FamilySearch and Twile Add Link for Timelines

FamilySearch.org and Twile.com have recently made the following announcement:

DONCASTER, UK and SALT LAKE CITY, UT (September 28, 2016)—Twile and FamilySearch International have announced the launch of a new feature that will let FamilySearch.org users generate a family history timeline and share their research with other family members online. The timeline is designed to make research and discoveries more engaging for the broader family—especially younger generations—and to encourage collaboration. 

Connecting securely to FamilySearch.org, Twile imports a user’s tree and automatically adds events, such as births and marriages, to a personal, interactive timeline of their family history. Users can then browse the timeline, add photos, and share it privately with other family members. 

By presenting a family tree as a timeline, Twile makes it easier for the non-genealogists in a family to explore their ancestry through events, stories, and pictures. It also encourages collaboration by letting them add missing details, their own life events, and recent photos.

It does not appear that the link to FamilySearch gives the FamilySearch Family Tree user, LDS or not, a "free" premium version of the program. It does however, seamlessly import a portion of your Family Tree data from FamilySearch.org.  The notice I got said my trial version would expire in 30 days. The current price of the "Premium" version is $49.99 a year. A family subscription includes anyone on your family tree and is $124.99 a year. I am not sure that the family version has been thought through completely because on the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, everyone in the world is on "my" family tree. The free version allows 10 milestones and photos per month, while the Premium version has unlimited uploads.

The imported timeline immediately caught my interest because it had a fact that was inaccurate. One of my living siblings was shown with the wrong husband. I immediately realized that this information could only have come from the Family Tree and sure enough, the entry was inaccurate. However, since they are "living" they will have to make the change themselves, if they ever look at the family tree. However, since the living people are in my "Private Space" I can make the change for my own viewing.

Here is the official information about the program.

Twile is a UK-based interactive timeline of your family’s past, present, and future. The timeline consists of photos and milestones—such as births, marriages and deaths—that tell the story of your family from your earliest known ancestor right through to today. Family historians can import their family tree from FamilySearch and then add more recent events from their own life before inviting their family members to explore and contribute. 

While the Twile website is aimed primarily at family historians, it is also designed to encourage the rest of the family to add their own content, including the younger generations. Since its beginnings, Twile has been backed by Creative England, a number of UK angel investors and Findmypast, with whom they partnered in February 2016. Twile was the winner of two innovation awards at RootsTech 2016, including People’s Choice.

Timelines are an interesting way to view family history information. My wife and I are in the middle of making our own timeline to sort out all of the events in our own lives. They are also useful for spotting obvious errors such as the one I pointed out above.