In this episode of “The Photo Detective,” host Maureen Taylor welcomes Kendall Hewlett, CEO of Storied.com, to discuss the revolutionary platform that transforms family history into captivating storytelling. Kendall shares his inspiration for creating Storied.com and how it fills a crucial gap in the family history industry by emphasizing the importance of storytelling over mere data collection.

• Inspiration Behind Storied.com: Kendall Hewlett created the platform to focus on the storytelling aspect of family history, inspired by research showing that knowledge of family stories increases resilience in children.
• Unique Features: Storied.com offers an end-to-end family history platform where users can build family trees, document stories, and produce hardbound books.
• Storytelling Focus: The platform emphasizes creating bite-sized, engaging stories that are easier to digest and more appealing than lengthy tomes.
• Community and Relationships: Storied.com maps out not only family relationships but also significant non-blood connections, enhancing the storytelling experience.
• User Engagement: Users can create private or public groups, share stories, and invite family members to contribute, making it a collaborative effort.
• Advanced Tools: The platform includes AI-assisted writing tools, audio transcription, and a growing database of historical records and newspapers.

Related Episodes:

Episode 235: Exploring Ancestry.com’s New Photo and Storytelling Features with Crista Cowan

Episode 221:Permanent Digital Storage Solutions with Tammy Kirby of Forever.com

Links:

• Storied.com
• Sign up for my newsletter.
• Watch my YouTube Channel.
• Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.
• Need help organizing your photos? Check out the Essential Photo Organizing Video Course.
• Need help identifying family photos? Check out the Identifying Family Photographs Online Course.
• Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.

About My Guest:

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen Taylor, The Photo DetectiveTM helps clients with photo related genealogical problems. Her pioneering work in historic photo research has earned her the title “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal and appearances on The View, The Today Show, Pawn Stars, and others.   Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

The post Episode 237: How Storied.com Transforms Family History into Captivating Stories appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

Today, I am thrilled to have Crista Cowan, Ancestry.com’s Corporate Genealogist, also known as “The Barefoot Genealogist” on YouTube, as our guest. Crista has been a pivotal figure at Ancestry, helping countless people uncover their family histories. In our conversation, we explore the latest developments at Ancestry.com, focusing on their new photo and storytelling features. We discuss how these tools are revolutionizing the way people organize, share, and discover their family stories. Whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or just starting out, this episode is packed with valuable insights and tips.

• Ancestry’s New Features
  • Discussion on the importance of photos and storytelling at Ancestry.
  • Introduction of the “Memories” feature, previously known as “Storymaker Studio.”
• Photo Management Enhancements
  • Explanation of the need for better photo management tools.
  • Overview of the new Albums feature and its benefits for users.
• User Interaction and Success Stories
  • How users have responded to the new features.
  • Examples of creative uses of the Albums feature.
• Collaboration and Privacy
  • Details on how users can share and collaborate on photo albums.
  • Privacy settings and sharing options on Ancestry.
• Integration with Family Trees
  • How the new photo features integrate with family tree building.
  • Tagging photos to multiple people and organizing them effectively.
• Pro Tools and Additional Features
  • Introduction to Ancestry’s Pro Tools.
  • Overview of Pro Tools features: Error Checker, Fan Chart, Charts and Reports, Map Feature.
• Public and Private Trees
  • Explanation of privacy settings for trees and photos.
  • Future plans for more granular privacy controls.
• Staying Updated and Legal Considerations
  • How to keep up with new developments at Ancestry.
  • Discussion on copyright considerations for uploaded photos.
• Upcoming Projects
  • Crista’s upcoming podcast, “Stories That Live In Us.”
  • The podcast’s focus on family stories and its goal to attract a new audience to genealogy.

Related Episodes:

Episode 184: Byte4Byte: Permanent.org’s Grant Program for Non-Profits 

Episode 180: Photos, Memories, and English Genealogy with Emma Jolly 

Links:

• Sign up for my newsletter.
• Watch my YouTube Channel.
• Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.
• Need help organizing your photos? Check out the Essential Photo Organizing Video Course.
• Need help identifying family photos? Check out the Identifying Family Photographs Online Course.
• Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.

About My Guest:

Crista Cowan has been employed by Ancestry.com since 2004; her involvement in family history, however, reaches all the way back to childhood. From being parked under a microfilm reader at the Family History Library in her baby carrier to her current career as a professional genealogist, Crista has spent thousands of hours discovering, documenting, and telling family stories.

During her time at Ancestry, she has been a European Content Acquisition Manager, the Digital Preservation Indexing Manager, and the Community Alliance Manager for the Ancestry World Archives Project. For the past several years she has been the Corporate Genealogist, with responsibilities for speaking and teaching at genealogy conferences around the world and helping with family history research for public relations stories. Known online as “The Barefoot Genealogist” with a weekly internet show designed to help people discover their family history.

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective^Òhelps clients with photo related genealogical problems. Her pioneering work in historic photo research has earned her the title “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal and appearances on The View, The Today Show, Pawn Stars, and others.   Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

The post Episode 235:Exploring Ancestry.com’s New Photo and Storytelling Features with Crista Cowan appeared first on Maureen Taylor.