Joining the "cloud"

We’ve all heard about the “cloud”, an elusive storage service somewhere in cyberspace, and some of us use it regularly. But for the average person, who thinks about saving or sharing everything with the “cloud?” I was just introduced to a new concept…new to me and likely you, too. Share family photos with the cloud. Yes, we all share via Facebook , Instagram and countless other sites and programs. But keeping and sharing at the same time with family across the nation, around the world and…across time? That’s a new one to me. I’ve shared old family photos through Facebook and through family sites, but a whole program just for sharing new…and old photos. Well, there’s a project for the New Year. Everyone has countless albums and shoeboxes of old photos. The really industrious and crafty among us have dozens of scrapbooks, but what about putting those ALL on the computer? And in the cloud? Wow, suddenly all the old photos tucked away with the intention of sharing them with the rest of family suddenly got “do-able.” I really have lectured myself about getting organized, copying all the old photos and films to disc to share with distant family members. Or paying a service to do it for me. That way you’ve preserved the old photos, gotten them out of the attic or the deepest closet, and maybe simply taken them off the shelves where few people ever take the time to pick them up. Now there’s a better way? It was bound to happen. You, and likely your relatives, are on the computer, a tablet or phone every day. You can step back in time to see your grandparents, great grandparents or maybe just your younger self or grandchildren while you’re waiting for the repairman or the overbooked doctor or dentist. You know your children and grandchildren will sign on without hesitation just to kill some time or to take a break from the latest online game. Now all it takes is some time, and self-discipline, to share the best of those old pix. Truthfully, I’m just beginning to explore the possibilities. I’ve scanned some photos and they’re backed- up through Carbonite. But that only means I’ve saved them and we won’t lose them, but shared? That’s another program. Apparently we can share through Dropbox, Google Drive and some other programs like CrashPlan for Business, SOS Online Backup and SugarSync, all in the top five in sharing cloud websites. (https://www.cloudwards.net/best-cloud-storage-for-families/ ) And maybe there are more. Those are the ones recently rated and promoted…the key is the sharing element. Some are free, some have free trials, and yes, others have a monthly fee…but maybe you can share that, depending on how you hatch your cloud sharing plan. But moving forward, I think a lot of my photos, old and new, will be shared…somewhere in the cloud…not just on Facebook or on my phone…and may be you’re way ahead of me….do you already store photos in the cloud? On a shared site? It’s new to me….so sorry I didn’t think of it earlier!