It
has now been some time since I updated my ancestry.com account to the new
format. I was a little hesitant to do so as I felt I was just starting to
really get a handle on the old site. Besides, what would I really get out of
the new format if I wasn’t able to find everything that I wanted? But, not
having the time that I used to have to comb through the digital volumes that I once
had and getting tired of the constant requests to upgrade, I finally just
decided to go ahead and make the change. After all, the constant promotions
promised an enhanced experience far superior to the supposedly antiquated site
that I had been using so let’s see what all the fuss is about.
Well…
there isn’t much difference between the old site and the new one. At least,
nothing significant that I have noticed in my occasional browsing through
files, searching for documents, and skimming across the vast family tree that I
have constructed. While I can clearly see the shiny new layer of digital shellac,
where is the revolutionary change in functionality? It was really a letdown
when the new site was laid out before me on the computer screen.
With
that said, there is one minor feature that I particularly enjoy but it isn’t
anything that will rock the genealogy world. While I am constantly cognizant of
the world and sometimes local events that took place during the lifetime of my
ancestor, ancestry now has those historical reminders integrated into each
family member’s timeline. And I have to admit that it is helpful from time to
time having those simple reminders clearly displayed on the screen.
Other
than that, I haven’t come across anything that is making things easier or more
interesting… of course, my family history is already deeply fascinating so it
would be hard to enhance that. At the same time as the update were occurring,
ancestry.com kept making more and more collections available for search… these
have been more useful than the prettier package that the website is now
offering. This is what made me think, what if they put their money and effort
into making more documents available rather than redesigning the website? How
much more data would we all have access to? What could we have already
discovered?
That
is, first and foremost, where the focus should always be not on how fancy the
site looks but what information the site contains. So I ask ancestry.com to
spend those membership dollars on data not on spit and polish. After all, the
reason why we give you our hard earned money is to learn more about our family
not the fanciness of the page framing the digital document.
No comments:
Post a Comment