Smile Like You Mean It: Back-Them-Up or Smack Yourself!

My husband and I are far from technologically savvy; in fact if we were rated on a scale ranging from inept to genius we’d be two clicks up from the former… Well, to be fair we have both learned how to maneuver our way around the world of technology in the areas we are most interested in – for Matt that’s music, and for me it is photography (and now blogging). A couple years ago we acquired an external hard drive from a friend and backed up all our IMPORTANT pictures, videos and music – that was a real PAT-ON-THE-BACK kind of move in our opinion.

I don’t know if we have bad luck or we’re just morons, but despite our vigorous efforts to protect our life-moments and music (less important in my opinion), we’ve ran into quite a few problems – which eventually lead to us losing everything, thanks to an old computer that practically crumbled to dust before our eyes and a not-so-trustworthy external hard drive. This would be a big “bummer” if it were just pictures of pre-baby life, but because 99% of those lost videos and photos are of our son “bummer” is much too mild of a word to use, more like “life shattering” I’d say!

Now, as we are facing this awful predicament we are learning some very important lessons.

1. Burn a CD every month or so as a hard copy backup (don’t be lazy and put it off).

2. Uploading pictures to Facebook provides a convenient (though not the most reliable) backup - This has been my saving grace.

3. Store websites that offer online printing is a great way to backup your photos. I use Walgreens- it has awesome online deals, it’s super convenient with a baby and the photos are great quality.

4. Actually PRINT your photos – the longer you wait, the more photos you have, the more overwhelmed you become, the more $$$ it will cost to print etc…

5. Data recovery is expensive with no guarantees (there isn’t a magic little leprechaun that crawls into your computer and saves your treasured data).

6. There are online data backup programs that are ridiculously affordable and easy to use (nice to know now).

So let my mistakes be a lesson to you – print those pictures and burn those CD’s... Because technology will fail you, and when it does you should be able to laugh in its face and say, “Ha! Nice try, but I’m one step ahead!”

Also, if there are older family pictures that you adore but they belong to a family member, don’t hesitate to ask to make a copy (and back it up). You’ll want those photos in a memory box – someday your kids should have the opportunity to see them.

Here are a couple cherished shots that I’ve managed save from my own destruction: