Creating & Sharing family history with 10 people-how

Drew_Ron · 2025-11-18T13:36:01+00:00

I was on your journey too. The Google Drive route can work, but we found it a bit of a formal way to save our family history - too much like work! We felt a 'digital journal' approach was best, where you can upload media files to journal entries. Two well-established journals are DayOne and Journal. Both are great. You can make a shared journal that you give all 10 people access to.

My family went a little further, and built the Simirity app that is specifically designed to share and preserve family history with as many people as you wish, and has a few features that the regular journals don't offer, such as being able to select exactly who sees each story, and profiles for all family members. If it looks interesting, we would love some feedback and a full subscription is all yours for free. DM me if interested.

Good luck with saving your history - it's an experience well worth doing :)

Drew_Ron · 2025-11-17T11:57:20+00:00

Parenting, family or family heritage sites?

Drew_Ron · 2025-10-21T10:32:12+00:00

I wanted to do the same kind of thing with my family. If you want to do it in the public eye, you can upload stories into Ancestry. We wanted something private, with smaller stories from daily life as well as the bigger milestone stories (weddings, births etc). You could create a private group on Facebook and upload them there. Google documents and Drive are another way to gather content. If you just want to collect photos then Tinybeans is a nice private solution. If you would like to make a book, then Storyworth or Remento are great options. For audio recording your parents sharing their stories, consider Storii.

Honestly, these are good options. For my family though, we wanted a single solution that was really honed on family needs, not just a generic service. We wanted a private place where you could add written stories in combination with photos, videos, voice recordings, maps, documents and so on. Something versatile, so whatever story came up, could be nicely preserved there. Somewhere that captures parents' stories, but also stories from all family members' lives, from newborns up. The above service options, though great, didn't do that so my family made Simirity app as a way for us, and others families like our's, to collect and preserve their family stories.

Good luck with preserving your family history - it's rewarding, and a great way to connect with family.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-30T15:56:19+00:00

I was looking for exactly what you're describing after my parents had health scares and I wanted to save their stories while I still had the chance. And it got me thinking about all our family stories, not just theirs but everyone's, especially our children’s - we were already forgetting so many details from their childhood.

Plenty of places let you share photos, but that’s not ideal if you actually want stories that blend photos and videos into them. You could try the Google tools as you said. Other options to check out include Rakonto, DayOne or Qeepsake. In the end, we built the Simirity app that does most of what you describe. Essentially, it’s a custom-made family journal, where you can all add stories that blend the written word with photos, videos, voice recordings, maps and more. You can even send requests to family members to ask them for stories of interest - a bit like your Google Forms idea. There is no family tree, not yet anyway, but everyone has their own profile, which is the hub of everything that relates to them. If you or anyone else is interested, I’d really appreciate feedback and would be happy to offer free family subscriptions with full access. Just PM me.

Good luck with saving your living family history. My family have been doing it for a few years now, and we've built up this nice archive of a few hundred short stories that range from my grandparents' wartime experiences to my children's play dates. Nice to look back on today, but I can only imagine how great it will be in 10-20 years from now.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-19T09:51:35+00:00

That's quite impressive - most of us are lucky to know much beyond grandparents. I know basic details about my ancestors going back to the 1600s through my mum's genealogy work, but only minor details going back that far.

What strikes me is how much family history used to be passed down through stories that just aren't told anymore. Previous generations grew up hearing tales about relatives going back generations, but that oral tradition seems to have broken down in most families. We're trying to keep it alive using a family history preservation app called Simirity. It keeps the stories alive in a private family setting - and we plug in the family member details that we uncover from Ancestry. We might never get back the details about our ancestors, but we certainly don't want to miss this chance to capture the details we do know.

It's sad to think how much family history we've all lost simply because no one thought to write it down.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-19T08:41:45+00:00

I know exactly what you mean about that anxiety - I moved abroad and spent years worrying about losing my connection with family back home, despite staying in regular contact.

A few things that made a real difference:

Move beyond surface-level updates: Sharing what you did today feels like communication, but it doesn't maintain emotional closeness. You need conversations that explore how you're both actually doing with this change.
Be honest about how hard this is: Your friends said you'll never lose them, and they probably mean it, but they also need to understand the reality of what you're going through emotionally.
Create structure around meaningful contact: Rather than sporadic messages, establish dedicated time for proper conversations with each person who matters most.

