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 <ge...@legacyusers.com> 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 ge...@legacyfamilytree.com. > > Thanks, > > Geoff Rasmussen > Millennia Corporation > ge...@legacyfamilytree.com > www.LegacyFamilyTree.com > > > > On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 10:59 AM, Ronald Bernier > <ronaldbern...@bernfrin.org> 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" <wes...@gmail.com> 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/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ >> > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: >> > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ >> > 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/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ >> Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ >> 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/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ > 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/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ 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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