H.M.
We have friends who have family in France and other places and they use photobucket.com to send videos. We also have friends that use MyFamily.com.
Hi Ladies! Any advice on websites to post photos, videos, journals featuring my son and our family for relatives and friends to keep up with us? Thanks!
WOW! Thank you so much to the 60+ mamas that responded - so helpful! I wanted to share that about 1/3 of you suggested and honestly raved about blogspot (which I understand is that same as blogger.com). Several of you also sent me links to your websites - talk about beautiful families! That was so helpful. Honestly, I have a friend who uses blogspot and I don't like her site - but when I looked at so many of your sites, I saw what it could be and got really excited. Thanks so much for your suggestions! L.
We have friends who have family in France and other places and they use photobucket.com to send videos. We also have friends that use MyFamily.com.
Start a blog. They are really easy and anyone can look at it or you can make it private and only the people you invite can look at it. I use blogger. It is a Google company. It is really easy. Go to www.blogger.com. If you want to look at mine it is www.iakfamily.blogspot.com have fun!
Snapfish is the best for me and my twins and 2yr old. my family lives in cali and hubby's fam is in England. You can upload snapfish.com with pics and videos, its great! good luck L.!
L.-
My daughter who lives in Texas sends us emails with photos, vidoes and updates on our regular email. There are other sites like Geni.com and My family.com. These are a few to look into. P.
Most people have mentioned the perks of creating a blog. Mine is hosted through blogger and is free. If you keep your blog public, I would recommend adding a stat counter (www.statcounter.com) to let you know where your visitors are coming from and who they are (listed by location & IP address). This way you can really know how public your blog is. You may also choose to keep it by invitation only.
I love having a blog-- mine is www.studiocharm.com/blog
I'd check out scrapblog.com. It's easy to use and free. You can make your own mini-scrapbook online.
There are stickers that you can add to make it fun, and there's themes that you can use.
mistyweather
www.myadoptionforms.com
This is a great site and very user friendly. It is totally free too!
I really really love blogspot.com You can choose to make your site private and only viewable by people you invite, or anywhere between that and totally private and totally public. I love it!
You could look at mine and see. wight-family.blogspot.com (obviously, mine is not private, so feel free to view it.)
V.
married 8.5 yrs, dd is 6, ttc #2 for 5 yrs, filling out adoption paperwork! Wish us luck!
This one looks nice: http://www.babychapters.com/
Of course you can photo share through any photo site like shutterfly, kodakgallery, even walmart.com Or you can try a blog site like wordpress.com or blogger.com. I use blogger.com and you can make your blog private so only those you want to see the site can.
Try www.geni.com
It's a website for a family tree, where you can also upload pictures and videos. My family started using it and the geni tree keeps growing.
Blogspot is great but my suggestion is to secure it as much as possible. There is a lot of internet preditors out there that read blogs and will take all that personal info and talk to your children. Children are trusting of someone that knows info about them. If you keep it open then make sure you don't mention local spots. If you go to the zoo say zoo only and make sure there is no names in pictures. Either make fake names or say dear daughter (dd) that will help you and your child be safe while being able to share information and pictures. Good luck it is fun for family to see pictures and it is fun to have a place to brag about kids.
Hi L.,
I too have a website/blog to post pictures and funny stories of life with my son. I have found that blogger.com was the best choice for me. It's so easy to do and is pretty user friendly, you can choose your own name and give that web address out to your family who can check it out any time. You can also set things to private so that only people you invtie can check out your blog. Blogger.com, so far it's worked for me and most of my friends. If you want some help setting it up just let me know. :)
WoW No One Mentioned:
www.Orkut.com.
You Have To Have A Googles Account To Set It Up. It's International As Well. You Can Post Pictures & Video's, You Can Set It Up For Who You Want To Veiw Your Profile As Far As Privacy, Updates On Who's Visited Your Site & Who Posted New Info On Their Site, Write About Yourself & Interests. Create Albums (100 each) And Post Comments On Pictures Or Scraps To Friends, Write Testimonies About Someone Or Use It As Instant Message, And So Much More...
I Know It's A Place I Can Find All My Friends And Family & Found It To Be A Secure Site To Post Pictures Of My Son.
