ML Interest Tag: social-network

The Best Family Photo-Sharing Apps

by Kipp Jarecke-Cheng

With so many families spread across the globe, parents are craving ways to safely share photos and memories. If you’re looking to avoid social media, but still want to document your littles growing up then keep scrolling. We’ve rounded up some of the best family photo-sharing apps out there!

Tinybeans

parent apps

The Tinybeans platform offers parents a private space to to share photos, milestones and other moments with their children amongst family and friends in a private social network. The modern family album app gives parents a happy space to enjoy their children's life stories with family. Effortlessly organize pics, videos & milestones, print cute keepsakes, and share with family in one safe space off social media. Parents can check it out with a free trial, and purchase premium subscriptions and photo books.

Available: tinybeans.com, iOS and Android

23Snaps

Created by parents for parents, 23Snaps is a well-made, private photo-sharing app and web service that lets you share family pics in a private and safe way. Designed to work like a digital photo journal that can be viewed by as few or as many friends and family of your choosing, the app lets parents document and share all of the special and not-so-special moments of their children’s lives. Parents also can add captions and stories to still photos and videos. Moments can be viewed through the mobile app as well as via web or e-mail. A useful feature lets parents share a single connected account, while neat photo filters and frames make jazzing up any pic or vid a snap.

Free for iOS, Android and Windows.

blipo

If you don’t want pics of your kids floating around the Interwebs (even behind private photo-sharing accounts), but you still want to share high-quality digital photos of them with friends and family, the blipo app provides a fast and private way to do so. Forget about e-mailing low-resolution pics, users can transfer full, high-resolution pics with blipo simply by tapping together two iOS devices while both are running the app. Using a patented technology called RedEye, blipo also lets users quickly and easily share text messages and e-mails.

Free for iOS.

Cluster

Built around sharing pics among small groups or creating private albums for special occasions, Cluster is an app that privacy-inclined parents can get behind. The app’s intuitive interface will feel familiar to Facebook and Twitter users, with its standard notifications, comments and like functions. Cluster’s closed environment means parents always know exactly who they’re sharing photos and videos with. Like most other social platforms, however, in order to be part of a Cluster, all users need to have the app installed on their mobile devices to view what’s being shared.

Free for iOS and Android.

Daily Kiddo

Featured among iTunes App Store’s Best New Apps, Daily Kiddo lets users share photos and videos only with the people who really want to see every single one (I’m talking to you, Grandma Melissa). Using the app is simple: create a private digital scrapbook for each kid, invite friends and family to view the album, then share away! By limiting the audience and focusing on a single topic, i.e., one kiddo at a time, users avoid deluging their regular social feeds like Facebook with too many kid pics and Grandma Melissa gets to see her grandkids every day, if she wants.

Free for iOS.

Google Photos

For the more than one billion Google users worldwide, Google Photos is a no-brainer that serves as an excellent all-in-one photo storage, editing and sharing app. With free unlimited cloud storage that can handle high-resolution images up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p HD, photos can be accessed from any mobile device and on the web. If you’re running out of space on your mobile device, photos can be securely backed up to your free Google account on the web. Advanced editing options lets users apply filters or adjust almost any part of an image. Best of all, sharing is simple, and the app lets you share either an individual pic or up to 1,500 pics at once.

Free for iOS and Android.

Notabli

Unlike many social media sites that can be about over-sharing family photos, Notabli takes the opposite approach, allowing users to strictly limit what they share and with whom they are sharing. In addition to sharing photos and videos of your kids, you also can collaboratively save and share audio recordings, notes and quotes with each post. The app makes it simple to create a single collection of pics and vids of any kid’s special moments. There’s even a subscription option that lets users automatically print collections of kid photos in premium hardcover books ($39 per book, which includes 50 photos). Other notable perks include unlimited photo storage and an ad-free environment.

Free for iOS and Android, with in-app purchases.

Photo Butler

Photo Butler lets users share pics in real time, creating a private photo stream that’s viewable by invitation only. Rather than having to snap a pic, then post it to a social media account or photo-sharing platform, this app does all of the work automatically. Users can set duration for a photo stream, i.e., a baby shower or birthday party, then invite friends and family to view or contribute to the stream. The updated version of the app includes a slideshow tutorial, updated designs and enlarged photo size for improved image quality.

Free for iOS.

—Kipp Jarecke-Cheng

All photos: Courtesy of apps/Feature photo: Matthew Henry via Burst

 

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How to Find Your Perfect Moms Group

By Amanda Ramirez

So, you just had a baby. Congratulations! Or you’ve decided to be a stay-at-home mom. It’s really great at first! Plenty of time to savor special moments with your child. You can get tasks done, and maybe have a little time for yourself. But all those hours alone with your kiddo are starting to get, well…boring.