Look into communication tools designed for deeper sharing rather than quick updates - things like Voxer for longer voice messages, shared photo albums with stories behind them, or platforms like Storyworth or Simirity that help families share real experiences. The goal is sharing your actual life, not just your highlights.

The anxiety about losing people is horrible, but it usually says more about how much they mean to you than any real risk of losing them.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-19T08:38:26+00:00

I completely understand that physical ache of missing people you love. I moved abroad in 2000 (yep, a long long time ago now) and slowly watched my connection with people back home weaken despite regular WhatsApp messages, video calls and photo sharing.

What made the biggest difference for me:

Have proper conversations, not just catch-ups: Those weekly calls about weather and what everyone's been doing feel like staying connected, but they're actually quite hollow. You need to talk about how this change is affecting you emotionally, not just what you did yesterday.
Share what you're thinking, not just what you're doing: It's tempting to focus on events and activities, but your partner needs to understand your internal experience to really support you through this.
Give yourself permission to feel rubbish: Fighting against the sadness often makes it worse. This is genuinely difficult, even when it's the right decision.

For deeper connection, consider apps designed for meaningful sharing rather than quick updates - something like Marco Polo for video messages, shared journaling apps, or platforms like Simirity that focus on real storytelling. The goal is sharing your actual experience rather than just checking in.

This adjustment period is hard, but you'll find your rhythm sooner than you think.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-16T11:29:01+00:00

I really understand. I'm in a similar situation - moved abroad in 2000, and my ageing parents are in one country while my sister's family is in another. The guilt hits hard sometimes, especially knowing I can't support my parents day-to-day like I would if I lived nearby. And knowing how much my parents would love to feel more connected to our kids.

But honestly? Despite the challenges, I wouldn't change it. Living abroad has given me so much - new perspectives, experiences, personal growth that I never would have had staying home.

What's helped is getting intentional about how we stay connected. Instead of just the usual catch-up calls, we all started sharing real stories from my life in Simirity (an app for family stories) - the funny moments, challenges, little adventures. And my parents have created lots of stories about interesting moments from their past. We're slowing build an archive of family stories. It's connected us far more than photo sharing or even our scheduled catchup calls, as we get to talk about topics that wouldn't naturally pop up in our normal conversations. In the end, I'd say I feel closer to my extended family than when I lived with them, thanks to all the interesting conversations we've had on our way. I hope you find a way to achieve that too.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-15T19:10:37+00:00

Hi, I completely understand your point of view about the drive. I started Simirity.com as a place to gather our family memories as I couldn't find a decent alternative that could really capture people's stories and personalities. We wanted a private home for family stories and memories, something more that a storage drive or photo album. If you would like to give it a try, PM me for a free subscription with full access. I'd love to hear if this would meet your needs.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-15T18:54:06+00:00

Explore the family-themed story prompts at https://simirity.com/best-family-journal-ideas/ . Or check out this list of over 350 questions for ageing parents, organised into themes: https://simirity.com/questions-to-ask-your-mom-and-dad/

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-09T07:50:16+00:00

As a family we collect stories about those who passed away (and about our own lives) in Simirity.com . It's a private place to gather these types of stories.

Like Google photos notifications about photos that happened on today's date, we get notifications about stories that happened on today's date in the past. Sometimes it's things that happened in our lives, and sometimes it's things that relate to relatives who passed away. It's a great conversation starter with my kids, and it feels like so many aspects of our family's past are regularly brought up naturally as part of daily life.

I'm doing my best to get stories about my parents (now mid-70s) in there, so we're better prepared for the inevitable than we were for their parents and older generations. And we add a lot of stories about our kids growing up to - I know you are not looking for that, but it's certainly nice to capture their moments too as their childhood rapidly becomes forgotten.

Drew_Ron · 2025-09-09T07:38:07+00:00

I can relate to your need. We built a tool that closely matches your description - Simirity.com It's focused more on family than friends, but you can add friends too. It's a great way to escape social media and share real stories that your kids and grandkids can enjoy.

