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Unshackle Your Family History With WeAre.xyz

3 Jul 2023 5:44 PM | Anonymous

I haven't had a chance to use this new web site yet but the advertisements and reports from early users sound great. Here is some of the promotional claims from the site: https://weare.xyz/:

Free your stories from outdated technology and paper files, inspire your family with a living online archive.

We've made it so easy. Establish an interactive archive at the heart of your family.

Create your online site with ease Our super simple interactive tree builder. Automatically organizes your site (built by a GEDCOM in seconds).

Showcase your story like never before. Create, curate and enrich a kaleidoscope of captivating artefacts, photos, videos & stories.

Engage family to ensure your story is passed on. Ask for help to fill in the gaps, and even see relatives record their own lives as children and adults.

Interactive Archive Builder: At its core, We Are [...] is an online Family History content management system complete with one of the most advanced family tree indexing and display engines developed to date

Family Involvement & Personalisation:

  • Personalised access for each relative,
  • Freedom to contribute and collaborate,
  • 'Ask family' button on every page,
  • Comment threads under all content items,
  • Share to social media and messaging


Effortless Backups for Peace of Mind

We Are [...] is a well organised online repository for all your family history related materials. With a click, you (and your family) can download everything into folders on your hard drive which mirror you website sections. Content is repeated in all relevant folders for ease of access.

As well as media files, this offline backup contains print ready pdfs of all your articles and trees, so you have the added benefit of being able to create physical copies.

Simply uploading content onto your We Are [...] site sorts and organises it in an easy to understand structure. No more anxiety about others needing to access your hard drive, locate and comprehend your research.

Summary of benefits

The moment family members join your shared family archive, you have already started passing the baton and sharing stewardship of your family history.

Automatic and very clear organisation of content into folders that will make sense to relatives.

Family can download directly, removing complication of sharing and distributing hard drive based content.

Online content can be extracted in print ready PDFs, offering the added security of generating physical copies.


WeAre.xyz is a commercial web site and charges fees for its services. However, the first 30 days are available free of charge so you get a good chance to try it out and see how you mike it at no charge.

Fees vary from free (with up to 100 megabytes of storage space) up to $19/95 a month (or $199 a year if paid 12 months in advance) for unlimited storage space. 

The site also contains a vast family tree spanning most, if not all of the royal families of Europe going back to before the time of William the Conqueror. The tree and site are constantly being refined and updated; the further back you go the more raw the data. You can use the free site all you want at no charge.

There is a lot more information to absorb at: https://weare.xyz/. You might especially want to read the Frequently-Asked Questions at https://weare.xyz/faqs/


Comments

  • 4 Jul 2023 8:48 PM | Anonymous
    Hi Dick,

    I was asked to be an early tester for We Are. I considered whether I even wanted to invest my time on a new website, but on my first run through what was going to be offered, the answer was a resounding yes.

    I have been focused on creating a legacy plan for all my accumulated family history research and possessions the past few years. I have taken on multiple subscriptions to photo storage sites, sites where I could semi-archive stories based on a minimal family tree, a blog site, and an attempt at a personal website. None of them measured up to what I really wanted. We Are is that fusion of all of the pieces I had been pursuing. It isn't a research site, it is an archiving site.

    We Are allows me not only the versatility of having every thing "under one roof" for uncomplicated access but lets me tie all of my research together in multiple levels. I can integrate my family tree with written articles featuring my family and its history utilizing photos, documents, locations, special occasions, and heirloom artefacts. Every day that I incorporate more of my personal archive into We Are, I am increasingly seeing opportunities to share family history in ways that will be accessible and enjoyed by family and descendants.

    One of my biggest Aha! moments with We Are was seeing how I can also incorporate living history moments alongside those of bygone times. I am able to hand down the stories and images of my family's modern life at the same time, and in similar ways, that I wish my ancestors had been able to pass on their experiences. That alone, encourages me to write stories about the present in addition to those of the distant past.

    I really do encourage people to check it out for the free 30 days. Particularly pay attention to the videos showing many of the things you will be able to do on We Are. There is nothing else anywhere close to similar.
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  • 5 Jul 2023 4:17 AM | Anonymous
    I have published a family history book in the past, and am aware of how quickly it becomes less than it should be, with increased availability of records and changes to the family. Other online sites require viewers to be members, and make collaboration hard, or are limited in their presentation of stories or of the research behind them. This is the first time I have been tempted to "publish" online and I do hope the relatives, both close and distant, will visit and want to collaborate. It's simple yet comprehensive and the support is second to none. And it's constantly evolving, harnessing users suggestions and the latest in technology and in telling history. You lose nothing by trying it out. 5 stars from me.
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