I just got an email a minute ago stating that Ancestry was going to end its Expert Connect service as of March 18, this year, and has advised that no new jobs or bids be placed on anything after Feb 3rd.
My thoughts? Well, damn. Personally I was hoping to tap into the Expert Connect, the sooner the better, and see how many, if any, clients I could get through that service. I feel bad for the people who were using that as their only source of business and the money lost to them. There are a lot of good people out there who do respectable research. What a terrible thing.
On the good note, I did not rely on Expert Connect for any amount of business. As I consider this, I realize that initially, I did not calculate it in for any clients. In fact, I had forgotten that Expert Connect even existed until recently when I was logged into Ancestry.com.
It’s a shame to see the service go. I still have other, more reliable places to draw from and my reputation for accuracy and thoroughness follow my name.