***None of the links below are sponsored or affiliate. I get nothing from these companies for listing their products, this is my honest review of things that got me excited this year.
Best New Books



Best New Tech
Audiobiography.com - Audiobiography allows you to record memories by recording their voice. They have an interactive prompt book, and each page has a QR code (those weird squiggly boxes) and using their app, you scan the code and the story plays back. They also have QR stickers you can place on archival photo sleeves that will record the story of your photo! So cool! You can check them out here: https://audiobiography.com/home
Permanent.org - Permanent is the first (to my knowledge) non-profit cloud storage site. That's right. Non-profit. They are a 501 (c) (3) charity and will never mine your data, invade the privacy of your files, or claim copyright over your files (seriously though, read the fine print on your cloud server) And they're even willing to give you a free gigabyte of storage! This is an organization to watch. Visit their website here: https://www.permanent.org/
Best of Vendor Hall
CelebrateDNA - Want to show the world what you're made of? CelebrateDNA can help you do just that with customized shirts, totes, mugs, hats, posters, etc. In world where people are growing increasing distant, what a great way to bring people closer together! They have dozens of designs and a portion of each purchase goes to help Youth Celebrate Diversity! You can immerse yourself in there catalog here: https://celebratedna.com/
Traditions of the Ancients (TOTA) - TOTA is a unique offering in the genealogical community. They allow us to connect to the culture of our ancestors in a way no other site does. As an anthropology major in college, I love their collection of cultural artifacts, articles, and more and you will too. You can even upload traditional recipes or write articles on your culture! Check them out at: https://www.tota.world/
Archival Methods - As genealogists we all are archivists and if we're just throwing our precious photos and heirlooms into an Amazon box, we're not being very good family archivists. Archival Methods provides you with the resources you need to properly preserve your family materials for generations. I was impressed with their digital storage (to archive your flash drives, CDs, etc.) and their customizable kits. You can peruse their products here: https://www.archivalmethods.com/
FamilyScrybe - FamilyScrybe is a multi faceted website with inspirational blog posts for recording your family story, links to professional genealogists, coaches, educators, and genetic genealogists, and a vendor marketplace that allows you to browse through dozens of other services. They will be launching web-hosting for family sites later this year, and it looks awesome. Check out their demo site here: https://familyscrybe.com/free-family-websites/
Vintage Aerial - Most of us an farming ancestors. This site allows you to search through aerial photographs taken from the 1960s to the early 2000s and look for ancestral farms and homesteads. If you know where your ancestors lived, just drill down on the map and search for nearby images. So much fun. You can search for images by going to: https://vintageaerial.com/