A Cup Of USB Sticks

If you’ve been following along, you know that I talk about “Getting My Poop In A Group,” and I’ve been working on that project since 2017. (if you are on Facebook, come join my group and be sure to answer the questions)

How many of you have a cup full like this one? Or perhaps you don’t even have them in a cup. Are they just here and there around the house? What treasured documents and photos are stored on them? Did you know that USB sticks have a life expectancy? It’s actually about five years.

Take a moment and collect all those sticks and put them in one place. Then when you have time, go through each one and ensure you have copies of that information stored on your computer and in the cloud. It’s easy to lose track of things you got from a cousin that were put on a stick, and you never got around to putting the information where you intended.

I have spoken about a 3-2-1 Plan, you can read more about that HERE, but essentially it ensures that you have;

• at least three copies of your photos
• storing the copies on two different media.
• Keeping one backup copy offsite. (Cloud)

For me, this means having the physical photos and documents, storing them on my computer and on a digital hard drive. My hard drive of choice is found on Amazon, and in particular, it’s a Seagate which you can find on Amazon. There are various sizes, so it’s essential that you choose the size that you can count on to meet your current and future demand. It’s also important to remember that these devices have a shelf life of approximately five years as well.

For cloud storage, I use FOREVER. But as I’ve blogged before, FOREVER is so much more than just cloud storage. When I think of what most people believe is cloud storage, I think of Google Photo and iCloud. Those are fine, but I think of those as temporary sites because I’m not paying for them, so what’s in it for those sites? Are they really doing it out of the goodness of their heart?

When you read the Google terms and conditions, they read like this. The important bits I’ve bolded.

When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services.

Like the terms and conditions at the various genealogy sites, you want to read those terms to make sure they fit your goals. Even if they are boring and could put you to sleep.

Something else you need to make sure of when choosing cloud storage is if something happens to you, would your family be able to access your photos and documents? I know that you can now name a beneficiary at iCloud, which is also available at FOREVER.

So getting back to the cup of USB sticks and getting my poop in a group. Checking the USB sticks and ensuring that I have the info captured precisely where I want to store them helps me feel more in control. You see, it’s not just my plan to have all my photos stored at FOREVER but to also have my genealogy stored there as well. I wrote about this in a blog this past January, and I’m tracking the entire process and will be sharing it with you. You can find Part One here. Stay tuned as Part Two is coming shortly.