Why YOU need a memories hub!
The dictionary defines a hub as the effective center of an activity, region, or network. Your memories hub is the place that ALL of your photos, videos, and documents are stored. This blog will break down the who, what, when, where, and why of the memories hub!
Who should have a memories hub?
For any person, family, or business keeping track of their history is important. This is the one place where everything is kept telling your story.
What should be kept in a memories hub
Photos
Current photos
- most likely taken with your phone(s)
Digital photos from other digital cameras
- taken on a DSLR or mirrorless camera (the big camera or real camera)
- taken on a digital camera from the last 20 years
- taken by a professional that you have the copyright and were shared with you
Older images
- printed photos that have been scanned to share and preserve easily
- slides that have been digitized
- negatives that have been converted
Videos
Current videos
- most likely recorded with your phone(s)
Digital photos from other digital cameras
- recorded on a DSLR or mirrorless camera (the big camera or real camera)
- recorded on a digital camera from the last 20 years
- recorded by a professional that you have the copyright and were shared with you
Digitized old media
- VHS
- Film reels (not the kind on Instagram)
- Any older media that you no longer have the equipment to play
Documents (pdfs, word documents, spreadsheets)
- Family Trees
- Newspaper clippings
- Memorabilia
- Anything that tells your story that is not a photo or a video
When should you create and add to your memories hub
Now
I think you should set up your own memories hub today. This is as simple as creating a folder on your computer or external hard drive (more on this later) that is called YOUR LAST NAME Memories Hub.
It will take a while to get everything into one spot in the hub but you can take little steps or devote a day to adding everything to the hub. I actually recommend a “working hub” for when you are consolidating everything.
Monthly
If you take 100 photos or more a month, I recommend that set up a reminder to add your phone photos to your memories hub
Quarterly
If you take only a few photos each month, you can move things into your less often but should still be on a regular basis
Special events
- Vacations
- Weddings
- Parties
- Basically, any time you have taken lots of photos (this is different for everyone)
Upon receipt of items from others
- Scanned photos or other digitized media
- Shared from a special event (so I don’t have to find the link over and over)
- Anytime you have something you need or want to add
Where you should keep your memories hub
Your memories hub should be kept on your primary computer or on an external hard drive.
- It can easily be backed up (meaning that 3-2-1 can be accomplished)
- It can be accessed offline
- Metadata can be added and retained (captions, keywords, etc)
- Files can be renamed
- Duplicates can be removed in bulk
- You have total control
Cloud services are NOT ideal for your memories hub. Only use a cloud service where you can maintain the files on your computer when you are offline. For example: if you are an Apple user and have all your photos in iCloud and synced with your Mac (not optimized) your memory hub can be in iCloud. My memories hub is in Dropbox and can be accessed by any of my devices BUT all of my photos are synced to my PC and are available offline and therefore backed up the Backblaze.
This does not mean that you can’t use a photo-sharing site like Google Photos, Amazon Photos, SmugMug, Flickr, etc. (this list could go on and on) These sites all have a place but should be used for sharing only AFTER the photos are in your hub.
Here is one of my favorite external hard drives (EHD) and my favorite external solid-state drive (SSD).
Why YOU need a Memories Hub
If your memories are important to you, a memories hub will give you peace of mind!
- You know that all your photos/videos/documents are in one place
- You have a simple backup plan (3-2-1) that is easy to maintain that allows you to know your memories are safe no matter what
- You can leave a legacy for your family without worrying about subscription payments and passwords
When will you be setting up your memories hub?
If you need more guidance, check out HOPEkeeping! In the first lesson, I share why and how to set up your hub. If you are looking for one-to-one help or for someone else to set this up for you, schedule a Free Consultation with Lisa today!
Blog published on October 10, 2022
Updated on July 7, 2023
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We use Photos for Mac for everything that is coming in now. However, I have lots of older photos that are printed, and some media that we’ve been transferring from analog to digital. It is a lot of work. While I love the photos and movies, I do think we have too much.
Unfortunately, this is an easy task to procrastinate. I love the idea of having a hub!
I transfer all my photos and videos to my laptop and into folders. So that part of the memory hub is great. I am going to think about a folder on my computer for documents or certificates. They are on paper right now. I think if it is altogether my family would enjoy looking at it. If they have to find it all they might get frustrated.
Great advice! Photos are the bane of my organizing existence. I have 45+ years of prints, a decade of digital photos, and almost 7 years of iPhone-taken photos. The digital photos taken on a camera are on my Mac, backed up to Backblaze and an external hard drive. Everything taken since 2016 is backed up to Photos for Mac, but I’ve yet to find a satisfying method for downloading and storing unoptimized photos from the camera that isn’t labor intensive.