The RootsMagic 2013 RootsTech Treasure Hunt is now over.  We wanted to thank the bloggers who placed clues on their sites: AnceStories (Miriam J. Robbins), Ancestry Insider (Anthony Nsider), DearMYRTLE (Pat Richley-Erickson), Elyse’s Genealogy Blog (Elyse Doerflinger), Gena’s Genealogy (Gena Philibert Ortega), Genealogy Gems Podcast (Lisa Louise Cooke), Genealogy Guy’s Podcast (Drew Smith), Genealogy’s Star (James Tanner), Genea-Musings (Randy Seaver), Granite Genealogy (Sue Maxwell), Leaves of the Tree (Kay Haden), Little Bytes of Life (Elizabeth O’Neal), Renee’s Genealogy Blog (Renee Zamora), The Genealogy Blog (Leland Meitzler), We Tree Genealogy Blog (Amy Coffin), Zap the Grandma Gap (Janet Hovorka).

Like last year, many of the bloggers said they had record-setting traffic to their blogs from the thousands of RootsMagic users from around the world who followed the links to find the clue words.  And we heard from many of you who enjoyed discovering new blogs and podcasts with such a variety of personalities and styles.

For those of you that are curious, the 15 words formed this important message:

“You have chosen wisely,” said the old crusader as Doctor Jones picked up Roots Magic

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” Copyright LucasFilm, Ltd.

We held our first drawing at the actual RootsTech conference and gave an iPad (4th generation) to Vicki Renz.  And for those who weren’t able to attend RootsTech in person, we held a second drawing for online entries.

And the winner of an iPad (4th generation) in our online drawing is Judith Ann Taylor of Rexburg, Idaho!  We also drew three more winners who will each receive a RootsMagic super pack which includes RootsMagic 6, Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 6, Personal Historian 2, Family Atlas, Family Reunion Organizer, and RootsMagic Webinars on CD Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4, all in a RootsMagic tote bag.  Congratulations go to Glenn Harvey of Melbourne, Australia; Fernande Boudreau of Pointe Verte, New Brunswick; and Pat Blalock of West Virginia!

Thanks to the thousands of you who participated in our treasure hunt.  We had a lot of fun putting it together and we hope you had a lot of fun participating.  Look for more treasure hunts, more connections with the genealogical community, and more magic in the future!

It’s been a tremendous last few months here at RootsMagic. We’ve been busy with the new releases of RootsMagic 6 and RootsMagic for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. We’re also excited to participate in one of the largest genealogy events in North America- RootsTech!

We want to celebrate these momentous events with you, our loyal users! And what better way to celebrate than with a treasure hunt where you could win one of many prizes including an iPad (4th generation)!

Online Treasure Hunt

We’ve partnered with 15 of the best and brightest genealogy bloggers- many reporting at the RootsTech conference. Each blogger will place one of 15 clue words on their website. The clue word will look something like this:

From Thursday, March 21 through Wednesday, March 27, 2013, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com/treasure for a complete list of the blogs where the 15 clue words can be found. Visit each blog, collect all 15 clue words, uncover the secret message, and you could win software, prizes, or an iPad (4th generation)!

Once you’ve collected the clues there are two ways to enter- in person or at home.

Enter at RootsTech

If you’re lucky enough to attend RootsTech in person, pick up an entry card at the RootsMagic booth (#401) in the Exhibit Hall.  Write the clue words on the back of the card and return it to the RootsMagic booth in the Exhibit Hall by Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 1:20 pm.  At that time, we will hold the prize drawings.  You must be present to win.

Enter at Home

We didn’t want those who aren’t able to attend RootsTech in person to feel left out so we’re holding a second drawing and giving away more prizes including a second iPad.  To enter this drawing, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com/treasure anytime between Thursday, March 21 and midnight MST on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.  Fill out the online form to be entered into the second drawing.  You may enter both drawings but one entry per person, per drawing.  Winners will be picked at random and notified via e-mail by Friday, March 29, 2013.

Remember, the treasure hunt doesn’t begin until this Thursday. Good luck!

About.com Genealogy is the highest-ranked single contributor genealogy site on the internet.  Kimberly Powell, the curator, does a terrific job keeping it up-to-date with the latest news and tips as well as detailed and valuable lessons and how-to articles.  If you aren’t already familiar with this resource, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

The site is currently hosting the “2013 About Genealogy Readers’ Choice Awards“.  Readers have nominated their favorites and the finalists have now been chosen in eleven categories, ranging from genealogy software and apps, to websites and blogs.

RootsMagic is a finalist in three categories:

1. Best Genealogy Software (Windows)
   
2. Best Tool for Putting Your Family Tree Online
3. Best Online Genealogy Tool or Mobile App

This is a great chance to let the genealogy community know which products and services are most valuable to you.  Just click on the above links to vote.

Don’t forget, you can vote once per day in each category.  Voting is open through midnight (EST) on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.  Winners will be announced on March 27, 2013.

Where did the time go?  In accordance with our annual tradition here at RootsMagic, we’d like to look back on this past year and review some of our accomplishments with you, our users.  And don’t forget to check back on Tuesday as we present our 2013 New Years’ Resolutions with a peek at our plans for the coming year.  But until then, let’s turn the calendar back to January 2012.

Free Online Classes (Webinars)

Over the past two years, we have pioneered the use of “webinars“, or free online classes, to help our users get the most out of our software.  We’ve offered over 40 classes spanning over 40 hours of instruction to answer your questions and to teach you all the ins-and-outs of our software.  In 2012 alone, our webinars have been viewed and downloaded hundreds of thousands of times from users in nearly every country on the globe.

