Keeping in touch with family members who live far away from you is much easier today, thanks to the internet. Many genealogists use Skype to communicate, and WordPress for their family history blog. A new idea is to purchase a domain name for your family, or for one of your children.
What is a domain name? It is a name that is specific to one physical point on the internet. It is also called an IP address. Typically, a company that is setting up a website will try and buy a domain name that has something to do with the name of their company, or the product that they sell. This is a simplified explanation.
There is a company in the UK called Your Baby Domain Name. I believe that the service they offer is only available for people who live in the UK. The concept is very interesting, and is something that genealogists could find useful.
In short, a person types in the first and last name of their baby. This can be done by parents who already have children, or by parents who are expecting their first child. The company will determine if there is a domain name available that matches the child’s name. Parents can then use the domain to add photos and to keep their family informed about new things happening with their child.
Your baby’s personalized web address will become a scrapbook that you can share with family members. Use it to announce to your family when the baby has been born. Add photos of first smiles, first steps, and other happy moments. No one can view the website unless you give them a password. Years from now, the website can become your child’s business page. Or, it can become a digital scrapbook, filled with family stories that might have been forgotten if they were not recorded on the blog.
Genealogists who are at least somewhat internet savvy can do the same thing without going through a service that provides it. Go register a domain using your child’s full name. There are plenty of companies that you can purchase it from for somewhere between $5.00 and $10.00 a year.
Set up a WordPress blog, and set up the privacy setting so that only your family members can see it. Upload photos, add descriptive blog posts, and keep your family up to date with everything that is going on with your new baby, with your family, and with yourself. The family members you connect with will be able to leave you comments.
This method will give you more control than if you decided to use Facebook for the same purpose. Genealogists can use it to keep living family members connected, to share their genealogy research, and to post old family photos. You can even use it to coordinate and plan a family reunion.
Image by ivanpw on Flickr