It's a Parody, Your Honor

Having learned that The Generations Network is suing Millennia for trademark infringement, I've decided to scrap my plans to rebrand my blog. You just can't be too careful in this litigious society.

A Genealogue Interview

Everyone seems to be interviewing TGN CEO Tim Sullivan these days, so I thought I should get in on the action.

The Genealogue: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

Tim Sullivan: Who is this? How did you get my home number?

TG: Your company recently launched a DNA testing service in partnership with Sorenson Genomics. Do you do paternity tests as well?

TS: Listen, we just sat down to dinner...

TG: Because there's this girl—I swear I hardly know her, but she's got this kid...

TS: I really can't help you.

TG: I'm not saying the kid's not mine, but I'm not paying a dime in child support until—

TS: Okay, I'm hanging up now.

TG: So I should send my DNA directly to your house, huh?

TS: No!

TG: I wasn't sure which bodily fluid you guys test, so I'm sending some of each.

TS: I have Caller ID.

TG: Yeah, you can just call me back with the results. If a woman answers, hang up.

TS: click

TG: Mr. Sullivan? Tim?

Fertilize Your Family Tree

Don't miss The Ancestry Insider's latest news on the Nervous Green Duck. Mighty oaks from little duck droppings grow.

Caching Trashed

I have little to add to what John, Jasia, Janice and Becky have written about Ancestry.com's decision to pull its controversial Internet Biographical Collection.

Whatever the legality of the practice, The Generations Network should have known that caching other people's websites and calling it a "collection" would raise some hackles. Genealogists are a pretty generous bunch—which explains why there is so much genealogical content on the Web to be cached. We have added tons of content to the TGN empire—whether by posting to message boards, submitting family trees, or contributing data to RootsWeb. By reaching for content beyond the borders of its empire, TGN assumed our generosity without the courtesy of a request. In doing so, it confirmed the suspicion of many that Ancestry.com operates outside the community of genealogists. And if this two-day tempest proves anything, it's that this is a community to be reckoned with.

I Still See a Duck

The Generations Network's logo may not be a nervous green duck after all. So says the trademark application:

Description of Mark: The mark consists of a stylized lowercase letter "g", with the upper circular section of the "g" in a shape similar to one-half of a pair of reading glasses, and the lower circular part of the "g" in the shape of a leaf, adjacent to the words "THE generations network" in stylized fonts.

Subscribe to The Ancestry Insider to keep abreast of the latest duck-related genealogy news.

It's Nervous, It's Green, and It's a Duck

The Ancestry Insider has revealed the secret of the Nervous Green Duck. Exposing the truth may require Internet Explorer.

Hint: The answer you seek is right below.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

The parent company of Ancestry.com has changed its name.

MyFamily.com, Inc., the leading online network for connecting families across distance and time, today announced that it is changing its name to The Generations Network, Inc., effective immediately. The company will continue to serve families online through its portfolio of leading brands and websites. [Link]

The new address is thegenerationsnetwork.com ... which redirects to myfamilyinc.com. You can also use tgn.com ... which redirects to myfamilyinc.com. Come to think of it, this press release may be a practical joke played by someone who drank spiked eggnog at the MyFamily.com office Christmas party.