Genes Reunited
| Company type | Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | genealogy, online publishing |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Key people | Annelies Van Den Belt (CEO) |
| Owner | brightsolid online publishing[1] |
Number of employees | 100 |
| Website | http://www.genesreunited.co.uk |
Genes Reunited, originally known as Genes Connected, is a genealogy website that was launched in the UK in 2003 as a sister-site to Friends Reunited.[2] Since then it has grown to become one of the UK's largest genealogy websites, with over 13 million members and over 780 million names listed. Genes Reunited holds millions of fully searchable newspaper pages in its British Newspaper Archive collection.
History
Steve and Julie Pankhurst, the creators of Friends Reunited originally formed Genes Connected in 2003 as a sister-site to Friends Reunited,[2] It was then later rebranded as Genes Reunited and was sold to ITV in 2005.[3] Genes Reunited was part of group that was sold to Brightsolid in 2009.[4]
Since then, as part of the brightsolid family, Genes has continued to grow and increase its user base. It still continues to evolve and now contains a tree maker with advanced functionality, an extensive collection of over 780 million records and a fully functioning community forum. It is now part of the brightsolid group of family history brands including findmypast, and has a partnership with the British Library for British Newspaper Archive, an online repository that plans to digitise 40 million historic news pages over the coming decade.[5]
Features
Members are able to build their family tree by posting it on the site and investigating which ancestors they share with other members. They can also search historical records, such as census records from England, Wales and Scotland and birth, marriage and death records dating from 1837 to 2006. Online community boards give members the opportunity to chat and share advice. They can also upload and share family photos and documents. Each name added to a family tree is given a profile where all information can be stored.
References
- ^ http://www.brightsolid.com/online-publishing/
- ^ a b Phil Inman, Sean Dodson (29 April 2004) "Genes reunited", The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
- ^ "ITV buys Friends Reunited website", BBC News, 6 December 2005. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
- ^ http://www.brightsolid.com/brightsolid-group/latest-news/recent-news/brightsolid-acquires-friends-reunited.html
- ^ "Online company Brightsolid sees profits grow", BBC News (Scotland Business), 24 January 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-08.