You need to join a Moms group. Why? You need social interaction, parenting help and play opportunities for your child. But how do you find the right group for you?

Here are some tips to find the perfect Moms group, for you and your children.

1. Consider Your Interests: Think about your interests and the unique things about you, so you know where to find other moms like yourself. Is fitness important to you? Then look for a local stroller jogging group, or Mommy and Me Yoga program.

Are you a person of faith? There are lots of clubs sponsored by local churches, or groups that are faith-based, like MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).

Is there something special about your family or kids and you’d love to meet others like you? Mom to multiples? Try Multiples of America. There are often groups that cater to each unique situation.

2. Location is Important: Once you think about the type of club you’d like to join, keep the location in mind as well. It’s helpful to join a group that meets close to you, to make getting together as easy as possible. The reality is that it’s already a challenge to pack your diaper bag, get kids out the door and make it someplace on time. (or close to on time). The closer your group meets to your home, the better.

Some mom groups are designed exactly this way. MOMS Club, International prides itself on being a local, neighborhood group. Chapters are divided geographically, sometimes into small sections in highly populated areas. Closer proximity means it’s easy to meet, and you already have things in common because you live nearby. You share the same parks and know where the closest Chick Fil A is. And later, your kids may attend the same elementary schools and they’ll start kindergarten with friends!

3. Turn to Technology: Sometimes you can’t find the group of moms you click with, or you may have another challenge such as living in a rural area. You can always go online and find or create your own group. Sites like Meetup and Nextdoor can easily put you in touch with existing groups or moms near you. Facebook also has a variety of groups, and there are apps to make finding mom friends much easier.

·       Peanut-similar to Tinder, but for moms-is a great way to connect with moms who think like you do.

·       Mom.life, a global social network with its own digital currency!

·       Hello Mamas, is also an easy way to make friends and share this thing called motherhood.

You’ve chosen an amazing path-to focus on raising your kids above all else. (at least temporarily) But you can’t do it alone!

Join a Moms group to make the journey easier. Your family and your sanity will thank you.

This post originally appeared on AmandaBRamirez.com.

Amanda is a freelance writer for hire in the travel and parenting fields. She is always looking for an adventure! Whether across town or across the globe. Her favorite adventure is being a mom to Maya and Samuel. Visit her blog at LoveLifeAdventure.com.

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6 Ways Kids Can Celebrate National Random Acts of Kindness Day

By Bert Pope

National Random Acts of Kindness Day is on February 18, 2020. Gestures of kindness can be anything from making a thank you card for someone, holding the door for a stranger and telling them to have a nice day. The day is also a great opportunity to show kids all the ways they can have fun creating and sharing kindness.

1. Help out a friend or neighbor anonymously. Make someone smile with no strings attached—shovel the snow from your neighbor’s sidewalk, or leave a basket of cookies just because, no thanks needed.

2. Be a baby/dog/cat-sitter for free. Many parents (of humans and fur babies) forego taking time out for themselves because sitters’ rates are often expensive. They will certainly appreciate your offer to look after their precious little ones without charge.

3. Bring out the chalk! Everybody loves to be appreciated and cheered. On a nice day, surprise someone with a special message using sidewalk art! You may never realize how much it lifts someone’s mood.

4. Make a “Kindness Jar.” Keep track of all acts of kindness with a “Kindness Jar.” Every time someone in your family does a random act of kindness, write it on a piece of paper with their name and put it in the jar. When it’s full, sort through it to see who was the kindest. Then, that person can pick an act of kindness that everyone else should do!

5. Celebrate a friend for being awesome. For older kids, text message friends and let them know they are special with a fun silly gif video or go to GiveAnAwesome.com and celebrate a person for being and doing something awesome. 

6. Create a “Kindness Challenge” from the AWESOME app. Entrepreneur and dad, Bert Pope, developed Awesome, The Social Network for Kindness, a free mobile application that’s also a game where your profile gets brighter and changes colors as you level up with acts of kindness. You can also use the “Kindness template,” and upload a photo or video clip, add a title and description for your “Kindness Challenge” and share it with all the users on AWESOME. Sharing and spreading kindness is, of course, awesome. 
 

Bert Pope, a father of four and the CEO of Awesome Company Worldwide, where he has launched the #BEAWESOME movement to make the world a better place.  Awesome is the social network for kindness, where members are encouraged and rewarded for doing and sharing acts of kindness in their daily lives. 