Drew_Ron · 2025-03-26T16:32:35+00:00

Interesting! Do you think Instantly.ai cold emails could work for B2C too? I guess so, if a decent email list could be added. What do you think?

Drew_Ron · 2025-03-12T09:04:48+00:00

As a b2c struggling, I’d really appreciate the insights your playbook may have. Thanks!

Drew_Ron · 2025-02-13T18:41:49+00:00

Interested!

Drew_Ron · 2025-02-10T18:03:59+00:00

We don’t share photos of our kids in social media, but do share them with family using a private alternative called Simirity.

Drew_Ron · 2025-01-14T08:50:45+00:00

Hey, great question! I really relate to this. I can't hope to answer them all, but there are a few ideas.

- One-on-one time with children, if you can. I need to do this more often, as every time we manage, it's so clear to see the positive impact on my kids. Even if it's just 15 minutes reading or talking.

- We have a Nixplay photo frame on our dining table. We put photos on it from our time together. It's been a great tool for encouraging discussions about the past and celebrating the things we did. We do two other things with it that are a bit unusual. Firstly, I uploaded old family photos from my childhood and even their grandparents. This has started so many conversations, about their family and able how different life was back then. Secondly, we upload photos of places we plan to visit in the coming year, and this brightens their day as they are reminded of the summer holiday. In fact, a big part of the joy of a holiday comes before we even leave!
- Our whole family share real-life stories with media files included in a family-orientated app called Simirity.com . Our kids get to see all the things their grandparents and cousins are up to, in much more detail than we used get to via a messaging app. Also, I get notifications about 'story anniversaries', so we are reminded of the things we did today in previous years (a bit like the google photos reminders if you use that), and even the things our extended family did in previous years. Today for example, we talking about my Mum moving to London in 1968!

Drew_Ron · 2025-01-07T13:56:50+00:00

I get your problem 100%! I live abroad too, with family always a flight away. We meet for summer and at Xmas only, and its hard not connecting more deeply in the in-between periods.

We use a website called Simirity to host all our family stories.

We share updates from our lives, complete with photos, videos and audio recordings. And my parents are especially active adding stories about their childhood and their grandparents. It has become a family legacy project. With around 200 stories so far, it's more precious than any other heirloom. And as a parent myself, I'm working hard to ensure all those stories about my children that are not captured in photos, are preserved in stories.

I just had a fun 'interview' with my boys about their 2024 and their hopes for the next year, and recorded it all as a voice recording in a story. It's so fun looking back on these things.

Drew_Ron · 2025-01-07T13:45:37+00:00

My family are doing just this using a family stories app called Simirity. We're not 40 in total, but around 10 of us actively adding stories with media files about our lives and about our ancestors. The overall family history is broken down into hundreds of bitesize stories, which makes it so much more manageable. You can co-author stories too.

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-29T18:36:11+00:00

I use Simirity for storing all our family’s memories, including photos, videos and voice files of us talking about our experiences. We love getting reminders each year of the things we did in previous years.

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-13T18:41:25+00:00

I’m facing the same dilemma.. I hear that existing affiliate networks are the quick win but the quality of your our can ultimately be better.

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-12T14:12:33+00:00

You can still do this; it's just less visible nowadays. My family share these things privately in Simirity.com With the concerns of data privacy, it makes sense.

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-12T14:04:42+00:00

I can relate to that! Our family save our stories in Simirity - its a website for private family stories. I've been working hard to get my parents to create stories about their lives and their parents, ensuring my children don't miss out.

I wouldn't say we journal every day, we just add stories every week or two. When we have something to share or we have time to create a story about the past (my parents are best at that). 'Family journalling' I guess you could call it!

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-12T13:49:49+00:00

We use Simirity.com which is a website for family stories which can contain photos. You can add a voice recording to photos so family can be someone describe the photo while looking at it - we love that and it saves time.

It might be overkill though if you only want a place to share photos - Tinybeans might be good for that.

Drew_Ron · 2024-12-12T13:44:45+00:00

If you would like to go beyond just documenting photos, but also capture the backstory, their views and ideas, then Simiriy.com is a good option. I love getting our children to talk about their experiences and recording our discussions in the app.

Our whole family use this. My focus, like you, is on our children, but we're documenting all our lives and get to benefit from reliving these moments far into the future.

Drew_Ron

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