Social networking sites strike me as "the next big thing" in online genealogy sites. You may recognize the name WorldVitalRecords.com. FamilyLink.com, Inc. is the corporate name and has several divisions. Those family of services include WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilyLink.com, and the We’re Related application on Facebook. Now the company has acquired the My Family application.
The following announcement was written by FamilyLink:
PROVO, UT, June 26, 2008 —FamilyLink.com, Inc., the company behind We’re Related, the No.1 family application on Facebook, has acquired the popular My Family application, which has more than 1.5 million users across five social networks, including Facebook and MySpace.The My Family app lets social networking users creatively represent their family members and pets on their web pages with cute stick figure icons. More than 8,000 new users per day add the applications. My Family is currently the 26th most popular application on MySpace and it has nearly 8,000 fans on Facebook.
“We believe in social networking as a way to reach families,” said Jason McGowan, director of social networking at FamilyLink.com. “The My Family applications appeal to younger family members, and help us reach a new audience. Acquiring My Family gives us a significant presence on other social networks, such as bebo, myspace.com, hi5, and Friendster and extends our leadership position in family social networking.”
We’re Related allows people to create and share their family tree, connect with members of their living families, and find relatives who are using Facebook. Combined, We’re Related and My Family have more than 5.7 million users and nearly 120,000 daily active users on Facebook. Both applications are especially popular in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
Comments from My Family users show how much they have embraced this application.
“My Family application is one of the greatest applications on Facebook,” said Verda Eylül Varan, My Family user on Facebook from Turkey.
“I really like the My Family app. Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing new ‘people’ on the app,” said Brooke Beaudoin-Boger, My Family user on Facebook from Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
“I REALLY like this application. It can also grow with you as you families grow,” said Andree Rossignol, My Family user on Facebook from Saint John, New Brunswick.
The acquisition of My Family will boost FamilyLink.com, Inc’s potential for increased ad revenue. For more information about advertising or to learn more about the positive impact of this acquisition for FamilyLink.com, Inc., send an email to Jason@FamilyLink.com.
Follow-up note from Dick Eastman: The words "My Family" listed above have nothing to do with www.MyFamily.com or other properties of The Generations Network. The "My Family" mentioned above is an application that runs on social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace.
> Two of the sites I have been watching (FamilyLink and FamilyTree)
You mean www.familylink.com and www.familytree.com?
Posted by: bob lodun | June 27, 2008 at 02:31 PM
No. FamilyTree.com is a different site and, to my knowledge, is not involved in social networking.
- Dick Eastman
Posted by: Dick Eastman | June 27, 2008 at 03:36 PM
> No. FamilyTree.com is a different site and, to my knowledge, is not involved in social networking.
So, which two sites have you been watching?
I can't find the other one.
Posted by: bob lodun | June 27, 2008 at 04:58 PM
I am watching several social networking sites and applications. The "second one" of interest in this announcement is the My Family application. I used it on Facebook.
Posted by: Dick Eastman | June 27, 2008 at 05:15 PM
> Two of the sites I have been watching (FamilyLink and FamilyTree)
Is my question not clear?
Where is that site?
Posted by: bob lodun | June 27, 2008 at 05:57 PM
To see the Family Tree application on FaceBook, you will need to first log onto http://www.FaceBook.com (create a new free user name if you do not already have one) and then search for "Family Tree."
Family Tree is NOT a separate site; it is an application that runs on FaceBook's web site. The application was developed by an outside firm, not by FaceBook. You can find hundreds of independent applications of all sorts that run on FaceBook although I mostly look at the genealogy-related applications there.
- Dick Eastman
Posted by: Dick Eastman | June 27, 2008 at 06:01 PM
The Family Tree application on Facebook can be accessed by either going to:
1. http://www.familybuilder.com and clicking on the Facebook logo
or
2. http://apps.facebook.com/familytree
Alternatively, you can use the method that Dick suggested and login to Facebook and search for Family Tree thereafter.
Posted by: Ilya Nikolayev | June 27, 2008 at 11:07 PM
A further evidence of Paul Allen's entrepreneurial genius. He's done so much for genealogy, especially on the Internet. You can find more from him at http://www.paulallen.net/categories/genealogy. Thanks so much, Paul.
Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com
Posted by: Dae Powell | June 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM
LOL, another contentless post by Happy Linkspammer.
Posted by: Marie Delprat | July 01, 2008 at 05:51 AM
facebook is s great way to connect with people, but I hope the owners of the family tree application(s)
realises that just because someone has attached you to their tree does not actually make them a relative.
I have several people I am (or have been in the past) close to, that include me in their TREE but I am no relation.
So I just caution the content of such applications.
Mitsy#9
Posted by: Marilyn (Leland) Bennett | July 03, 2008 at 09:48 AM