area. "Oh yes," I nodded as though I go there every Tuesday (I'd never been there). And that's how I got my first paid genealogy gig.

Balance - this one seems self explanatory, but the speakers made a good point. Obviously we need to work to achieve our own balance, but we also need to be aware of those who don't have balance. Don't let them upset yours. Sadly, this is a big issue in the more cantankerous corners of the genealogy sandbox. Don't let the "unbalanced" ones get to you.

Strategy - this applied to librarians in complex organizations, but I thought it was a good takeaway for the genealogy world, too. The speakers emphasized that you don't always have to win. Sometimes it's best to let competitors go to market first, let them make mistakes, then you can learn from what you see. Think about what you want to accomplish before taking action.

Negotiation - in the information professional world this includes vendor relations, company issues and general life. Here was my favorite takeaway: Is it more important to be right, or to maintain a good relationship so we can achieve our common goal? The professional genealogy field is somewhat divisive right now. Too many trying to be right, no discussion on the common goal.

I really liked this session. I wish I could see (or even design) something similar for genealogy, but I don't think it would be received well. The audience expects a talk on records and a handout. This ninja-style presentation is different and "different" doesn't go over well. Maybe I'll hash it out anyway and try it on a smaller audience. But I digress.....


Contributed Papers: Outgoogling Google and An Ethnographic Approach to the Knowledge Audit
John Coll and William Cook

This session was made of two discussions on contributed papers. The knowledge audit one--though interesting--had nothing I could transfer to genealogy, so I won't discuss it here.

The speaker for the Outgoogling Google paper was from the National Library of Scotland. This was a discussion on the use of Google and Google Scholar over library services. This is a very familiar topic in library circles. There were some statistics presented, including a study of doctoral students who relied mostly on Google for their research (shudder).

There's a continuous movement to illustrate the value-added services of libraries in terms of research. Do your users know you (the librarian) know things they don't? Librarians can provide further guidance on the research subject, filter down to the "good stuff," share their knowledge, save time and get better results. Unfortunately they don't always advertise that fact.

The speaker shared about the National Library of Scotland website and user expectations. Users want a single search box...just like Google. So the speaker showed how they achieved that while still providing the best possible search experience and results. I don't think genealogists realize how much time and energy goes into improving user experiences. Librarians are always thinking about ways to improve their systems. Keep that in mind as you navigate the genealogy information highway.


Practitioner Best Picks: Best CI Techniques in Legal, Science and Finance
Anne Herron, Alex Ilg and John Jackson

This session was about competitive intelligence (CI) but you know I can mine that information and apply it to genealogy.

The session involved three speakers, each speaking on one of the above fields. The first speaker (finance information professional) discussed the importance of knowing your client. He referenced what he called the (Peter) Drucker Three:

What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer value?

In terms of professional genealogy, who is your customer? The answers will probably vary a bit. A few months back, I ruffled feathers by saying that a certain membership-based genealogy group did not provide enough value for me to retain active status, so I left. This is the point I was trying to make. Value is a "thing" and the genealogy field needs to address it. I encourage you to look at all the genealogy things you pay for and figure out their value to you. If you're in the genealogy biz (societies, too), make sure your services or products provide value and that you understand your customer/user/client.

Let's talk about the reference interview. This was brought up in several sessions including this one. When you first contact a librarian, he or she will initiate a reference interview. This is done to determine what you're looking for so they can provide the right materials or answers. Often people will ask for one thing, but it turns out they really want another. A reference interview hashes that out at the beginning, saving time and getting better results for everyone.

When it comes to dealing with genealogy clients, I often go the reference interview route, too. People email me and ask "I need help! How much to you charge?" I reply back with a bunch of questions because I need to define the project before I can put a price tag on it. This can go on for several replies and potential clients get antsy because they want a price. But I can't give you a price until I know what the project will entail. That's just how I roll. One time I contacted a professional genealogist about doing some work for my own family history. She replied back with a price list. That's it. No questions about what I wanted and was hoping to accomplish. Thanks and buh-bye.

Much is written and discussed in library circles about user experience. It is essential because libraries need users to keep going. Do you see how this translates to the genealogy field? Ancestry.com needs users. Genealogy societies need users. Your professional genealogy business needs users. Your genealogy blog that you just write for fun needs users. Take a hard look at your corner of the genealogy world and see if you know who your users are and what they value.

Debriefing

I'm really glad I spent the money to attend this SLA virtual conference. I wasn't sure how relevant it would be since I'm straddling the information field right now but I found lots to keep me current in research practices.

I tried my best to cull information relevant to the business of genealogy and discuss it here. I hope it did help a few of you. If not, then better luck next time.

Dispatches from the SLA Virtual Conference (as They Pertain to Genealogy)

Today I attended the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Virtual Conference.

Special libraries include businesses, museums, law offices, hospitals, government entities, solo librarians, independent information professionals (yo!) and everything else that doesn't fall under the traditional school/academic/public umbrella of libraries.

The special library track was my "thing" in library school. I loved the concept of subject specialty. I loved the science of research. Precision and recall are my idea of a good bar conversation.

Though I've moved to the genealogy world, I still like to keep my toes in the special library pool. You see, genealogy education is a drug of the over-the-counter variety. Nice for minor use, but sometimes I need a hit of Improved Research Skills and SLA is my dealer.

Some of what I learned on day 1 of this virtual conference translates to the professional genealogy world, so I decided to include a few sound bites here. Session titles are in bold.


