Evernote for Conferences

Evernote is the tool for organizing and managing the bits and pieces of research – and life – that we are constantly collecting. Where is this most useful? Why in the chaos and information overload that is a good genealogy conference. Here are a few tips to help you get the most of your conference experience.

Create a shared notebook to hold presentation notes and other information you want to share with conference attendees.

• If you are presenting, you can build a shared notebook to serve as a resource guide for the people who attend your presentation. You can add to the notebook during and after your presentation to provide answers to questions or additional material. This is also a great way to maintain a connection with attendees long after the presentation is over. Make sure to include a link to the notebook in your presentation slides.
• I would love it if exhibitors would also provide a shared notebook or online location for brochures, information sheets and such. Then, I’m not dragging bags of stuff around the conference hall all day or trying to find room for it in my luggage to get it home. One simple card with links – or even a QR code – will make it easy to find those goodies once I’m home and have the time to look at them.
• Use your phone’s camera to capture whiteboard info instead of trying to copy it all down. Even if you don’t have a smart phone with the Evernote app installed, you can still email your shots to your Evernote account. Make sure that address is in your phone’s address book.
• Taking written notes? No problem! When you’ve got a minute, photograph them and send them on to Evernote too.
• If the presenter allows it, capture the presentation as an Evernote sound note.
• For me, the best part of a conference is making contacts – both with other attendees and with vendors. This is also where information overload really becomes an issue. Trying to make sense out of all those business cards once I get home can be quite an effort. That’s why I am loving Evernote Hello. With it I can quickly grab contact information along with a photo of the person, booth or presentation that makes it easier to remember who that person is. There’s a notes section for other useful information. Evernote Hello adds date and location information to help remember when and where you met. You can even add additional “encounters” with people you’ve added to EH. These tidbits will be very useful helping you put this person into perspective once you get home. And, it will become a great cheat sheet for next year’s conference when you run into those people again.

I continue to be amazed with the number of ways Evernote helps keep my life in order. I can’t imagine what I did before Evernote. LOL

Related articles:

1. Evernote for Conferences
2. Connect at Conferences with Lanyrd
3. Research 101: Taking Notes with Evernote
4. Evernote’s Favorites Bar
5. The Evernote Social Club
6. Society Evernote