Being a parent in the digital age is wild. I mean, I can take thousands of photos without even a thought of film processing costs, my toddler can watch videos of himself immediately after we shoot them, and virtually everything in existence can be found on the internet with just the click of a button — or swipe of a finger. (I am fascinated by what all of this instant access and feedback means for a developing kid’s brain, but I digress…)
However, the sheer volume of content can be daunting. What do I do with all of it? It’s a smart bet to take a lesson from the generations before and create a hard copy so that we (and future we’s) can enjoy it the old-fashioned way. (Because seriously, do we really think that USB as we know it is going to be around in 2043? We all know that DVDs have already started their descent from relevancy.)
But in the meantime, before I go printing every photo on my computer, I want to capture my rapidly-growing toddler’s experiences and organize the ones that mean the most. For that, there’s “*Notabli.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notabli-story-your-kids./id580644870?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
“*Notabli,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notabli-story-your-kids./id580644870?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 just released on Monday, is an app designed for parents who want to capture their kids’ “notable moments.” As they put it: “Notabli is all about kids and their amazing stories, filtered through the lens of their parents.”
At first glance, the interface reminded me of a mashup between “*Tumblr*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/images/3352.png and “*Instagram,*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/images/3351.png which speaks to its clean design and simple layout for its main categories: photos, videos, audio, quotes and text. Users can ‘favorite’ and comment on posts, enhance photos with built-in effects, upload videos, add audio, or a particularly special quote or piece of text with ease.
So what makes it different? For starters, the notion of privacy. Notabli is built around the concept that not all parents want to share private details of their childrens’ lives on Facebook or Twitter (though that’s not to say that they __can’t__ — Notabli includes exports for both networks, should you want to). Parents have total control over what others see — since the user who created the account is the only one who can give permission to view or comment on their child’s timeline, it creates a selective, customized, and ultimately, safe environment for their content.
Interestingly, the only part that has seemed awkward initially actually stems from the supreme privacy measures — we are almost conditioned to overshare in social media, so it feels a little odd not to have much activity or interaction in my timeline. So far, I’ve posted a few milestones, but I expect to add a lot more after my son’s birthday next week to further test sharing and invite controls.
Notabli isn’t the first app of its kind — “*23snaps*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/23snaps/id526481189?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 and “*Everyme*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/everyme/id494728164?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30 do similar things — and it won’t be the last, but the concept and execution is exactly what I was looking for. It is a free public beta at the moment, though the developers have noted that they intend to introduce a premium version at some point in the future.
Bottom line: If you have kids and an iDevice, check it out. It’s the simplest way to record your child’s life so that you can get back to what matters most: making memories.
*Compatibility:* iOS 6+ on iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad.
*Cost:* Free while in beta. “*Download here.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notabli-story-your-kids./id580644870?mt=8%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
__Full disclosure: Though I was looking for an app like this to try anyway, one of the best things about Notabli is that it was developed largely in Burlington, VT. Among the people the developers thanked? None other than friend and former Small Dogger, Ed Shepard! The opinions stated here are my own, and weren’t influenced by Ed in any way. At least he told me to say that.__
