Geni.com

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Geni
Geni Logo.png
Type of business Privately held company
FoundedJune 2006;17 years ago (2006-06)
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Founder(s) David O. Sacks
Alan Braverman
Amos Elliston
President Gilad Japhet
General managerMichael Stangel (USA)
IndustryGenealogy, Social networking services
Parent MyHeritage
URL www.geni.com

Geni is an American commercial genealogy and social networking website, founded in 2006, [1] and owned by MyHeritage, [2] [3] an Israeli private company, since November 2012. [4] As of 2021, MyHeritage has kept its genealogical website separate from Geni's website, though you can still match Geni profiles to trees on MyHeritage and to other family tree sites and digitized records. [5]

Contents

The New York Times groups it with FamilyLink.com and Ancestry.com, "a vast and growing trove of digitized records". [6] As of March 23, 2023, around 177,017,009 profiles had been created on Geni. [7]

Features

Geni.com website Genipage.jpg
Geni.com website

At the website users enter names and email addresses of their parents, siblings, and other relatives, as well as profiles with various fields of biographical information about themselves and their relatives. From there users may graphically manipulate sections of their connections network to create a complete personal family tree. [8]

The service uses the contact information to invite additional members to join, and builds a social network database from the information collectively entered by members. For now users may only see information belonging to themselves, their connected "family group", and to people in their immediate network who have given them permission. [9]

Discussion forums and projects

Each family tree features a family discussion forum where messages can be posted and responses made. It can be used as such a digest for family news. There are also public discussions, profile specific discussions, and project discussions.

Projects are special interest groups organized around historical topics (e.g. "World War One - Casualties"), immigration patterns (e.g. "Norwegian American"), occupations (e.g. "Librarians"), place-names (e.g. "Christ Church, Oxford University"), or any other subject of general interest that will foster social discussion among members, as well as providing a portal to which biographical profiles may be linked.

Importing and exporting

From 2008 [10] until December 2010, Geni had a built-in feature that allowed users to import their family history using the GEDCOM file format. This facility was disabled for eight years because Geni found it was duplicating thousands of existing profiles, often with poor information quality as compared to the existing profiles.

In February 2019 a new GEDCOM file import feature became available that allows the import of profiles which didn’t exist before on Geni. Only a few generations of a tree are imported at a time, continuing only on branches where there are no matches to existing profiles on Geni. [11]

Data from public records and family trees can also be imported from 13 supported web sites using an independently developed semi-automatic tool called SmartCopy, which is based on web scraping. Families are imported one at a time; the user can manually edit or verify the information before importing, and also choose between adding the information to existing profiles or creating new profiles. SmartCopy includes a consistency check feature that warns when data may be unreasonable. The user must ask for full access to the tool. SmartCopy is a third-party open source web browser extension that has been available since 2015. [12]

DNA information

Lists can be compiled of profiles that are expected to have the same haplogroup as a specific profile, since they are related on a strict male line or female line.

Genealogical DNA test results (autosomal tests, YDNA tests and MtDNA tests) can be imported from various test sites. The haplogroup of the test person is indicated and propagated in the family tree to all profiles that are expected to share it. Lists of tested people matching the DNA are presented.

Automated consistency checking

A serious problem with online family trees is the inappropriate propagation of information from one ancestor or family line to another. This can happen if users make incorrect identifications between ancestors and others in the tree already. This can lead to strange results such as people born after their mothers have died or when their supposed parents were still small children. In 2019 Geni introduced automated consistency checking which alerts users to 28 types of such problems. [13]

Reception

By 2008, Geni was the chief website operating on the "one great family" collaborative model (now commonly known as "collaborative genealogy"), seen as the next step for genealogy in the digital era. [14] [15] Geni's model has been described as a new collaborative, resource-sharing alternative to the "corporate for-profit model" of genealogy research. [16]

Scientists and academics have used Geni for genetic, anthropological, and sociological research. Due to its size and geographic spread, Geni has been cited as a "key social media website" by researchers. [17] Educators have used Geni's visual and social media attributes as a way to get students interested in family history. [18] Author A. J. Jacobs used Geni extensively for his 2017 book It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree and partnered with the company to host his 2015 "Global Family Reunion." [19]

In 2017, a multinational team of scientists led by Yaniv Erlich used 86 million publicly available profiles from Geni, of which 13 million were connected into a single family tree, to study the structure of historical populations over the past 600 years, mostly from Western Europe and the United States. [20] [21] [22] [23] Their findings, published in Science , were used to analyze the genetics of longevity and familial dispersion. [24]