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Capture Your 2022 with These Easy Photo Books

by Kipp Jarecke-Cheng

Memories are important to capture and what better way to preserve them than in a gorgeous photo book? There will be smiles all around

Like most parents, you probably have a bajillion amazing photos of family and friends that you snapped on your smartphone or digital camera over the course of the year. Instead of relegating these precious memories to the digital confines of a phone or SD card, why not share your best pics IRL by creating photo books that everyone can enjoy. There are plenty of apps and online services that can help transform your digital library into elegant and shareable soft-or hard-cover books.

Artifact Rising

photo books

For photo book connoisseurs with more discerning tastes, Artifact Uprising’s photo book service offers gorgeously designed and well-made print photo books that’ll impress friends and family. Choose from a variety of elegant, non-customizable book templates and use the simple online tool to create stunning, archival-quality photo books. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, we really like Artifact Rising’s adorable baby board books, which start at $45 per book.

Related: 15 Genius Photo Hacks to Try This Holiday Season

Blurb

Best known as one of the Internet’s easiest-to-use on-demand, self-publishing book platforms, Blurb’s photo book service lets amateur and professional shutterbugs create high-quality photo books from their social media moments and pictures. The Blurb for iPhone & iPad app lets users create beautiful photo e-books or print books directly from their mobile devices while on the go.

Chatbooks

photo books
Chatbooks

For Instagram or Facebook power users, Chatbooks is an easy, fast and affordable way to create personalized photo books and albums with just a few clicks. Users can customize photo books using their Instagram or Facebook photo feeds for as little as $10 per individual book. Choose between well-designed 6"X6" or 8"X8" books, with free shipping for subscription plans and a hassle-free cancelation policy.

Google Photos

One of the biggest headaches of using an online service to create a photo book is sorting and uploading images. Google Photos has simplified the process of book creation by integrating a print service that allows users to select images straight from the Google Photos app that many people already use. Google Photos will even pre-sort events and recommend photo collections to make into books. Photo books start at $14.99 and are crafted from responsibly-sourced premium materials.

Related: 19 Ways to Turn Photos into Unique Personalized Gifts

Mixbook Photo Co.

photo books
Mixbook

Consistently ranking among the top five photo book websites and applications, Mixbook earns its excellent reputation from its versatile and easy-to-use web-based project software as well as from its affordable prices. With nearly 400 flexible themes, Mixbook offers customizable, high-quality photo books that stand out from the crowd.

Pinhole Press

Founded over 20 years ago as a platform to connect photographers to printers, Pinhole Press is an independent photo printing company that creates lovely photo books in a variety of shapes and sizes. We especially love their cute fabric-bound brag books, which lets users create accordion-style booklets with eight of their favorite photos, starting at $27.49 per book.

Printique

photo books
Printique

Formerly known as AdoramaPix and born out of renown New York camera-shop Adorama’s in-house print lab, Printique’s photo book service is designed for amateur and professional photographers who are looking for exacting attention to detail and high-quality printing. Premium photo books can be made with soft covers, fabric-clad hardcovers or even leather-bound or metal-cover books.

Related: 16 Tips for Taking Better Photos with Your iPhone

Motif Photos

If photography isn't your strong suit, but you love all things Apple products, Motif Photos might be the right service for you. Their Intelligent Image Selection technology will sort through all your images and select the ones with the best clarity, lighting, people, image orientation and more. It'll then help you flow through 80+ professional layouts to find the one that's best suited to the type of images found in your library. Plus, you can choose from a coffee table-style hardcover book or a smaller soft-back book to stash on the bookshelf. There are four different sizes for hard-back books and three different sizes for the more compact soft book.

Download on the App store.

Shutterfly

photo books
Shutterfly

As one of the original online photo book makers, Shutterfly continues to offer creative and affordable printed photo books that’ll suit the needs of many different customers. Users can choose from three service options: Make My Book, Custom Path or Simple Path. Whether you want Shutterfly to do all of the heavy lifting in creating your photo book or you want to have a little or a lot of control in your photo book design, Shutterfly’s easy-to-use interface, online editing tools and dozens of template designs make creating your perfect photo book a snap.

Snapfish

The three-step interface for  Snapfish's photo book service is simple and intuitive, so creating the perfect photo book is a breeze. Select a book size, choose a template, then customize to suit your tastes. While the software is simple to use, the print quality from Snapfish has received mixed reviews, ranging from adequate to disappointing for the price.

Tinybeans

How to Use Tinybeans Step 5 Create Photobooks
Tinybeans

The Tinybeans platform offers parents a private space to to share photos, milestones and other moments with their children amongst family and friends in a private social network. The modern family album app gives parents a happy space to enjoy their children's life stories with family. Effortlessly organize pics, videos & milestones, print cute keepsakes, and share with family in one safe space off social media.