1. A Profession in Transformation; Including Five Habits of Highly Effective Information Professionals
Simon Lord

One thing I love about SLA is that they know their identity. They are information professionals, plain and simple. Subject specialty doesn't matter. Credentials (or lack thereof) do not matter. Each member is an information professional in one way or another and they move the association forward as a unified body.

Information professionals are always communicating their value. They have to because their value to their employers is always being questioned. "Why do I need you when I can look everything up on Google?" Does this sound familiar, professional genealogy types? Info pros hear this All. The. Time. They answer with quality reports produced in less time which translates to savings for the company. However, communicating value is a never-ending task, which is why it stressed so heavily in info-pro circles.

Do you see ways professional genealogists can communicate their value, too? I don't mean walrus barking about your "qualifications." I mean busting your butt and producing quality work. I mean answering someone's questions and offering them a business card and a smile that says you're the right person for the job and you have the knowledge to back it up. You get the idea.

Every research or library-based group I've ever belonged to stressed the importance of information professionals "keeping current," especially with technology. This is more than downloading the latest app on your smartphone (or for some actually getting a smartphone).

In the information-professional world, keeping current is part of the job. In the professional genealogy world, I've experienced a weird indifference, especially when it comes to technology. Keeping current can save you time and money. Keeping current can make you a better researcher, writer, record keeper, etc. To do your job well, you should know the latest tech tools. You may not use them, but you should know how to use them and who else does. You need to know the latest databases online (and these are constantly coming online). You need to know what records repositories are adding, updating and saying online and offline. You need to know developments in genealogy software. How can I as a potential client or sub-contractor feel good about hiring you as a professional genealogist if you don't assure me you are "current?" You might miss the very item I need to make my project a success.

This virtual conference session also discussed more library-ish effective habits, but the best takeaways for professional genealogy (in my opinion) were promoting value and keeping current.


2. Go Beyond Google: Gathering Competitive Intelligence
Sean Campbell

I really dig competitive intelligence, so this session was right up my alley. I have found that the skills one acquires doing this type of research come in handy in professional genealogy, too.

Market analysis of the genealogy industry is best performed using competitive intelligence tools. These skills are also handy for finding living people, such as you would do in forensic genealogy.

This speaker had a background in the tech industry, but his knowledge translated well into other fields. He really liked Twitter as an information tool (as do I) and spent a large portion of the presentation on various Twitter analytic tools one can use to gather business information. This is more than just monitoring tweets. It's measuring the reach of hashtags, finding influencers and more.

Several tools were mentioned. They are Tweetreach.com, Follwerwonk, and Foller.me.

Much of the session was also dedicated to LinkedIn as a business intelligence resource. Again, this is a really good tool if you're trying to get information on genealogy companies (or those that have the data we want) or living people (as you'd want in forensic genealogy).

I learned some neat tricks in this session and I intend on practicing them by doing a little research of my own in the genealogy industry.


3. Just Say No to Aimlessness! Strategic Leveraging of Social Media Content
Ethel Salonen, Cheryl Yanek

The first speaker in this session was a librarian/social media person for a non-profit. She talked about how they used social media tools to reach their intended audiences. Some of the takeaways from which the pro genealogy world would benefit are:

Don't send the same message to all of your social media channels. Learn who your audience is on each site. This is a big pet peeve of mine. Many genealogy businesses and researchers phone in social media this way. You're not fully engaged and it shows.

Be aware of those who can influence your brand. These folks can come from media, celebrities, clients, peers, etc.). In the genealogy world, influencers can be those same people. Determining influencers can also be done using social media analytic tools, just like what was mentioned in the first session. See how this all fits together?

What is worthy of sharing? Keep your personal self out of social media. Um...do as I say, not as I do here. My single Twitter account is a free for all and I have no intention of changing it. However, as the speaker says, steer clear of the more personal rants on your business accounts. It seems like common sense, but I look at some accounts and wonder...

Social media is a conversation, not a monologue. Create an engagement strategy. Keep your followers engaged. Another huge pet peeve of mine in the genealogy business world. Lots of pushing products, links, etc. and minimal dialogue with followers. As the speaker was talking about this point, I started thinking about social media accounts in the genealogy business world. There is one account that keeps posting the same thing over and over. I will never understand it. Then I got to thinking some more and decided I really like the way Ancestry.com initiates dialogue and engages followers on their Twitter account. I mentally gave them a gold star. Then I got to thinking about how if you ask RootsMagic a question on their Facebook page, you often have an answer from their team in a matter of minutes. I mentally gave them a gold star, too.

Don't be afraid to fail. Take risks.
This speaker was so cool. She's tried all these social media tools in her job and shared her experiences with them, even the ones that didn't work. It's a matter of learning what works for you and doesn't. Same thing applies in the genealogy business world.

The next speaker in this session talked about an in-house social media tool that her company uses. This did not translate well into genealogy so I used that time to start this blog post.

Overall my first day at this virtual conference went really well. I'm glad I spent the money as I feel it is helping sharpen my research skills. I hope my decision to blog about it here was a good idea. I just wanted others to see how information-based events from other associations outside the genealogy field are good for business within the field.

Read about day 2 here.

(Edited to add: The virtual conference sessions were done through GoToMeeting. I had three different unique links for three different log-in times (45 minute break between sessions). It was just like a genealogy webinar experience.)