Good News and Bad News from FindMyPast

Today's emails brought both good news and bad news from FindMyPast (one of my favourite sites for genealogy and family history).

[UPDATE, 27 Jan 2016: And there's more good news today - 10% discount on 12 month subscriptions!]

Good news #1

FindMyPast will be FREE for 72 hours!  From Friday 22nd to Monday 25th January 2016, everyone has free access to FindMyPast's world records (except the 1939 Register). Check the terms and conditions and start / end times for each region:

• Australia / New Zealand
• Britain
• Ireland
• USA

Good news #2

If you have a current 'world' subscription at FindMyPast, three extra days will be added to your subscription after this 'free access' weekend.

Good news #3

From 16th February 2016, 12 month Britain and World subscribers will have unlimited access to the 1939 Register as part of their subscription packages.

Bad news and good news

From 16 Feb 2016, new FindMyPast subscriptions will cost 20% more than the current price - but if you already have a 12 month subscription, the price of your next renewal will be frozen, and you will still get a 10% loyalty discount.

In conclusion...

Findmypast now gives you access to over eight billion records, and they add thousands more each week. Use this 'free weekend' to explore those records and decide whether to buy a subscription before the price rise in February. Check out the list of record sets (arranged by region) plus last Friday's additions.

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2016/01/good-news-and-bad-news-from-findmypast.html.)

FindMyPast's world records discount offer

FindMyPast's logo

FindMyPast periodically offers discounts and 'free access' days, which in future I will list on the Discounts and Freebies page on my main Web site. You may also want to read why I use and recommend FindMyPast.

A one-month 'world' subscription to FindMyPast is just $5 (usually $19.95) for new subscribers who pay before midnight on 1 Sep 2014.

The world subscription gives you access to more than 1.5 billion family history records for Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, the USA and Canada.

If you do not want your subscription to automatically renew at the normal price after your initial period, un-tick the 'auto-renew my subscription' box in the My Account section of the site.

Check whether more recent offers are listed on the Discounts and Freebies page.

Genealogy Activities

Here are my answers to questions in the survey of genealogy activities (the latest 'Saturday Night Genealogy Fun').

(a) Which genealogy computer software do you use?

The Master Genealogist, which I have used for more than 20 years (and will continue to use). Sometimes I also use Legacy Family Tree for reports and other features.

(b) Which online family trees have information submitted by you?

Apart from the tree on my own Website, I use (and recommend) WorldConnect. I only have a partial tree on FindMyPast. I agree with CeCe Moore who says that many researchers with well-documented family trees do not put them on Ancestry, but they do put them on WorldConnect.

(c) For which subscription genealogy record providers do you have a subscription?

For reasons explained here, I am very happy with my 'world' subscription at FindMyPast (which includes the British Newspaper Archive). At my local public library I can use Ancestry for free, but from time to time I sign up for a one-month subscription so I can use it at home.

(d) Which FREE genealogy record providers do you use regularly?

Trove;  FreeBMD;  Ryerson Index;  FamilySearch;  CuriousFox; and GENUKI. (GENUKI is not exactly a 'record provider', but some transcribed data there is not available elsewhere).

(e) How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research online (not reading or social networking, but actual searching in a record provider)?

Averaged over a year, about 4 hours per week.

(f) How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research in a repository (library, archive, courthouse, etc.)?

Until recently the average was about 10 hours per week (40 hours per month). Lately I have had to reduce my hours for family reasons.

(g) How much time do you spend each week adding information to your genealogy software programme?

The average would be only about 1 hour per week, but it can vary between zero and 20 hours.

(h) How much time do you spend each month at a genealogical society meeting, program or event (not a seminar or conference)?

Nowadays, not much; but there are a few specific seminars and conferences that I always try to attend.

(i) How much time do you spend each month on genealogy education (reading books and periodicals, attending seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, etc)?

About 25 hours per month.

(j) How much time do you spend each week reading, writing and commenting on genealogy blogs, websites, and social media?

It varies a lot. The average would be about 6 hours per week.