Are you dying to see photos of your niece's new baby? Or perhaps you want to invite relatives to a family reunion this summer. One of your cousins is really handy with a video camera and you hear he's got hilarious footage of his last birthday party, but when will you really see him next? You wanted to begin creating family tree charts, but you need access to the collective knowledge of the family patriarchs and matriarchs to get started. A great way to keep in touch with family members, share information and start a family tree is to sign everyone up at www.myfamily.com, where you can customize your own family site for free!

There are a number of great functions at the MyFamily site. The "Discussions" section is the most popular area because it lets family members add news, history, recipes, reviews, discussion forums and other messages to share with family members. Many people love the photo and video uploads as well, which allow a set limit of storage space for each family member each month. You can begin a family tree online with the "Trees" section, where everyone can contribute what they know. "Photo Stories" is a fun section, where you can look at a picture that seemingly "says it all," but also get the fun story behind it for added clarity. The "People" section acts as a quick reference contact list for updates and event planning, which by the way is facilitated by the convenient "Events" section. As you can see there is much to do at this free family social networking site!

At first glance, this site may not look like much compared to other social networking sites. That's because the site developers are working on the new 2.5 version, which is set to debut very soon! You can already see previews of what your new Family Histories site will look like at www.blog.myfamily.com/?p=149. Instead of being a gray welcome page, the new homepage will be a collection of recently uploaded photos, videos, slide-shows, comments and status updates. When members arrive, they can quickly see what the whole family has been talking about and join in on the conversation! Undoubtedly, there will be a number of changes to come as the site administrators take user comments into consideration to improve the look and feel of the page.

"We should keep in touch more often." How many times have you heard that at family gatherings? Now, with MyFamily, you have a wonderful resource for making it happen! You'll likely learn so much more about your family members, like who has a talent for photography or who the master storyteller is in the family. You will finally get your hands on some of those delicious family recipes and get to know the quieter members of your family a little bit better. Weddings, new babies and other life events will unfold before your eyes as family histories get recorded in real time! You can't guarantee that everyone will be as actively involved as you are, but creating the site opens doors for you to become a closer family than ever before.

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