Much like Wikipedia and other wikis, Geni was criticized in early years over users not citing sources, leading the site's staff and power users to push the community to use more documentation. [25] [26] [27] As Geni profiles and projects have become more documented, Geni has been cited in academic journals, though some critics remain concerned about the accuracy of collaborative trees as a whole. [15] [20] [28] [29]

Related Research Articles

GEDCOM, complete name FamilySearch GEDCOM, is a de facto open file format specification to store genealogical data, and import or export it between compatible genealogy software. GEDCOM is an acronym standing for Genealogical Data Communication. GEDCOM was developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an aid to genealogical research. Most genealogy software supports importing from and exporting to GEDCOM format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PhpGedView</span>

PhpGedView is a free PHP-based web application for working with genealogy data on the Internet. The project was founded and is headed by John Finlay. It is licensed under the GPL-2.0-or-later license.

Genetic genealogy is the use of genealogical DNA tests, i.e., DNA profiling and DNA testing, in combination with traditional genealogical methods, to infer genetic relationships between individuals. This application of genetics came to be used by family historians in the 21st century, as DNA tests became affordable. The tests have been promoted by amateur groups, such as surname study groups or regional genealogical groups, as well as research projects such as the Genographic Project.

FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is closely connected with the church's Family History Department. The Family History Department was originally established in 1894, as the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU); it is the largest genealogy organization in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genealogy software</span> Software for family history research

Genealogy software is computer software used to record, organize, and publish genealogical data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gramps (software)</span> Genealogy software

Gramps is a free and open-source genealogy software. Gramps is programmed in Python using PyGObject. It uses Graphviz to create relationship graphs.

This article compares several selected client-based genealogy programs. Web-based genealogy software is not included.

The Master Genealogist (TMG) is genealogy software originally created by Bob Velke for Microsoft DOS in 1993, with a version for Microsoft Windows released in 1996. Data entry was customized through the use of user-defined events, names, and relationship types. Official support for TMG ceased at the end of 2014. Informal support continues through a number of online user groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GenoPro</span>

GenoPro is a software application for drawing family trees and genograms. GenoPro can store additional information such as; pictures, contacts, places, sources, occupation and education history for each individual, as well as document the relationships among individuals.

MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform with web, mobile, and software products and services, introduced by the Israeli company MyHeritage in 2003. Users of the platform can obtain their family trees, upload and browse through photos, and search through over 19.9 billion historical records, among other features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahnenblatt</span>

Ahnenblatt is a genealogy software application for Microsoft Windows developed by German programmer Dirk Böttcher. It features data entry, plausibility check and creation of charts and reports. The software imports and exports GEDCOM files and exports Web pages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genbox Family History</span>

Genbox Family History is genealogy software for Microsoft Windows, developed by Thoughtful Creations. It functions as a database, a research planner and task organizer, a data analyzer, a chart producer, and a report writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodovid</span> Genealogy website

Rodovid is a free online collaborative family tree portal. Originally a Ukrainian project, as of 2023 it had active communities in 25 languages. It provides a web service built using MediaWiki and its own Rodovid Engine software to help store and visualize family relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancestral Quest</span>

Ancestral Quest (AQ) is a genealogy software application for Microsoft Windows developed by Incline Software, LC. It features data entry with sourcing capabilities and scrapbook extensions; a print engine for standard or custom charts and reports; a web page creator; a collaboration engine; and an extension tool for other genealogy databases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MacFamilyTree</span> Genealogy software

MacFamilyTree is a commercial genealogy program for macOS which allows users to build family trees and document genealogical research by adding data about family members including pictures, documents, and sound clips. It provides integration with iCloud to synchronize data across multiple devices and features the ability to generate and publish HTML web pages from saved family trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WeRelate</span>

WeRelate.org is an American wiki genealogy website that provides genealogy tools and data. WeRelate is a non-profit and is funded by tax-deductible donations and is managed by unpaid volunteers. WeRelate had over 2 million person pages by March 2011 and claimed to be the "world's largest genealogy wiki".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kith and Kin Pro</span>

Kith and Kin Pro is genealogy software for computers running Microsoft Windows. The program aids family historians by storing, querying and documenting family history. Developed by SpanSoft, Scotland, the software is distributed as shareware with a free trial period of 30 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TreeDraw</span>

TreeDraw is a genealogy program for computers running Microsoft Windows. The program is a chart editor which aids family historians in creating and printing family trees. Developed by SpanSoft, Scotland, the software is distributed as shareware with a free trial period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WikiTree</span> Genealogy website

WikiTree is a genealogy website that allows users to research and to contribute to their own family trees while building and collaborating on a singular worldwide family tree within the same system. WikiTree is free for the user and financed via advertisements displayed to unregistered users. WikiTree is owned and hosted by founder's company Interesting.com, Inc.

