Tessa, wise words...thank you, Cindy On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 3:13 PM, Tessa Keough <[email protected]> wrote:
> Definitely an interesting conversation. Geneabloggers has daily memes > and Thursday always includes a "Thankful Thursday." This seems like an > appropriate place for my thoughts today. > > (1) I am thankful for a great genealogy database program that I found > six years ago and has gone through one major (read $ cost) upgrade in > that time. All other changes have been improvements that are rolled > into the program. I appreciate the time and thought that goes into the > improvements and (fingers crossed) upgrades. > > (2) I am thankful that Legacy offers a free version for those who > don't need or want all the bells and whistles but who do want a robust > program. If at some point they decide to move up to the paid program, > it is easy and pretty painless. We don't know other people's financial > situations and I think it is a good thing that a free program exists, > that ancestry and some other websites are offered free at libraries, > and that familysearch.org does so much and provides so many free > materials (including recorded presentations). > > (3) I am thankful that Legacy offers (and was one of the first to > offer) webinars. There have been a number of excellent webinars on a > wide variety of topics by well-known genealogists and skilled > professionals. Legacy has also given a leg up (so to speak) to some > newcomers in the field - I would not be aware of Marian Pierre-Louis > otherwise. I hope that Legacy will continue to look to the genealogy > community for the next "bright stars" in genealogy. I am also thankful > that the webinars are not all related to the Legacy product but run > the gamut of technology, country research, organization, writing and > publishing, and all topics in between. > > (4) In this regard, I will say from experience that putting together a > presentation that is informative, entertaining and educational is no > mean feat! I put together 3 short presentations for Legacy (hey Geoff > - whatever happened to the June 2012 Legacy Idol recording?). It is > time-consuming and a bit nerve-racking as you cover the topic and also > wonder about questions or comments. I am thankful for the individuals > who volunteer and spend the time to put together quality > presentations. > > (5) Is every webinar or presentation a home run - no, but there have > been very few occasions when I did not think my attendance was a > worthwhile use of my time. I say this having attending many in-person > seminars (genealogy, political, legal, photography, etc.) that made me > want to do bodily harm to the presenter and his/her PowerPoint > presentation. > > (6) I am thankful that Legacy provides options - you can attend the > webinar live and/or watch the recording for 10 days before it is > pulled back for sale by CD. This is not the case with others doing > webinars (and I get why they need to have the recordings behind their > pay-wall). Do I begrudge anyone who is spending the time and effort to > put together a presentation to make some money from that effort - NO > NOT AT ALL. We all know the value of providing a service. I don't > think anyone asks their doctor, lawyer, accountant, plumber, or > contractor to work for free - why do we expect teachers or > genealogists to do so? > > (7) I am thankful that there are plenty of opportunities to learn more > about Legacy from those who use the product and comment at the forum, > the user groups that meet in person or on the web (Legacy Virtual > Users' Group monthly hangouts - live and recorded at Google+ that > discuss using Legacy), Legacy users who write extensively at their > blogs (JL Beeken comes to mind with some great blog posts) - just > Google it and you will find all kinds of free learning. > > (8) Finally I am thankful that the folks who work at Legacy seem very > concerned that we get our questions answered timely and (usually) with > good cheer. Whenever I have had the need or opportunity to engage with > them - in emails, telephone calls, or at vendor halls - I have come > away very impressed. I know from my work with the Guild of One-Name > Studies that working with a far-flung membership is not easy and > working with a product that is used in a variety of ways by people > with a variety of tech skill levels is challenging. I have found both > Legacy and the Guild do it with good grace. > > Simply put - there are many companies out there that want our dollars > and we have to make decisions how we spend our genealogy budgets. I > certainly feel I get more than my money's worth from Legacy and I > think if we all give it some thought, we would agree. > > Geoff you might want to refer to the "handouts" that seem to have made > some webinar viewers testy as a CD extra - whether that is copy of the > slides with speaker notes, a reading list, an outline, or a worksheet. > Since I don't know what the presenter includes (and I am guessing it > depends upon the presenter) it is hard to call it one thing. Another > thought is that if a presenter wants to provide a short synopsis or > outline of what they are presenting to all attendees at a webinar, to > truly be a "handout" it could be provided free during the webinar. > > Just my two cents worth - happy we can have this discussion and share > our thoughts. > > Tessa Keough > Guild of One-Name Studies, No. 5089 > Legacy Virtual Users' Group > One Place Studies - Plate Cove, Newfoundland > > > > > On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 10:44 AM, Geoff Rasmussen <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > Interesting discussion everyone....there have only been a small handful > of > > webinars where we have given away the handouts for free. Nearly all > webinars > > include the handouts on the CD only. This decision allows us to partially > > pay for the costs (not inexpensive) of marketing, hosting, and producing > > each webinar and permitting them to be viewed for free. Your discussion > has > > caused me to rethink the term handouts - I guess the term implies that > they > > are free, so many we need to come up with a better term. If you have any > > good suggestions, please email me at [email protected]. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Geoff Rasmussen > > Millennia Corporation > > [email protected] > > www.LegacyFamilyTree.com > > > > > > > > On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 10:59 AM, Ronald Bernier > > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> I'm curious has anybody had the courtesy to ask Legacy/Geoff directly > >> about the handouts? Maybe it's just easier to have a mob action to slam > >> Milennia on a public forum. > >> > >> Ron Bernier > >> Woonsocket, RI > >> Sent from my iPhone > >> > >> On Dec 6, 2012, at 12:56 PM, "Wes" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> > On 06-Dec-2012 12:42 PM, Brian L. Lightfoot wrote: > >> >> You and several thousand other participants have now learned that > >> >> Millennia and Judy Wight have managed to redefine the word "handout" > to mean > >> >> available for purchase instead of its historical meaning, i.e. > freely given. > >> >> The next real seminar that I attend in person, I think I'll > interrupt the > >> >> speaker and ask "How much are these free handouts here at the back > of the > >> >> room?" > >> >> > >> >> Why or why did they did just not say that the additional information > >> >> was available on the CD which is available for purchase? Then there > would > >> >> have been no questions. > >> >> > >> >> Brian in CA > >> >> (PS - Just like you, I followed the link during the live webinar for > >> >> the "handouts" and found myself on the Millennia web page where one > could > >> >> buy the CD. I looked all over for the small print about obtaining the > >> >> handouts then it occurred to me. They were free but only if you paid > for > >> >> them.) > >> >> > >> >> <snip> > >> > I, too, am irked by the fact that the handouts are no longer included > >> > with the webinar. They used to be, but I guess Millenia caught the > >> > greed bug just like wallstreet. > >> > > >> > Wes > >> > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > Legacy User Group guidelines: > >> > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > >> > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > >> > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > >> > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > >> > Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) > >> > and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > >> > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > >> > >> Legacy User Group guidelines: > >> http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > >> Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > >> Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) > and > >> on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > >> To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > >> > > > > > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > > Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and > > on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and > on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). 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