Exploring WikiTree.com

In returning to the FamilySearch.org App Gallery, I recognized that I should have written more about WikiTree.com a long time ago. This is especially true since the program now connects to the FamilySearch.org Family Tree.

WikiTree.com is an online unified family tree very similar to the FamilySearch.org Family Tree program. Here is a quote from their "Vision."

WikiTree is designed to balance privacy and collaboration so that living people can connect on one world tree to common ancestors. 

We privately collaborate with our close family members on modern family history and recent connections. As we go back in time, the privacy controls loosen. Collaboration on deep ancestors is between distant cousins who are serious about genealogical research and careful about sources. 

Because all the profiles are connected on the same system our collaboration is creating a single family tree that will eventually connect us all and thereby make it free and easy for anyone to discover their roots.

Here is another brief quote about how the program works:

WikiTree is for family history collaboration. This happens at two levels. 

At the modern level, the collaboration can be private and tightly-controlled. Use WikiTree to collect and organize your personal family history and privately collaborate with family members. If you invite non-genealogist family members they might not move beyond this level. 

At a deeper level, we are connecting our personal family histories with a growing worldwide family tree. As we go back in time our collaborations become wider and more public. To keep order, we trust each other to abide by a Wiki Genealogy Honor Code. 

It's possible for all this to happen on one single, shared family tree because every profile has its own Trusted List and privacy setting.

Here is a view of my own Navigation Home Page:

 You can customize your home page to show less information. It did not take me long to connect to the existing people in the WikiTree. I have to admit that I have not yet entered much information into the WikiTree, but I am intending to add more. I am particularly interested in connecting to any existing research on certain family lines so it will take me a while to get enough information into the WikiTree to get back that far. I am also interested that MyHeritage.com searches the WikiTree.