Scrapbook Solution

If you treasure family memorabilia with Scrooge-like tenacity, LifeSketch.com has a unique, safe way to preserve and share your memories online.

Launched in April, LifeSketch.com <www.lifesketch.com> lets you click to create a multimedia scrapbook. The site gives step-by-step instructions for digitizing and uploading images and designing colorful pages in your custom SketchBook. Then relatives and friends can go online and view at their leisure, without waiting for the family reunion.

You can organize, save and share individual photos, documents, sound bites and video clips on Lifesketch. com’s secure, backed-up server. Other family members and friends can search what you’ve saved and even tailor their own SketchBooks to their liking. “We tried to combine the better elements out there — traditional scrapbooking, online photo hosting and packaged software programs,” says founder Michael Smith.

PC-compatible software (downloadable for free on the site) enables you to easily crop, restore and enhance photos. Mac users can upload through their Web browser until compatible software is available. Unlike some photo sites, you can use files in their original formats.

LifeSketch is easy to use even if you’re not a Web whiz or designer. It also provides privacy that regular Web pages don’t — only those with your permission can view your collection. Other features, such as themed SketchBook templates, custom calendars and holiday cards, are coming soon.

From the October 2000 issue of Family Tree Magazine