Thursday, February 3, 2011

Genealogy Freelancers Welcomes ExpertConnect Providers

I received this press release from Deborah Irwin at GenealogyFreelancers today.

In response to the recent announcement that Ancestry.com would be ending their Expert Connect service, Genealogy Freelancers has been welcoming many of those providers affected by the move to transition into their existing similar service.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB) February 3, 2011

In response to the recent announcement that Ancestry.com would be ending their Expert Connect service, Genealogy Freelancers has been welcoming many of those providers affected by the move to transition into their existing similar service.

Genealogy Freelancers has been established since 2008 and, because of their comparable platform of projects for bid, the shift has proved an easy one for the transitioning providers from Expert Connect as they are accustomed to the premise and workings of this type of system.

The founders of Genealogy Freelancers who all have a background in the genealogy profession, maintain that their reasons for starting their service was to provide an easy and friendly method for the client and provider of genealogy services to connect to one another. When asked how the recent influx of EC providers would affect business operations Elaine Bostwick, Chief of Operations had this to say: “It’s been an unexpected week for everyone, but this is a service that we’ve been involved in for three years now and although the week has been a little unusual our site has always been geared for this service and no matter what takes place around us, our core goal of being able to help both sides will remain the same”. In response to the question of challenges for the providers making the change to GF, Ms. Bostwick says “There are some differences to our system, but on the whole the basic premise is one that the transitioning providers and the clients can recognize and use quickly. There will also be some changes as suggestions come in since it’s been our experience that the users know best what works for them and we take those suggestions seriously.”

Genealogy Freelancers has a large pool of international genealogy Specialists who are able to provide their services from a simple lookup to a full, custom research project. In addition to these services there are those providers who specialize in document translations, village and/or cemetery photography, publishing and related categories. These providers live throughout the world and are able to perform their specialties within the countries necessary to complete the posted project. Profiles of genealogy researchers and other family history experts showcase an array of expertise through education and/or verified memberships to genealogical related international associations, societies and organizations. This feature was created in order to assist the client with the Specialist selection process.

The system is a three-step process that starts when the client posts their project. Once this step has taken place, the Specialists that are a match to the specific categories and locations necessary for service are notified. If the project is one that is of interest then the Specialist will make an appropriate offer. The final step is the selection of the Specialist that is the best fit to the particular case. At that point, the client, along with their genealogy professional embark on a journey to uncover the past and build a family tree or simply add a few new branches.

Irbo Inc., owners of Genealogy Freelancers, continues to provide a welcoming platform that benefits those in search of their personal family history as well as for quality experts who are capable of providing assistance. For more information, visit the website at http://www.genealogyfreelancers.com.

Disclosure:  I am not a customer or provider of Genealogy Freelancers and have received no remuneration for posting this press release.  I do think that they can provide a valuable service for customers and an opportunity for genealogy providers.

2 comments:

John Thomas said...

I agree with you that this is a valuable source for both customers and providers. I was an EC provider, but when they closed shop I found Genealogy Freelancers and felt good about signing up. They answered my questions quickly and were really personable (nice change of pace J). The site needs some tweaking, but they seem to be responsive and pro-active to suggestions. I’m pulling for them to succeed. - John Thomas

GretchenX said...

I’ve written to genealogy freelancers about signing up and have to say that I was really surprised at how quick they got back to me and how the message was personal, friendly and to the point. I wasn’t used to that level of courtesy as a provider at Expert Connect. Hopefully this service can fill the need. So far, I like what I see.