Thursday

{Review} Saving Memories Forever

 I am a memory collector. Most of my memories are on paper- collections of photo albums, movie stubs, scrapbook pages, articles, etc. Some are computer files of pictures or video clips or my blog posts. But with the exception of those few video clips of my kids as they grow up, I don't have a lot of oral memories collected. Enter Saving Memories Forever.


Saving Memories Forever is a smartphone application and website designed to help record, save and share your family's memories. They have a free version if you want to try it out and a paid version if you want unlimited stories, storytellers and less restrictions in general.

How the Product Works:

The first step is to sign up- which can be done by downloading the app onto your smartphone or by going to their website. Once you are signed in you come to the storyteller page. I was given a premium subscription to help with my review, so I was able to have unlimited storytellers. You can add your storytellers, a picture and all of their information from this page.



When you are ready to record your memories, choose your storyteller and then you will be prompted to choose a category for your story. Most of the categories are age related, though there are some general categories like jokes- which my kids enjoyed, and now I have tons of knock, knock jokes to remember this age by! Once you choose your category you will be prompted to choose a question. These questions cover all sorts of topics from vague to very specific (great for those like me, who might not be able to come up with  your own story off the top of your head with out a prompt!)


 And then you are ready to record! Press record and go! Once the recording is done, you have the option of rerecording if you need to start over or uploading the story to the website for storage and later listening.


On the website you can listen to your saved stories, add tags for easier searching, transcripts, or photos to the story.

The Bottom Line:

 

I love the idea behind this product. I love that it is portable and that you can record memories as they come. While visiting grandparents, siblings, cousins, old friends, etc. you can capture these stories in  each individual's voice. You will be able to hear your grandfather tell that old story, the one he told a million times, long after he's no longer around to tell it.  The bonuses of being able to add photos, transcripts, recipes and other documents to your stories make it even better and more expandable. Almost like a verbal scrapbook.

I personally prefer a more paper/visual scrapbook. I like to look at pictures, read old letters or read through journals. But even though I would probably never be my own storyteller, I know lots of people who would.

The app worked flawlessly on my phone. I had no trouble downloading, opening or recording from my device and I had no trouble accessing my files on the website. I even downloaded it from my husband's phone, which has a history of restarting itself often, to see if the app would cause any issues- and it worked fine on his phone as well.

So if you are headed to a family reunion this summer or just simply want to remember what your daughter or son sounded like when they were 1 yr, old this app can do that for you, and you will never have to rely on your own memory, which tends to fade with time.

Where to Get it:

You can download the apps from the iTunes App Store or Google Play, and is listed under Saving Memories Forever. As I mentioned you can try out the free version or opt for the paid subscription for $3.99/month or $40/yr. If you would like to know more about the differences between these 2 versions visit the Saving Memories Forever Website for a breakdown.



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