Tuesday, September 14, 2010

presenting....me.

phew! i am SO glad that is over!

i presented information about blogging at a local genealogy conference. this particular conference was about how to publish your genealogical findings, but i know the president of the society and his wife...and they know my blog...so they asked me to introduce this crowd {remember: average age is 73} to blogging and how you can make connections through it, as it is a form of publishing. 

it was a new topic for me. but a topic i've definitely been grateful for. i've so loved the connections i've made through blogging as well as the previous connections i've been able to maintain or even better though this crazy blogosphere.

so, in the grand scheme of things, it really wansn't that big of a deal, but it was big to me. 


the class was so inviting and literally soaked up everything i had to say. they were interested in the opportunities blogging might provide for them and asked some of the greatest questions. thankfully, i had some fellow bloggers among the group and they were able to walk alongside me throughout the class. 


all in all, a very fun day. i created my first powerpoint presentation in four years {and they loved the font} and participated in my first public speaking event, other than a religious meeting, since college graduation oh-so-many years ago. and i don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but i think i did pretty awesome. i didn't stumble on my words or forget what i wanted to say. in fact, i didn't even use my notes. i looked at the slides and knew exactly where to go from there. it was a first, that's for sure. 


so thank you to my commenters for helping me out beforehand. if you think i don't have your address, comment with it or email it to me {marejl at gmail dot com} and you'll have a surprise waiting for you in your mailbox {the real one, not the virtual one} in a week or so.

7 comments:

t.t.turner said...

Yay, Maren!

Erica said...

im so happy it went well!! yet another thing that makes you way cooler and more interesting than me!

Alyse Burt said...

I'm so happy it went well! I've been thinking about Leah today. A young man with Downs helped Lyndsey, Spencer and I with our groceries today. He was such a sweetie and told me all about his job. I took the opportunity to explain to Lyndsey how this young man was extra special and he didn't have to go through all the challenges we do because his Spirit was already perfect. I wish we could have seen you guys while you were here, maybe next time!

Karen Hauley said...

Yay for public speaking! You were perfect for this topic.

Unknown said...

definitely not a gene i inherited. i hate speaking.

Unknown said...

ps. not only am i positive you did a great job.. you looked beautiful while doing so:) love the outfit!

Tracy said...

Maren, you did a fantastic job! Very inspiring. I'm working on setting up my blog right now (hope to have the first post up this weekend). I was one of the "bloggers" in the audience who knows a little about following blogs, but needed a little push to actually get started. Your class and the one right after gave me plenty of inspiration to just do it! Keep up the good work!

P.S. I was thinking that your age of the average attendee was exaggerated, but then realized that while I may bring down that average a bit, I don't think I have that big an impact. My goal is to get more "young" people interested in family history before our older generations depart this earth.