New videos of testimonials for WorldVitalRecords.com

We have recently completed a video that contains testimonials about WorldVitalRecords.com. I sure appreciate the cameo appearances by Susan Black and Leland Meitzler.

We now have this video on the front page of our web site and are using it in various campaigns. There are currently 2 versions of the video a longer 5 minute version and a shorter 2 minute version. We may release a much longer version that includes many more testimonials and more time from each interview. We have quite a few testimonials, success stories, and endorsements by our partners and subscribers on video, but we limited this release to just a few for the sake of time.

We have made the decision to use the YouTube resources to distribute this video instead of hosting it and streaming it from our servers. I have blogged before about the benefits of YouTube for distributing marketing materials and we are tracking the results to see if it meets our needs.

WVR mentioned prominently in the 3 of top 4 Gen. News Stories of '07

World Vital Records (and FamilyLink.com) is mentioned prominently in 3 of the top 4 Genealogy news stories of 2007 as reported by Family Tree Magazine. The other top 4 story "Record Digitization Accelerates" is something that we are actively involved in, but we did not get mentioned by name.

We appreciated this recognition as we feel that it indicates our leadership and innovation are changing and improving family history and genealogy.

www.familytreemagazine.com/insider/PermaLink,guid,550a49eb-2aa2-4da7-a2e3-051d308a2971.aspx

Wednesday, January 02, 2008
10 Biggest Genealogy News Stories in 2007
Posted by Diane Haddad


Here are the top genealogy developments of 2007… at least in our humble opinion.

Competition comes back
For a few years there, after industry leader MyFamily.com (now The Generations Network) purchased second-place Genealogy.com in 2003, industry competition ebbed and online innovation slowed. Today The Generations Network is still the giant, but the growth of relative newcomers including World Vital Records and Footnote, plus FamilySearch’s records-digitization initiatives, are keeping the genealogy business on its toes.

Records digitization accelerates
In October, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced it was teaming up with FamilySearch to digitize case files of approved pension applications from widows of Civil War Union soldiers. That’s part of an even bigger arrangement that has FamilySearch volunteers stationed at NARA to scan all kinds of records. Footnote also has agreements to digitize NARA records, and FamilySearch has mobilized thousands of volunteers to index scanned records.

Partnerships proliferate
Organizations are joining forces right and left. World Vital Records, which launched in 2006, has built its genealogy database largely through partnership agreements. That site, Footnote, ProQuest and the Godfrey Library announced in May they’d provide access at FamilySearch’s Family History Centers. Nonprofit libraries and archives, including NARA, are using partnerships to increase records access without blowing their budgets.

Social networking explodes
As contributing editor Rick Crume points out in his January 2008 Family Tree Magazine social networking guide, Web 2.0 has allowed sites to be more interactive than ever. In addition to the popularity of photo- and family-history-sharing sites such as Geni and Amiglia, and genealogy networking sites such as FamilyLink and WeRelate, database sites such as FindMyPast have added social networking features.