~C.
I just wanted to eacho the blog idea. I started mine as a way to share my son with family far away. It's also a great way to keep in touch, forces me to take pictures and journal milestone. They grow up so fast that it seems like before you know it time has past and you don't remember anything. It's very simple, I am self taught. Mine is not fancy but it works for me. Try it out! www.theowyoungfamily.blogspot.com Good Luck!
I use snapfish.com. The people you you share with will have to open an account, too. But, if G'ma in Ft. Lauderdale wants copies, she can order them and have them sent to her - and the cost is really pretty good. I believe there is a way to post videos, too tho I've never done so.
Your account will stay active for a year unless you buy something during that time. But if you sign up for "groups" the account stays active. No cost still, so I don't understand why - but I've got groups and haven't used it for almost 2 years. But my account is still active.
As an added bonus, if Aunt Whatshername wants to, she can forward the pictures to Cousin Something. My aunt has forwarded my cousin's pictures to me.
I know I sound like a salesman - sorry. But, I like the site a lot. Also, my Mom has a really slow dial up connection and she can't open pictures attached to an e-mail but can see the snapfish pictures fine. Just something to think about!
Hi L. -
I use www.easysite.com to keep my family updated on my boys. All our family lives out of state and it's a great way to keep in touch. As the name suggests it is extremely easy to set up your own site. I am by no means a computer genius - far from it - but I did it all by myself. You can add music, videos, recipes, and blog about your family. It costs $5.00 a month for all that. Your family can also order pictures from the site if they want to. Hope this helps. Have fun!
I have our family website where I can post photos, blog, video, polls, questions, etc. I can make it a public website or a private one. You can also set it up so family and friends can post their pictures in a certain spot, make comments and buy prints. It's a really cool website!
Chrissy
www.ourstory.com Is a new one I found. You create a timeline with photos and blog features. It has a question section you can use to help make sure your covering all aspects of the event.
Example: New baby questions to ask yourself "How did you tell the family?" "What was the fist thing you ever said to your baby?" "How did you feel the first time you saw your little one in an ultrasound?" and so forth.
Once you fill out everything the way you like, you can invite your friends/family to view your timeline and add to it. They can comment on blogs/photos and add their own (very useful for Grandma to get into since she probably has a lot of family photos.)
The part I love most is that when you're all done you can order a glossy page book from the company with all YOUR photos and print! They take care of the whole scrapbooking thing for you!
From what I understand books start at $13. I really don't know much more about the site, I just became a member last week (it's free) This web-site was suggested by parenting magazine, so we'll see!
I can personally say I have used most of the options given below, snapfish, shutterfly, blogspot, facebook, myspace. I will say my personal favorite for sharing what is going on in my kids lives with family and friends is blogspot. Like someone said earlier, once you get your initial blog set up, posting pictures and updates is really quite easy. Plus it is very easy for people who aren't too computer literate to view. I like to create slideshows on rockyou.com which you can cut and paste right onto your blogspot page (they provide you with step by step instructions).
you can check out my page
http://cj-gusprice.blogspot.com/
Looks like I need to update it!
There is blogspot.com which is a free place to put pictures and then write about how you are doing. Another free site is www.myphotoalbum.com where you can upload a lot of pictures at a time and make albums and it automatically will create slideshows so people can view your picutres easily. When we were living in Arizona we used this all the time because it was so easy to upload pictures and we could share them with family and friends who were here in Utah.
We use, and love, www.babyjellybeans.com If you would like to see ours as an example just type in Finnegan under 'kids name' and our password is: engel
We gave it to our parents as a mothers day and fathers day gift one year. It is 8.95/month and that is their present every year now (I tend to update it every two weeks or so). and...you get a free CD of it after the first year. I like that so we have it as a keepsake too.
Good luck
K.
My cousin started a website not long ago on Myfamily.com It's a way for the whole family aunts, uncles, granparents, anyone who you invite to your website to share photos, videos, storys, events, post comments ect. I love it! Its Free too! Its helped us feel more connected since we dont get together very often to catch up. I know there are probably others out there but I like the privacy of this one because it can only be viewed by people who are invited to view it.
