Geni.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Geni, Inc. | |
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| Type | Private start-up |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 2006 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Key people | David O. Sacks, founder and CEO Alan Braverman, founder and CTO |
| Industry | Genealogy, Social networking services |
| Revenue | none |
| Slogan | everyone's related |
| Website | www.geni.com |
Geni.com is a genealogy-related social networking website[1] launched in beta mode on January 16, 2007 by Web 2.0 company Geni, Inc.[2]
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[edit] Investors
The Founders Fund, a private venture capital firm, invested "more than $1 million”.[3]
Charles River Ventures, a private venture capital firm, invested US$10 million dollars.[4]
[edit] Website features
At the website users enter names and email addresses of their parents, siblings, and other relatives, as well as a user profile with various biographical information. From there users may graphically manipulate sections of their connections network to create a complete personal family tree.[3]
The service uses the contact information to invite additional members to join, and builds a comprehensive social network database from the information collectively entered by members. For now users may only see information belonging to themselves and to people in their immediate network who have given them permission.[5]
[edit] Revenue model
Geni is not presently earning revenue. The company plans to make money by targeting advertising to users based on the demographic information they provide. It is considering charging for a premium subscription service.[3]
[edit] Similar companies
Computer software company The Generations Network, maker of popular software title Family Tree Maker, has operated a paid genealogy subscription site and web portal since 1998 under brands MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com, Rootsweb.com and FamilyHistory.com. Geni.com, and WebBiographies, by contrast, are free, although they do require members to create a user account. Geneanet is also a free website with searchable database.
Geni is to some extent modeled after social networking site LinkedIn, a popular site for business-related social networking.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Arrington, Michael (2007-01-12). PayPal, Pulp Fiction and Geni. TechCrunch. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
- ^ Geni.com launches venture backed family tree site. SocialTech.com (2007-01-16). Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Marshall, Matt (2007-01-16). Geni aims to build family tree for whole world. Venture Beat. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (2007-03-05). $100 Million Valuation For Geni. TechCrunch. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ Butler, Phil (2007-01-17). Geni - Links in A Bottle. profy.com. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
[edit] External links
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- Geni blog (official)
