Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist, noted on her blog today that registration for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (“SLIG”) opens this Saturday, June 14^th, at 9:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time (11 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Central, and 8 a.m. Pacific).

Regular readers of The Genetic Genealogist may not be familiar with SLIG, which is an institute run by the Utah Genealogical Association. SLIG is one of a very limited number of week-long institutes that offer educational content for genealogists. SLIG 2015 will be held at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 12-16, 2015. Tuition for the institute is $375 for UGA members and $425 for everyone else.

This year there are 12 tracks at SLIG, including two at which I will be an instructor: ... Click to read more!

Genetic Genealogy Standards

Over the past few months, a group of genealogists and scientists has been working to draft a set of Genetic Genealogy Standards that can be used to guide genealogists and test-takers as they enter and explore the world of genetic genealogy. Importantly this document is not meant to be a manual, but instead is meant to function similarly to standards like the Genealogy Standards. From the preamble of the Standards:

This document is intended to provide ethical and usage standards for the genealogical community to follow when purchasing, recommending, sharing, or writing about the results of DNA testing for ancestry.

It is the responsibility of the test-taker to understand and consider these standards before ordering  a test, and when reviewing or sharing their results. However, all genealogists who utilize or recommend DNA testing should: (1) review and understand these standards; (2) strive to meet and exceed these minimum standards; and (3) assist clients with understanding these standards. ... Click to read more!

Although they have not released any new big tools recently, 23andMe is constantly providing new ways for consumers to interact with the company and learn about genetics.

For example, over at Pinterest, 23andMe now has “What We’re Reading,” which is a great way to stay on top of the latest in the field of personal genomics. A number of my fellow genealogists have taken to using Pinterest both as a way to promote their business and as a way to share information or interests. Social media guru Thomas MacEntee has an article at Family Tree Magazine entitled “Using Pinterest for Genealogy Research,” and his own Presentations board, for example. Although I have a Pinterest presence, I haven’t yet used it for genealogy. ... Click to read more!

Today at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, Dick Eastman writes in “Avoid Dating Your Cousin – There’s an App for That” about a smartphone app that allows users to “bump” their smartphones – gently bump them together – in order to determine if and how they are related.  The Islendiga-App has been around for some time, as other articles discussing the app appear as early as April 2013.

Not surprisingly, it was created in Iceland where genealogies are incredibly detailed and comprehensive. From Dick’s post:

To determine if a potential date is a possible cousin, Icelanders often check the Íslendingabók database. Now a smartphone app will do that for you quickly and easily. Three students from the University of Iceland created a smartphone app, The Islendiga-App, that allows you to bump your phone against another person’s phone, similar to how bump-to-push contact exchange features work, and immediately see your genealogical (if any) relation to the person in question. There is even an alarm feature that lets you know if you share a grandparent. ... Click to read more!

Below are a few of my favorite tweets over the past few weeks. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest in the world of genetic genealogy and personal genomics!