Yaniv Erlich is an Israeli-American scientist. He formerly served as an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and was the Chief Science Officer of MyHeritage. Erlich's work combines computer science and genomics.

References

  1. ↑ launched January 2007 David Sarno (August 5, 2007). "Fertilizing the family tree on Geni.com". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  2. ↑ Arrington, Michael (January 12, 2007). "PayPal, Pulp Fiction and Geni". TechCrunch . Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Geni.com launches venture backed family tree site". SocalTech.com. January 16, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Geni is Joining the MyHeritage Family". Geni (Press release). November 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "What are Smart Matches™?" . Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Mickey Meece (May 18, 2011). "Finding Family History Online". The New York Times .
  7. ↑ "Geni's World Family Tree" . Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ Marshall, Matt (January 16, 2007). "Geni aims to build family tree for whole world". Venture Beat. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  9. ↑ Butler, Phil (January 17, 2007). "Geni - Links in A Bottle". profy.com. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  10. ↑ Eastman, Dick (May 12, 2008). "Geni Adds GEDCOM Import". Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Return of GEDCOM Imports on Geni". Geni.com blog. February 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ SmartCopy, Geni project, access date 2018-01-13
  13. ↑ "Introducing the Consistency Checker to the World Family Tree". November 8, 2019.
  14. ↑ Bybee, Howard C. (2008). "Online Genealogical Research Resources". Brigham Young University Studies. 47 (1): 153–164. JSTOR   43044620.
  15. 1 2 Pickholtz, Isaac (February 28, 2015). "Opinion: Concerns About 'Collaborative Genealogy' Websites". Avotaynu Online. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Pam (December 2012). "An uneasy truce: brokering collaborative knowledge building and commodity culture". International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Soft Data Paradigms. 3 (3/4): 204–239. doi:10.1504/IJKESDP.2012.050721 . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  17. ↑ Edwards, Denny (April 2010). "NDTA and Social Media". Defense Transportation Journal. 66 (2): 147. JSTOR   44123268.
  18. ↑ Rankins-Robertson, Sherry; Cahill, Lisa; Roen, Duane; Glau, Gregory R. (Spring 2010). "Expanding Definitions of Academic Writing: Family History Writing in the Basic Writing Classroom and Beyond". Journal of Basic Writing. 29 (1): 56–77. doi: 10.37514/JBW-J.2010.29.1.04 . JSTOR   43443890.
  19. ↑ Williams, Alex (May 8, 2015). "A.J. Jacobs and the World's Largest Family Reunion". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Kaplanis, Joanna; Gordon, Assaf; Wahl, Mary; Gershovits, Michael; Markus, Barak; Sheikh, Mona; Gymrek, Melissa; Bhatia, Gaurav; MacArthur, Daniel G. (February 7, 2017). "Quantitative analysis of population-scale family trees using millions of relatives". bioRxiv   10.1101/106427 .
  21. ↑ Zhang, Sarah (February 17, 2017). "What Can You Do With the World's Largest Family Tree?". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ Kaplanis, Joanna; Gordon, Assaf; Shor, Tal; Weissbrod, Omer; Geiger, Dan; Wahl, Mary; Gershovits, Michael; Markus, Barak; Sheikh, Mona; Gymrek, Melissa; Bhatia, Gaurav; MacArthur, Daniel G.; Price, Alkes L.; Erlich, Yaniv (2018). "Quantitative analysis of population-scale family trees with millions of relatives". Science. 360 (6385): 171–175. Bibcode:2018Sci...360..171K. doi:10.1126/science.aam9309. PMC   6593158 . PMID   29496957.
  23. ↑ Collins, Francis (March 13, 2018). "Crowdsourcing 600 Years of Human History" . Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ Hotz, Robert Lee (March 2, 2018). "The 13 Million People in Your Family Tree". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Geni Podcast: Citing Your Sources". Geni Blog. April 7, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Geni Tips: How to Add Documents to a Profile". Geni Blog. May 21, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Geni Tips: How to Add Sources to Profiles". Geni Blog. June 30, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  28. ↑ Jorgensen, Danny L. (Spring 2015). "Mormontown: Collective Memories of a Cutlerite Colony in Iowa". The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal. 35 (1): 163–183. JSTOR   26317097.
  29. ↑ Richards, Bernard (2015). "William Fox Talbot and Thomas Carlyle: Connections". Carlyle Studies Annual. 35 (1): 85–108. JSTOR   26594487.

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