Family and community history plays a pivotal role in the shared experience of the nation - but often the photos, documents, diaries and films which individuals have preserved over many years remain boxed away in attics and lofts, inaccessible to the wider public.
When Jane Smith, founder of www.sharehistory.org, inherited two boxes of photos and documents from her grandparents three years ago, she quickly decided that they were memories worth sharing. “There was a collection of photos from their time in India, together with other images taken during the 1880s and 1890s, and it occurred to me that there may be other members of the family who would like to see them, as would people with a general interest in history from that period, and doing so online would be ideal” she recalls.
The challenge was how best to provide this access, and having evaluated both existing history and image sharing websites, an idea developed which ultimately led to the creation of a entirely new business. “Wherever I looked online there were some shortcomings, ranging from not being able to post filmed content, to the approach of the main history sites which quickly look to charge people for access - I was determined that whatever historical content I provided should be free to everyone,” she said.
“I decided the only way to get round these issues was to create a service myself - and that’s when the concept of ShareHistory.org was born. The challenge I was faced with from that point onwards was finding a development partner who could offer the technical skills required to get the site up and running, but also deliver on time and on budget.”
The development of ShareHistory was not without it’s difficulties, and tough experiences with several developers eventually led Jane to 27stars, who focus on providing a development service which combines technical excellence with business acumen. “I was inexperienced in the challenges associated with web development and working with a developer, and in common with many startups finding a supplier with a excellent track record of successful delivery became essential to the future of the project.”
“My advice to anyone in a similar position and working to turn a concept into a real online service is to find a development supplier you can trust, who communicates exceptionally well and ultimately has an honourable approach to doing business. I was investing my own money in the development of the service and it was 27stars who understood where I wanted to take the service and then created a site which is functioning perfectly.”
27stars created ShareHistory from scratch in just a couple of months and now fully launched and busily building members and content, it offers users, free and unlimited space to store and share their historical content - whether that’s photos, video or documents. The site also encourages users to post contemporary memories, along with any category of historical content they want to preserve and share - from military, political and company history to national, international and niche interests such as stamps, medals, war and peace - the range is almost unlimited.
Jane also has major plans for the future of the site, “Our longer term goals are to take the site global and build a vibrant community who can enjoy for free the range of services created by ShareHistory and 27stars.”
