With the busy schedules that most of us experience today, we are prone to missing out on events that were once of utmost importance. Family gatherings fall by the wayside, replaced by that important meeting. Graduations of extended families are sometimes difficult to attend, with the scheduling and expense of long distance travel. Worst of all, everyday stories of our loved ones are often never heard, sometimes due only to the cost of long distance calls.

However, we are living in the age of the Internet, where people can instantly exchange information. This is a time when you can a take a photo one minute, and have it on the other side of the world in that same minute. However, sharing through email can never fully show the pride and joy of your families, and the range of media technology. There is no better way to proudly display yourselves and your families then through personal web sites. With personal web sites, you can display videos, audio files, pictures, and journals. Announcements can be made by the click of a mouse and news heard by just hitting enter.

Personal web sites used for family and extended family use should have have the capabilities to retain all forms of media. It’s best if you have a high speed internet connection, because this will cut your work and loading time in half.

First off, you’ll want to map out the look and feel of your personal web site. Do you want sections for each family member such as “Penelope’s blog, Photo album, and videos” or do you want broader areas in which the whole family can contribute, like “ Smith family photo album, Smith Family blog”?

For basic personal web sites, you should have a section devoted to a journal. Here, you can chronicle family events and milestones. You can talk about your child’s graduation, a new car, a new job, weddings, birthdays, and urgent news. This online journal, also known as a blog, is open to your entire family. If you install a Comment Box, you can even have other visitor’s opinions, congratulations, and comments posted alongside your blog entry. This blog can also contain photos of all those events that you cherish.

However, you might want an entire section devoted to photographs. A photo album section is the perfect addition to personal web sites. With it, your extended family will always feel as though they were there. Photos should always be categorized, such as “summer vacation 2006”, “Sue’s graduation” or “Sarah’s new car”

Video can also be part of personal web sites. With a simple camera phone, you can record and share every event that you previously could only wish the rest of your family could have seen. If done properly, you can accumulate enough videos to create a video diary.

For a final word on personal web sites, why not add some audio? A little background music adds a nice touch. Now its time for you to decide….