Ancestry and it's new "Genetic Communities" feature

Earlier this week, AncestryDNA launched the newest feature to its DNA web portal, "Genetic Communities".

Ancestry deserves praise for this new feature.  While they could be happy selling kits and posting have to evolve and give customers a reason to continue to buy your products and trust your decisions to grow your platforms. Without evolution in product and services, you become a moribund hulk that is dying.  So let's encourage Ancestry to continue to fine tune and launch new products.

Since "Genetic Communities" is technically still in "beta" form, it's a bit like April the Giraffe - we know Ancestry is giving birth, but we don't know when the final product is going to be delivered.

Before I give you my read on this roll out and product, you need to know that in my former professional field, I have worked in a free trade association, for a software developer, and in management in one industry's outlets.  This gives me the insight of someone who knows the entire backstory from concept development, IT development and end user access and support.

So, what happens when something new, like Genetic Communities, is developed - and this is pretty much for any industry - there are three sets of stakeholders, and theoretically, they should work together, because they exist for one and other.

Take the Venn diagram above.  There are three parties.  The "Vision People", the "Programmers" and the "End Users".  Each of the three spheres has their set of expectations, ideas and ideals of how the new product should work, and play a role in the success or failure of any product and its launch, and the interests of any two of the spheres has an influence over its neighbor, separate of the third.   BUT WAIT!  In the middle, is the Beta.  The Beta is not the almost-finished product.  It's close and its functional, it's close to finished, but its not quite perfected. 

As a beta, the "Genetic Communities" is supposed to show us where, on a map common DNA pockets exist, and then tell us who in our DNA match sets also share these same pockets.  To mark these areas, Ancestry gives us the overview map that we are used to seeing for our ethnic profiles, and then lays down dots of varying sizes to show where the concentrations fall.

And as a BETA, it does that.

The beta gives you a visual representation of the pockets where your DNA shares commonalities with others who also have DNA rooted in these areas.  The program goes one step further and gives you the account names of others who have test matches with you.

On my father's side of Europe I see dots.  On my mother's, nothing. 

In my case, I have 1 (one) Genetic Communities match, "Jews in Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus," which you can see on the above map by the placement of the orange dots.  No surprises - we know that this is where my father's parents came from, and it makes sense that if anything like this could be (and it has with this product) that it should look something like this.  Still, it is genetic proof of shared common DNA from the region with others descended from people in those areas.

This is worth something because for our family, it confirms, as of now, that my father's people did not originate from "Koblenz" Germany in the late 1700's.  They may have come from that region at some point, just not during the reign of Catherine the Great as my late Aunt insisted.  (For the record, she also insisted on calling me Tom Turkey until I was twenty, because as a baby she would remind me that  "you were so chubby she could "gobble" you up.")

What was surprising to me was that my mother's entire side (non-Jewish) is completely lacking any Genetic Community representation. Nothing in the western Europe group 18%, nothing in the Scandinavian group 21%.  Nothing, zip, zilch, the null set, nada.  Nothing in North America, even through my all but one of my mothers great grandparents lines were in north America by 1828, and some as early as 1640's to the 1660's.  Nothing there, either.

So I was happy on one side, disappointed with the other.  Wax on.  Wax off.

According to Ancestry's support notes, the reason is that my DNA could be too broadly spread to be able to pinpoint at this time.  That may change as the product matures, according to Ancestry.   Like other users who want it to be perfected now, I really want them to resolve this yesterday, but that ain't happening, so I am grateful for what I have.  I am hopeful that this algorithm will be fine tuned to show me everything.

Most of the people that I have spoken with, and read in online forums feel the product is OK, but we're not dazzled by it like a cat is by a laser pointer darting its light around the room.  The responses are, in fact, much like an unscientific bell curve, and ranges from people jumping out of their basement windows shrieking "This is the worst thing... EVER!" to those who are squealing"EUREKA!" with joy.

Most of the people somewhere in the middle.  

There is also a great deal of "I only have one Genetic Community and my sister Sallie Lou has three.  Something must be broken."  Nothing is broken, the product is emerging.   Take a deep breath, work it through, it's a beta, not the end product.

The chief complaint I am seeing, reading and hearing is "Why this, but not a chromosome browser?"  And I agree - a chromosome browser would make the entire platform more friendly and usable. And it's a fair question to pose to Ancestry.

AS WITH ANY BETA, if you have looked at this and shrugged it off, do yourself a favor go back and look at Genetic Communities again.

Sometimes, when a new product rolls out, we are so set on our expectations that we can't stand back and appraise the situation honestly.  You might find something in all this that could provide you with a better understanding of the product and how it works, or even something about yourself or your client.

And if you are still confused, underwhelmed, overjoyed, use the feedback button at the top of the "Genetic Communities" page for constructive criticism, or questions.   If you are nice and it makes business sense of them to do something, it might make the cut.  Remember, its not about you, its about something that benefits everyone.

My bottom line is that this is a good start, but I am looking forward to seeing the fine tuned outcome in the coming months.