We like Facebook. You can set the privacy settings very tight. As long as you don't join networks or groups you're in complete control of who sees your profile. If you join a network or group anyone else who joins can also see your profile. It's very easy to set up a page and update it. This coming from someone who is not very computer literate, so you know it's easy. I'll be curious to see what others say, as well.
L.,
All of my family lives in NY, while I am here in Boise, ID. I use shutterfly to upload my photos. You can upload them and then send your family an e-mail directly from the site with a link to your photos.
I also am a consultant for Heritage Makers. Check out my site at http://www.freewebs.com/mytreasuredmemories
I have enjoyed being able to create my own storybooks for myself, family & friends. Check it out and tell me what you think!!
I use blogger, or blogspot as well as several of my other family members and friends. It is free, does not contain advertisements on the page and is really easy to use. You have to create a username/email address and password but once the page is created you can keep adding to it. Your friends and family do not need a password or anything to view the page and you have your own web address. Feel free to check out mine to give you an idea if you don't know anyone else with a blogspot. Oh yeah it also allows you to post video.
http://brannan04.blogspot.com
Hi L.,
I use MySpace to keep all my pictures to share in. I have twin grandbabies 5 months old and many relatives live far away. I take pictures all the time and put them on there - they can print them off if they want, or save them to their computer. I use a different album for each month of their lives so far, because they changes so quickly. There is no space limit, so I just leave them there and everyone can see at a glance how they are growing and changing. Check it out, it may be just what you are looking for. There are others out there - but so far MySpace is my favorite.
Good luck!
My family, myself, and many of my friends have created a blog at www.blogspot.com
We love it and you can set it to be private or open.
Good luck
J.
We do a blog on blogspot. You can have it completely secure if you want by setting your settings so that only the people that you choose through email can access it or if that doesn't bother you. You can have it wide open for anyone to access.
Blogspot.com is absolutely the best place to go. It is super easy to set up and super easy to design your personal page.
hello my daughter has her own website on www.babyjellybeans.com it is 8 dollars a month to maintain but you can do all sorts of cool things on it and personalize it to what you want I strongly suggest it! family members can also perchase the photos that you post as well
Defititely start a blog. It's SO fun and easy, not to mention free. You can do just about anything to customize your blog...add features, slide shows, graphics, music, etc. It's totally free AND if you so choose you can have it only viewable by those invited. Either blogger.com (which I use) or typepad.com are good options. Here's a look at mine if you'd like to see it: http://scraphappyutah.blogspot.com/
I use www.totsites.com. They have a free website, or you can pay a fee for more storage for more pics. They have predesigned pages to choose from and a lot of neat features!!
I like myfamily.com because you can share anything you want and it just goes to the people you have invited to be part of "the family."
I am also a blogspot fan. It is really user friendly and lots of fun!
you could do a blog www.blogspot.com or even a myspace page just an idea
You could start a blog, using blogspot.com, you can post pictures, videos and text. It's very addicting! You can make them private so only invited readers can read it or it can be public. You choose your own address, it's fun and pretty easy to navigate! Good luck!
babyhomepages.net they are easy, inexpensive and fun!
S.
Try facebook or starting a family blog. Both are pretty easy. Just go to facebook.com or blogger.com and set up a free account. I like facebook because all of your invited friends get to see when you add new photos automatically. But, blogging is more like a journal or scrapbook that anybody can access.
L.,
Start a blog. It is so fun and so easy. Go to blogspot.com. You will love it. The family can look at photos and messages and can even comment on your posts. I recently started one and have been having so much fun with it.
Try www.babiesonline.com - it is simple but cute :)
Try starting a blog - blogspot.com is free and has several templates to use if you are new to doing it. I am sure there are other free sites out there as well.
Another idea is facebook.com you can create a profile, upload pictures, chat online and send messages. It is also free.
Hope that helps.
B.
Aboutmybaby.com
It is password sensitive and can only be accessed by people who you give the password.
I have used Shutterfly for years now. I love the online albums you can add to, then email friends with the link and they do not have to join anything to view. You can order super cool things, gifts, coffee table books that are personalized with your pictures. Then after you are ready and have filled up albums you can order a CD with all your digital pictures to keep them safe. The pictures are inexpensive and are very clear!
