Our Family Storybook

Inspiration:

I wanted an easy way to share all the family research I spent so much time collecting, so I created the first version of this application for my own use in 2006 using Adobe Flash. More and more people, friends, colleagues and family, told me they liked it. I prowled the Internet and discovered that there was nothing out there that did just what this did. My passion: I want to help people tell their story and add to their sense of belonging.

What it does:

First of all, this is not a research site. It’s a new and easier way of framing, presenting and sharing a family’s genealogy—not only making family history and documentation easier to handle, organize and share—but making the story more compelling.

Our Family Storybook is a membership platform that will allow a user to create a website (without the need to code), or a real, old fashioned book (in a variety of formats) or plan family reunions using our interactive Reunion Calendar, maintain a Blog, participate in forums and post free Public Notices. Members can then invite guest (family members and friends) to view their projects. For those new to recording family history, they can begin the exploration by using our genealogy software and then convert that research into a beautiful website that their family will want to explore.

The site is still in Beta as we are working to complete the functionality of the Web application that will allow users to built websites using our pre-designed templates. While we are in beta, anyone can use the current site features for free.

How I built it:

Open source environment for both Mac and PC, with a team of three; a graphic and web designer, copywriter and programmer.

Challenges I ran into:

The site design and functionality was much more involved that I had anticipated. We design the site to be a gathering place for family historians.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of:

My two partners and I have dedicated our time, resources and expertise to launching this site—by digging down deep and working on it for every hour we can spare. After three years of development we have finally released the first phase of our beta version that currently offers members the opportunity to use site features for free.

What I learned:

I learned that when you believe in something hard enough, you can make it a reality.

What's next for Our Family Storybook:

Continuous improvement through the ability to edit and export the GEDCOM format, creation of genealogy software to help those researching. Integration with FamilySeach through input and retrieve data through queries. Setup of an online store for purchase of genealogy related merchandise. Finish the Book application that will allow users to create and publish a history book. Create a browser based Mobile interface version.

Site access:

The site link provided is to our live Phase One release. This site is free to members. We also have a development site where the web application continues to be developed. We will need to supply the link and set up a unique password to judges wanting access to this area of the site. Thanks.