Did you know you can upload your DNA results to a website and for only US$5 to US$20, you will receive a health report that is similar to what 23andme provides? I didn’t.
At least, I didn’t know until I watched the latest Genealogy Gems YouTube video, After AncestryDNA: How to Transfer Your Raw DNA Data, where Diahan Southard talks about how to download your raw data, where to upload your DNA results, popular sites, and third-party tools.
The presentation was recorded at the Genealogy Gems booth at RootsTech 2018. While the audio quality isn’t perfect due to the conference environment, it is easy to hear the presenter.
During the 22-minute presentation, Ms. Southard explains what you can do after your initial analysis of your test results to take them even further, whether you have tested with AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, 23andMe, or Family Tree DNA.
I was surprised to hear Ms. Southard say GEDmatch is not “essential.” Still, she provides a quick overview of this site that is popular among many genetic genealogists. She prefers instead to upload DNA results to sites that are colourful and less “clunky” than GEDmatch, such as MyHeritage.
If you have received your DNA results and have 22 minutes to spare in between shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, and family history research, I recommend you watch this presentation.
What a timely entry into my inbox – I was just getting ready to send out upload instructions to a group to whom I provided genetic genealogy class this week andtwo of my favourites, Diann Southard and Gail Dever have come through for me! A little video always helps instructions. Interesting that I said the same thing to the group about Gedmatch – I rarely look at it anymore. Some people love it but while one time it was definitely useful to get matches across companies,with uploads to MyHeritage, FTDNA, etc. and their great tools, it is less necessary. All before I even had my first cup of coffee, the day has a great start!
For those of us who have used GEDMatch for years, this advice is not good news. It means one less pool to fish in.
One of the things I like about GEDmatch is the response rate is much higher from people I contact about our match than on other sites, probably because most people who upload their DNA data there are genealogists.