Information AboutMyfamily.com, Inc. |
Myfamily.com, Inc. is an Internet Company based in Provo, Utah , and the largest '' For-profit '' Genealogy company in the world. They run a growing network of genealogy and Family -related websites, including:
MyFamily.com also runs FamilyHistory.com , which contains some basic free information, but is mostly a portal to Ancestry.com. They also publish two magazines: ''Genealogical Computing'' (which is in its final year of publication) and ''Ancestry Magazine''. They have a presence in the United Kingdom under the name MyFamily.com, Ltd., whose offices are located in Hammersmith , London , England . HISTORY MyFamily was founded in 1983. In May 1996 , Infobases, Inc. invested in Ancestry, a 13-year old print publishing company, and became its managing shareholder. Infobases later acquired 100% of Ancestry from its original founder, John Sittner . By July 1997 , Paul Allen (not the Microsoft co-founder) and Dan Taggart were running Ancestry as a company independent from Infobases and began building the world's largest online genealogy database and subscription service. Ancestry.com changed its name to MyFamily.com in November 1999 . MyFamily.com launched in December 1998 , becoming one of the fastest growing community web sites in history, gaining 1 million registered users in its first 140 days. Led by CEO Curt Allen , the company raised more than $90 million in venture capital from investors such as Intel , CMGI , AOL , Kodak , Compaq , Sorenson , Esnet , Vspring and Tango Partners . According to the New York Times (Oct 2002 ), sales for 2002 were projected at $62 million. 2003 sales were $99 million. It is believed that Infobase Ventures still holds a large percentage of stock in this privately-held company. {Link without Title} In March , 2006 . In March 2006, MyFamily opened a new office in Bellevue, Washington as part of the MyFamily business unit {Link without Title} . ANCESTRY.COM Ancestry.com is a subscription-based genealogy research website with nearly 5 billion records online and more being added almost daily. {Link without Title} The majority of records are from the United States , though a growing number of records are being added for other countries such as Canada , the United Kingdom , and various European countries. Some of these records are free for anyone to access, but the majority are accessible only by paid subscription. Subscriptions are automatically renewed unless you call and cancel, a policy explained in their Terms Of Service (called Terms and Conditions on the Ancestry.com site). {Link without Title} As commonly happens with the terms of service on many Internet sites, most members do not pay attention to or read them and are therefore surprised when their subscriptions automatically renew. The automatic renewal system has caused some controversy, as documented on the sites below. Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com (the companies) merged in November 1999. ANCESTRY.CA Ancestry.ca allows for access to only those records from Canada. This allows those accessing the site to avoid search results containing records from elsewhere in the world. The online records include more than 150 million searchable names, as well as the first fully indexed 1911 Census of Canada. ANCESTRY.CO.UK Ancestry.co.uk allows for access to only those records from the United Kingdom and shows such as '' Who Do You Think You Are? ''. FAMILY HERITAGE PROJECT This site is set up so that you can order a customised book containing census images, photos and other information regarding your family's past. The book is leather-bound. FAMILY TREE MAKER Advertised as "the #1-selling family tree software on the market." As with other Genealogy Software , Family Tree Maker allows you to keep track of all of the information you collect as you are researching, and then create reports, charts, and books containing that information. Currently, it is offered for users of Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP only, with no plans to release it on any other platforms. GENEALOGY.COM A genealogy research website with some records not found on Ancestry.com, though the total number of records available is smaller and the site is more difficult to navigate. Genealogy.com was acquired from A&E Network s by MyFamily.com in 2003. HERITAGE MAKERS A Scrapbooking resource website that offers publishing services, similar to those offered by Shutterfly and Ofoto , for those who wish to create their own cookbooks, scrapbooks, storybooks, etc. MYFAMILY.COM An Internet website which allows anyone to create a family or group website within a matter of minutes. A basic template for the site can be manipulated to turn on or off various modules for the main page. Their stated goal is to help you "keep in touch with family and friends." ROOTSWEB.COM A free genealogy community which makes excellent use of online forums and mailing lists to help people research their family history. RootsWeb was founded in 1993 by Dr. Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson as the Roots Surname List, and quickly grew from there. It is the oldest free community genealogy research site. RootsWeb was acquired by MyFamily.com in June 2000. Users can also upload a GEDCOM of their information for others to view. CONTROVERSY As with many large commercial websites, there are some individuals who dislike the policies and business practices of MyFamily.com and its subsidiaries. There are some sites that catalog these stories, though it should be noted that MyFamily.com rarely posts anything in defense of its policies on the following websites. As such, the information found on these sites may be skewed to only one point of view, and may not contain all of the facts in any give case. Because the company is based in Utah, there are many people who believe it is run by the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints (or " Mormon s"). This is an incorrect assumption, however, according to their Public Relations Senior Manager, Peggy Hayes (as of January 2006). The company is privately held and the LDS Church has no stake in it. EXTERNAL LINKS
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