Family Time

Late November means many things in Tucson. The impending route of ASU, cooling weather, and the anticipation of turkey aromas lingering in the air. It also means family and sometimes disorganized family gatherings. Family will always be family, but there are a few tech solutions to help make family time a little less unorganized.
Famundo.com is a good tool for families, especially those separated by long distances. It is an online calendar, but it has more family friendly features than those of other free online calendars like Google. It offers the same ability to limit access to who can and can’t view the information in the family account, and what everyone’s schedule looks like. In addition to providing a calendar that every member of the family can access and update, it also has several features that make it stand out. The first two are the list manager and message board. These areas can allow family members to plan what items they need to bring to a family function. To do lists and reminders that can be sent to family members can reduce miscommunication when planning a family function.
The last three features are definitely about family building and sharing information. When I am at family gatherings and I am reconnecting with relatives that I haven’t seen for awhile, we always seem to become engrossed in a conversation where it ends with “I’ll email it to you”. More often than not, there are other family members there who want me to send them a copy also. The family library feature of Famundo allows you to do just that. It is a centralized location within the family’s account where any member can load various types of documents.
The scan to web feature of this website is a good fit for it’s family library function. This means that you can scan old, rare, or new family pictures into the family library and share it with all of your family. I personally like this because it is a good way to preserve and pass on family information and heritage. The family vault feature of Famundo allows family members to save digital copies of sensitive family documents behind layers of encryption for protection. I imagine this could come in handy in case of fire or theft. This could be a good location for copies of your family’s birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and treasure maps.
After you have been surrounded by your family and feasted on some good grub, there is only one thing left to do. Get the recipes. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not learn any of my grandmother’s recipes. With tastebook.com your grandmother can upload her recipes online herself. Even if you don’t have any recipes of your own, you can add recipes from tastebook.com’s recipe database. An added bonus is that the recipes can be compiled into book form and printed for about $40 for 100 recipes.