> >As we enter this New Year of 1999 I am a bit concerned about the future of >genealogical research on the Internet as we now know it. I am concerned >that we could be falling on hard times when it comes to the sharing and >FREE exchange of data including our mailing lists, GenConnect Boards, US >and World GenWeb and the Archives for these projects, IIGS, and many other >projects run largely by volunteers. > >The developments over the past few months and years in which Banner Blue >AND Parsons were swallowed up by Broderbund, and then Broderbund was >swallowed up once again by The Learning Company, who also gobbled up >Palladium Interactive (producers of Ultimate Family Tree); and The >Learning Company just now being taken over by Mattel--all serve to put us >in the very bad situation in which approximately 85% of the >genealogy-related programs and data are falling into the hands of of this >one huge company. In addition Ancestry (another for- profit business) >just sold 30% of their company to CMG (a venture capital company) for >$10,000,000. This is money on top of the $60/year they get from "tens of >thousands of subscribers" (from the Wall Street Journal). The venture >capitalists will be expecting a large return for their investment--which >will be paid for by us genealogists. > >All of this puts both Ancestry and Mattel in a very powerful position of >being able to buy datasets of information (thus acquiring exclusive rights >to those datasets) and sell them at inflated prices to the public who >believe this is the only way things can be done. This move is already well >under way. The more people paying top dollar for the information either >through subscription, or the purchase of CDs, the more money the powerful >for-profit companies will have to again purchase the rights to additional >records and books. > >The longterm goal of the many volunteer workers, and of RootsWeb which >hosts many of the projects, is to provide free access to genealogical >information. I know it has the folks at RootsWeb VERY troubled right now >that they do not have the resources to stop this avalanche of vital >records and publications being purchased and removed from FREE public >access for all time. In order to stop the flow of this information into >the hands of the large companies it would be necessary for RootsWeb to >purchase them and then offer them for free access to all of us on their >Web space. They would like very much to accomplish this before it is >forever too late to do so. While the access to the information is FREE, >it is far from FREE acquiring the rights to the information in the first >place. All of the mergers and acquisitions of the past year or so create >a very serious threat to the continuance of genealogical research on the >Internet as we now know it and as most of us believe it should be in the >future. We are no longer playing on a level playing field. I think >everyone needs to give this matter serious thought as we start the New >Year. Everyone needs to decide what they want the future of Internet >genealogy to be and then support what they feel is the correct approach. > >We need to examine our goals and what we would LIKE to see for the future >of Internet genealogy. Do we want to see a future where all genealogical >source materials must be bought and paid top dollar for, or would we >rather see the information put online at non-subscription Web sites so >that future genealogists can access them freely? It may already be too >late with the recent mergers and acquisitions creating such large powerful >companies with deep pockets that are very difficult to match on a dollar >for dollar basis. I think everyone doing genealogical research on the >Internet needs to consider whether they would like to support the efforts >of RootsWeb with a small contribution of $12 (more would be even better) >or whether they would like to see the world of the future of genealogy >dominated by the large for-profit companies who can sell the same data >(and hold exclusive rights to it) at whatever the market will support. >Some serious food for thought for the coming New Year! > >I will now get off my soapbox and promise not to be so "preachy" again >very soon, but I feel this matter is an important one to us all and today >seemed the appropriate time to discuss it with all of you. > >Happy New Year! > >Joan M. Young, Administrator >Geiger GenConnect Boards >Queries: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/Geiger >Bible Records: >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerBibl >Bios: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerBios >Deeds: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerDeed >Obits: >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerObits >Pensions: >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerPens >Wills: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerWill >Visit The Geiger Connection Webpage: >http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~geiger/ >List Moderator, GEIGER-L@rootsweb.com >Editor, The Kiger Kounter newsletter >HELP MAINTAIN FREE ACCESS TO GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET IN >1999 >BY SUPPORTING ROOTSWEB: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to- >subscribe.html/ > >