And don’t forget,  all of our webinars are archived and still available, free of charge.  If you haven’t already watched one of our webinars, what are you waiting for?  Just pick a webinar on a topic that you’ve been curious about and watch it today!  No other genealogy software comes close to providing the level of support and training that we do.

Conferences, Contests & Sponsorships

This year brought the usual conference travel, but this time we wanted to give back a little to the genealogy community that has given us so much.  First, at the RootsTech conference in February, we gave away two iPads in the RootsMagic 2012 RootsTech Treasure Hunt.  It was a lot of fun and brought some well-deserved attention to bloggers in our genealogy community.

In May we sponsored Genealogy Youth Kamp at the NGS Conference in Cincinnati.  Youth Kamp was designed to assist children between the ages of 8 and 16 with gaining an appreciation of and connection to their ancestry.  To aid in this, parents, grandparents, or other adults were encouraged to attend and participate in Youth Kamp along with the children.

We were pleased to again sponsor the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Annual Genealogy Jamboree in June.  The red carpet theme was a lot of fun and we were happy to contribute deluxe badge holders to all attendees.

And at the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Birmingham, Alabama we sponsored the RootsMagic Cyber Cafe, the place to hang out, go online, charge a device, or print those syllabus pages you needed.

In August, we sponsored an old-fashioned photo booth at the Utah Genealogy Association’s Fall Conference.  It was a unique event that provided genealogy activities and games geared for the entire family.

In October, we held a “Most Interesting Family History Picture and Story” where we asked for interesting pictures and stories from our users.  We were overwhelmed with the love and pride that people felt for their family histories.  It was a very hard job, but our panel of judges narrowed the list down to 8 pictures and stories and the public voted for their favorites.  The finalists each won a copy of our Personal Historian 2 software and the picture/story with the most votes won a Flip-Pal mobile scanner and case.

We’ve also been pleased to sponsor two great genealogy podcasts- The Genealogy Gems with Lisa Louise Cooke and The Genealogy Guys with George Morgan and Drew Smith.  Watch for a blog post soon about podcasts and how you can take advantage of these valuable resources.

RootsMagic 6

We released regular free updates to our RootsMagic 5 software throughout the year, adding several new features such as our “Who Was There” Report.  And in November we released RootsMagic 6, the latest version of our award-winning genealogy software.  RootsMagic 6 added an editable Timeline View, Find Everywhere, CountyCheck Explorer, WebTags, and much more.  And the best is yet to come!

Expanding Beyond the Desktop

One of our resolutions for 2012 was to move RootsMagic to more platforms and more devices.  RootsMagic 6 also introduced a new feature which has proven to be extremely popular with our users- online publishing of your data and free My RootsMagic hosting service.  With it, you can easily publish and share your family tree, notes, sources, and media with others.  In the short time since it’s release, thousands of family history websites have been created and uploaded using RootsMagic 6.

And what better way to close out the year than with the release of RootsMagic for our first non-Windows platform- RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.  Now you can easily take and show off your family history with you wherever you go.  RootsMagic lets you carry your genealogy on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch!  It’s fast, easy, and free!

Thank You!

We say this every year, and we know this always sounds clichéd, but none of this would have been possible without you and your support.  2012 has been a huge year for us and, rest assured, we’re working hard to make 2013 even better!

One of the most common questions we’re asked is, “When can I get RootsMagic on my phone or tablet?”  The answer is, “Today!”  We’re pleased to announce the official release of RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch; a free companion app to our RootsMagic desktop genealogy software.

Your Family Tree at Your Fingertips

Now you can easily take and show off your family history with you wherever you go.  RootsMagic lets you carry your genealogy on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch!  It’s fast, easy, and free!

We’re very excited to bring RootsMagic right to your iPhone and iPad.  Not only is this one of the most-requested features from our users, but it is the perfect next step in our mission to simplify family history.  The app provides many useful features including:

• Access your actual RootsMagic files via iTunes or Dropbox – RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch uses your actual RootsMagic files- no conversion needed. You can copy as many files as you want right on your device via iTunes or Dropbox. Users of other genealogy software such as PAF, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, and others can convert their files into viewable RootsMagic files using our free desktop software.
• Easily search and explore your family tree – Familiar Pedigree, Family, Descendant, and Individual Views help you quickly explore your family tree. You can also search for specific people by name or record number.
• View pictures, notes, and sources – All of your RootsMagic data is available inside the app. Touch any name to see more information about that person as well as family members. All of a person’s information is there including notes, sources, and pictures.
• Lists – Browse lists of your information and view more information about sources, to-do items, research logs, media, addresses, repositories, correspondences, and places.
• Tools and Calculators – useful tools to assist you in your research including a perpetual calendar, date calculator, relationship calculator, and soundex calculator.

Watch a Live Demonstration

Don’t miss a chance to see a live demonstration of the app and how easy it is to copy your data to your device!  We’ve scheduled a special online webinar for Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 4:00 PM MST.  To register, click here.  Be sure to arrive early as only the first 1000 attendees will be able to participate!

New Features and Platforms to Come

We see this as our first step into the mobile world and we’re interested in seeing how people use this app and evolving it to meet their needs.

And before we get swamped with e-mails accusing us of neglecting owners of Android devices, rest assured that a version of the app for Android devices will be available in the near future.

Available Now

RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is free and now available in the Apple App Store. It does require the RootsMagic desktop family tree software or the free RootsMagic Essentials software to create, edit, or add to your genealogy files. More information is available at http://www.rootsmagic.com/ios.