What I've learned following years of research:
NO ONE CARES. HARSH?
What I've found for most families who have history available online no matter the volume like my link above or if it's only a family tree or maybe a few photos or documents... few care.
If it's a paid service whereby you can only view the information by subscribing NO ONE pays. The person who is paying to create what can often be a wealth of unknown history (as above) is usually the only person who sees it.
WHY? Simple. Read on...
EVERYTHING IS FREE. Just click the link above & you'll understand. But FREE doesn't mean SEE. Making it ALL FREE doesn't generate the interest it should.
Here's the problem...
When researching family generally most relatives found have since passed away or of an age where they are not online or to a much lesser degree.
The very people who would enjoy history most are either deceased or too old to view it. But I also found showcasing documents or articles, images & videos of those younger be it in their 20's-70's generated only slightly more interest but that too quickly subsided.
If you don't view history that is of YOU who is?
As generations pass the further away the next generation gets from their family history.
CASE IN POINT
My grandchildren never knew mine or my wifes parents. They would be their great grandparents but no matter how many photos or stories shared with them, they're just kids. Their world is made up of playing, playing, having snacks & playing. They have no connection to their great grandparents.
Once the physical connection is lost the greater the disconnect.
We live in a society where every second is captured & is as quickly buried by the next post. We have never had more archiving history than we now do & that's the problem.
IT'S ALL ABOUT NOW & NOW BECOMES THE PAST.... RIGHT NOW.
You no sooner post to any one of the social media platforms & your post is HISTORY seconds later buried by millions of others posting about themselves & by yourself as you post again & again &....
Lastly most reading this only have images/videos stored only on their phone &/or on a social media platform. One hack & they're gone. One issue with your phone & they're gone. No one is taking photos with a film camera or using a movie film or video camera.
There is no proof backed up means saved. It is more than likely decades from now photos & videos taken today will not open even when stored on the best of back up drives as the drive itself or its platform will long be outdated & no longer compatible. Or maybe it would've worked had it not been left for decades in the damp basement, garage, attic...
One corrupt file can infect every file or the drive itself making external drive data unreadable. Video files are most likely not going to playback.
NOTHING compares to the physical
As a collector of history I've held in my hands documents from the 1600s, photos from the 1800s & home movies from the 1920s. No one is "holding,"any image or video in their hands now& without physical evidence we're history.
