Everything from African to Icelandic blood lines are discussed and described in some form in the newsgroup postings. We?re talking 500 megabytes a day of information being exchanged and more than 15,000 topic-specific newsgroups, including at least 20 devoted exclusively to genealogy and dozens more related. In fact the most popular genealogy newsgroups receive hundreds of articles a day, with articles posted going to a potential audience of more than three million readers.

The Family Tree of Genealogy Newsgroups

alt.genealogy is one of the most important and popular branches in the genealogy tree. Further down one may find groups such as: soc.genealogy.african, soc.genealogy.german, soc.genealogy.hispanic, soc.genealogy.australia+nz and soc.genealogy.benelux (Belgium and The Netherlands), soc.genealogy.medieval, soc.genealogy.nordic and soc.genealogy.slavic, each providing a forum for people to discuss the genealogical considerations of the group?s diaspora, including inhabitants of, voluntary emigrants, involuntary emigrants (such as slaves), immigrants, colonists and their descendants.

soc.genealogy.surnames is a unique group in itself, in that all messages posted must be surname queries making searches of the group and its archives easier. The alt.family-names hierarchy contains more than 100 different groups devoted to family names from Abair to Zerbe, in which people who share a common surname can discuss family matters, reunions and genealogy. Adoption, another popular subject, is discussed on nine different newsgroups, the main group being soc.adoption.

The hierarchy options are endless: History, culture, ethnicity, heraldry and even societal. In fact those planning to travel will be interested in the information and advice found in the rec.travel hierarchy. This detailed genealogical map of information is unique and user friendly compared to the now online world of internet browsing based content such as google and yahoo. In the recent years these resources have become polluted in a sea of useless information, connected to the ?relevant? search topic word only for income generated reasons through advertisements and ?keyword? phrases that have nothing to do with ancestry, making research on the subject fruitless. This causes readers that have to rifle through advertisements posted directly to a product’s target audience to become antagonistic to say the least.

To get direct Usenet access to the latest genealogical content, subscribe now to newgroupdirect.com.

• In 2004 the industry standard for retention was around 20-24 days, a minute number compared to today’s nearly 500 days.
• In 2004 most providers allowed for a maximum of 4-8 connections. Today you can get at least 20 connections.
• In 2004, NewsgroupDirect was a new kid on the block, just getting started. Today, NewsgroupDirect is the most innovative provider, offering the best experience and service for our customers.

Any predictions on what the industry will look like 5 years from now?

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