This website is totally free! http://www.ning.com/ You can add videos, pictures, blogs, discussions, all kinds of awesome things! Also, you can make it invite only, so only your family has access to your treasured memories. It's the only all in one that I've found. A second option would be facebook, but I think it comes a distant second to the ning.
I used www.babyjellybeans.com.
Very user friendly and I was able to purchase my babies own domain name.
It is a great way for family and friends to keep up on my little one as she grows!
Hope this helps.
I know of a website called blogspot.com. Alot of my friends are on there and it is an awesome way to keep in touch with family and friends. Go to blogger.com to gert started. Good luck!!!!
There are many free ones but I like www.phanfare.com for like $6.mo.
see ours at www.yarbroughfam.phanfare.com
It has not been updated in a while, but there is a TON on there- videos and pics in separate albums that you can customize,
lately I have just been posting videos to Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kristi1972
and to Myspace..
Try babiesonline.com I used this when my daughters were babies. My friend still uses it and her daughters are now 6 and 4. Have fun.
You can sign up for a blogspot.com account; it's free. I just started mine yesterday! Just visit my blogspot site: bromfields.blogspot.com and click create blog, then you're ready to go.
www.blogspot.com is great and easy to use!
Hi. I used blogger.com to share with my family. You can put videos and photos on and links. My family is all out of state so this works well for me. They don't have to log on or anything. If you want to see mine, email me and I can share it.
D.
blogger.com is made by google and it's completely free and very easy to use. most of my friends has a blog there to kee family and friends updated on what they're up to.
I just heard about a website, aboutmybaby.com, that is supposed to be great. I haven't set up anything yet, but you can password protect it so that only people you want looking can look. It's 100% free, too, so that's nice.
a blog is great. If you don't want just anyone to be able to see it then make it an invitation only blog and you invite everyone that you want to see it.
HI L.! I know this is late but I just read your "So what happened" post. I just had my first baby and we made our website using the www.babyjellybeans.com and it is soooo cool. I know your probably all set but I have to say I just think this one is the BEST! Thought I'd share.
www.ourbabynews.com is fun and very easy to use. Both of my kids have their own site and there is an option to buy it on a disc as a keepsake.
Two others have mentioned blogspot.com and blogger.com. They are both the same site. I also use that site. Once you take the time to set up the blog and figure out all the things you can do, it's really pretty easy and quick to post a picture or a little splurb about whatever. It's free, easy to use, easy to share, and easy to moderate. Like another said, you can set it to private or open to invited readers only to avoid just anyone looking. Mine is completely open to whoever wants it and I still have only had three or four people comment on it that I didn't know. If you want to see my blog or others that I link to just to see what it's like, feel free to send me a message and I'll send you the link to it. Or if you have any questions about it also.
you should start a blog! you can post videos, pictures and write whatever you want. you can keep in touch with friends. it is like having your own website, but much easier. I have a blog with blogger.com it's free and really easy.
I use www.babyhomepages.com - you can get free site or pay (I think) $12/3mo for a subscription. It's a really easy site to use.
i've just recently got into the blogging world and love being able to update everyone on our lives. anyway... you can go to blogspot.com and create your own blog, add pictures and music, and all that fun stuff. :) good luck. :)
blogger.com (a lot of ladies posted blogspot.com, it's the same and will go directly to blogger.com)
i use this and it is great! i love blogs. you can be public (which means ANYONE can see it). or go private, you invite those you want to see your blog through email. there are also many features and widgets you can add to make your blog unique. blogs are a great way to keep in touch with family everywhere! good luck and happy blogging!
Hi there
We have a 9 month old baby girl, and we set up a blog for our family and friends to keep them updated on what is going on in our life and to share photos and videos. You can go to www.blogspot.com and set up your own site. It's super easy and fun! Hope this helps!
Hi L.,
I use snapfish.com of shutterfly.com both are free and you have to log in and send to specific email addresses for them to log in to view your photos. Both have a lot of great things to offer so you may want to check them out!
Good Luck,
S.
facebook! My sister in law and some other friends keep their stuff on there. You have to be invited to look so it is private and safe.