 

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Study Says Kids Benefit When Their Moms Have Close Friends

by Shahrzad Warkentin

It’s easy to see why a strong support system of friends is important as a mom, especially when you have babies and young kids. However, new research shows the benefits of mom friends extend to your kids as well.

A new study conducted by Cornell University found that kids of moms who had strong social circles (aka an awesome mom tribe), scored higher on cognitive development tests, which measure language along with motor, socio-emotional and adaptive behaviors.

photo: Priscilla du Preez via Unsplash

The researchers believe the stronger scores could correlate with the fact that moms who have more close friends socialize more, which exposes their kids to more language and socialization early on. In other words the more time you spend chatting with your mom friends at the park, the more your kids pick up on.

Having a stronger social network could also mean that a mom feels more supported and less stressed and anxious, which could lead to improved parenting skills. Regardless of the reason, having great mom friends clearly has many benefits.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

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Instagram… for Kids? We Have Thoughts

by Shahrzad Warkentin

If your pre-tween is already hounding you to join social media, there is an app that allows you to come to a compromise you can all feel good about. The Kudos app aims to connect kids ages 8 to 13 in a safe and positive way.

From YouTube Kids to Facebook’s Messenger app for kids, social media for the playground set is making waves, but Kudos is adding a twist that is integral to teaching kids how to navigate the digital universe. On its surface, the app is an Instagram-like social network that allows kids to share pictures with friends and join groups based on their interests, like slime making and LEGO. The general idea is that they can make friends and share ideas and inspiring photos based on commonly shared interests.

photo: Kudos

Ultimately though, Kudos is so much more than another social media platform. With 24-hour moderators inspecting every post and comment, anything inappropriate or offensive is immediately removed. Beyond simply moderating negativity, the app has a no-bullying policy. The terms of use require users to “be positive, supportive and kind to others in the Kudos community.” Users should never post pictures that are “hurtful, violent or are racially offensive. A great rule is not to post anything your parents wouldn’t want you to post.”

Anyone breaking these rules will have their posts removed or accounts blocked or deleted. The idea is not only to give kids a safe, harassment-free space but to also encourage the next generation of Facebook and Instagram users to learn how to interact on social media in a positive way.

The Kudos app is free to download for iOs and Android, kids can set up an account, but require their parent’s permission to activate it through a two-step verification process. Parents also have the power to delete friends. Pictures can be shared with friends only or widely to a group.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured Photo: Pexels

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Awesome in the OC: Stephanie Grabske and Beth Gerhart

by writerredtri

As winners of last year’s Blue Shield We Shield Moms (formerly known as Moms on a Mission) Contest, Stephanie and Beth went on to create Trike 41, an awe-inspiring fundraising event where toddlers rally support for other kids’ fight against cancer.

We’re teaming up with Blue Shield of California to celebrate local Los Angeles moms who have inspired us to seek healthy, balanced lives.  First up:  Stephanie Grabske and Beth Gerhart of OC Mommies—the social network for new moms in Orange County.

Red Tricycle:  You’re part of a group of moms that are on a serious mission.  What’s yours?
Stephanie and Beth:   Our 2012 mission was establishing Trike 41—a tricycle event and rally of support for kids fighting cancer.

RT:  Love the name – and the idea!  What was your inspiration to start Trike 41?
S&B: The pediatric cancer statistics are alarming with more than 41 children diagnosed with cancer each day. Our group of moms and kids were inspired by a young girl in our community, Jessie Rees, who while fighting her own battle with cancer, focused on spreading hope, joy and love to other kids fighting cancer. The fundraising efforts from Trike 41 benefited her foundation, the Jessie Rees Foundation.

RT:  So Trike 41 was for the kids and by the kids, right? How did you involve them?
S&B: Yes! In the weeks leading up to the event, Orange County toddlers accepted donations for sponsorship in their participation in Trike 41. At the close of the event, 100 OC toddlers had raised over $10,000 for the Foundation. The funds went to create holiday JoyJars—a Jar of Joy (toys and games) created by the Jessie Rees Foundation’s Joy Factory— to give to kids fighting cancer.

RT:  With so many kids participating, any kid in particular say something funny or meaningful?
S&B: The kids had a blast the whole time. One child asked if they could put their own toys in the JoyJars to help make kids feel better.

Be Like Stephanie and Beth!  Blue Shield of California’s Wellness Challenge:
It doesn’t matter how big or small your service project is–you can make a big difference in your community.  So get the kids involved and allow them the opportunity to give back. Little people can do big things.  Be creative and have fun with it!

Blue Shield of California is an independent member of the Blue Shield of California.

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