Print them or lose them

I recently discovered a photograph taken during World War II.  My mother, her sister and brother were in the photo.  The photo was lost until it fell out of an old book while I was rearranging my bookcase.

                  This brought to mind the thousands of photos taken every day by the public on their cell phones. At family gatherings, you’ll see the passing of a cell phone to show the latest treasured moment captured by their device and being stored in the Cloud.

                  Like my World War II photo, will you still be able to access that photo 80 years from now?  I don’t think so. The Cloud promises nothing.  If it’s lost, it’s lost. They are not responsible for your photos. 

                  Years ago, home photos and films were transferred to VHS tapes.  Some actually instructed the transferring company to throw out the original material after the transfer.  VHS is gone and so are the photos and films that were transferred. Don’t let this happen to you. I know I must sound like a dinosaur, but I suggest going old school and have those special photos printed and make actual photo albums.  They will last for years, and as a bonus, additional prints can be made and shared by everyone. The bottom line, no electronic device will be needed to access and view your priceless photos.

 Your family will thank you for passing the photo album rather than people squeezing to see your cell phone screen that’s only a few inches square.