Issue 12.15
Who Do You Think You Are is an American genealogy documentary series that premiered on NBC in March 2010. It was an adaptation of the British series of the same name, aired by the BBC. Each week a celebrity goes on a journey to trace his or her family tree. After NBC cancelled it, the show was picked up by TLC. The sixth season will premiere on March 8, 2015.
Anyone who has watched the show has probably thought they would love it if they could have their own episode. The WDYTYA? Story website was designed to do just that, but you have to do more of the input and travel is optional. The website is: http://www.whodoyouthinkyouarestory.com/
You type in a few facts about yourself and a few of your ancestors, and the website produces a short episode about you and those ancestors. It adds music, animation and historical facts. You can add photos of your ancestor and more information about your ancestry. That way, your episode becomes more interesting. I created an episode for my grandson who is five years old. He loves it. It pulls in historical facts that occurred the year your ancestor was born. His dad, the computer programmer, was born the year the Internet was invented, and it wasn’t done by Al Gore.
They are targeting the non-genealogist, and it is free. It is sponsored by findmypast.com, a British genealogy company. After you create your episode, you can share it on Facebook, or email the link to your family members. It is popular and was a hit during the presentation at RootsTech by Josh Taylor, one of the RootsTech key note speakers.
Step one is to add what you know about your family to their Who Do You Think You Are? Story builder. They add historical facts and events that tell you more about the world in which your ancestors lived. You can remove, swap and add to them throughout. Then they will create a unique visual timeline telling your Who Do You Think Your Are? Story that you can share with family or friends.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones 435-628-4900 shannasjones@msn.com