Where is Genetic Genealogy Going? Who is Driving the Agenda?

Several indicators suggest the genetic genealogy marketplace is in a state of flux. So what else is new?

What impact will the departure of Thomas and Astrid Krahn from FTDNA have on the company’s commitment to further explore the Y-chromosome? This is a particularly interesting question at a time when FullGenomes is on the verge of having actual customer results from its pricey first round of tests of the full Y-chromosome.

    

After the dust clears from the separation of Anne Wojcicki from Sergey Brin, it appears likely that 23andMe will not be seriously affected. Even though it is Anne’s company, it has been Sergey’s billions and Parkinson’s gene that have been the driving forces behind this company’s growth.

    

DNA testing has not been incorporated into any of the first seven segments of Who Do You Think You Are? Ancestry is a principal sponsor and the company's databases are prominently featured in most episodes. If it is Ancestry’s business plan to grow the DNA side of its business, this is a strange way to go about it.

Not to be left on the sidelines, Geno 2.0 apparently is fine tuning its marketing focus. Emphasis on the sale of its public participation kits will be concentrated in the English speaking world which in general is already to most tested part of the world.

Regional commercial ventures are springing up in various parts of the UK.

All of this makes it clear that our agenda is being set by commercial entities. That’s not bad. We would be nowhere without the framework they have created. Most of us do not want it to be set by various world governments which may be the primary alternative to the free enterprise system.

Where do you want our community to go in the next decade? Probably the next six months is a more reasonable time frame for a business plan in this marketplace. Or is it? How can we as consumers, both individually and collectively, best communicate our ideas – dare I say dreams – as to where we want genetic genealogy to move next? Does ISOGG have an opportunity for a more proactive role? Are there other venues for this discussion?

Looming Price War on Autosomal DNA Test Kits?

With Ancestry's entry into autosomal DNA testing at a teaser entry price of $99, and 23andMe dropping its subscription price in favor of a flat $299 that  includes the Relative Finder as well as health tests, stay tuned for the next shoe to drop.

Ancestry's test is currently by invitation only and only for a 3 day widow for existing customers only. However, Ancestry has a current customer base of about 1.75 million members for its database products. The hype is as good as that of a carnival barker luring us in. The actual price with regular shipping added comes to $109.87:

Your Order:

Date: 5/8/2012 8:12:21 PM

AncestryDNA kit 1 USD 99.00

Subtotal: USD 99.00 †Shipping: USD 9.95 Tax: USD 0.92 Total: USD 109.87 †includes shipping and processing

The other breaking news is from 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki is so far only being reported to the 23andMe community. As of Thursday 23andMe will stop selling kits on a monthly subscription basis. The new one time cost appears to be $299. If you are not currently a subscriber to 23andMe, you can read Anne's full post on CeCe Moore's blog.

It is getting difficult to keep up with all the activity without a program. Such a program is being prepared and will soon be on the website of the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG). There it will join a wide array of free and authoritative information on genetic genealogy. 

Will we hear a new marketing program from FTDNA? Will a price war break out? If so, I hope all the current major players survive and that many more people can be enticed to test. The more individuals with whom we can compare our results the better off all of us in the genetic genealogy community will be.

23andMe's "Netflix Moment"

23andMe recently experienced it's own "Netflix Moment". Those of you who are somewhat familiar with DNA testing may know that 23andMe offers two pricing plans for genetic genealogy customers. One is a subscription plan that cost $99 but comes bundled with a $9 per month fee. The other option is a flat rate charge of about $400. This test provides both genealogical and medical information. 23andMe originally started DNA testing to provide medically relevant information to its clients--especially those suffering from or at risk for Parkinson's. Autosomal DNA testing for genealogy matching was added in February, 2010.


Recently, 23andMe announced that it was pulling the plug on those customers who had not continued their subscription after the mandatory first year of membership. The way in which this was to be done not only would have denied those customers access to their results, it would have denied continuing customers the ability to continue to see their matches with former members who had chosen not to continue their subscriptions.


This announcement was greeted by a great outcry from genetic genealogists--much of which was circulated on the listserv of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). Cece Moore, who blogs as Your Genetic Genealogist, was one of the leaders of the charge to convince 23andMe that this policy was not in the interest of its customer base of genealogists and therefore not in the interest of 23andMe. 


I am happy to report that 23andMe has just announced that this policy change is being revisited. Some of its aspects will not be implemented and others will be held in abeyance for 6 months until more sensitivity to the genealogical impact can be developed. Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, blogged:  


Let me begin by acknowledging that there are many things we could have done better over the years and there are especially things we could have done better with this recent incident involving the changes to our subscription.


- No changes will be made to any accounts until July 31, 2012


Anne also announced that she will be in contact with Cece Moore and others in the genealogical community to insure that the changes will be family history friendly. I'm sure Cece will be keeping us updated on her blog as this process develops. I am proud to say Cece will be my co-author on my next book project.