Stor-I reviewed: Stor-I, for sharing stories and memories!

The idea behind stor-I
Stor-I aims to be a platform where users can create and store their stories and memories because ‘Time has a way of fading our memories, of allowing us to lose the details of people, places, and things we once loved.’ Using Stor-I is a way of sharing and safekeeping stories, memories and life events that are important to you, coupled with geo data so readers can actually see the place it all happened. Through continued use, participants will inevitably be constructing a timeline about themselves; a timeline along the when & where axis.

Personally, I find that of great appeal. It is about telling your own history. It is about sharing. I wonder how it would feel, 60 years from now, to see my fully build timeline, and knowing that there is at least one place that holds something close to my memoires. To know that, should my old friends, children and grand children have an interest in whatever it was that I held dear during life, events that changed me or made me, or simple facts and figures about me are just a couple of mouseclicks away is in some ways comforting.

Stor-I reviewed
Browsing to www.stor-I.com the first time, was a let down for me visually. I shall be brief on this, and only say it once. The site needs a designer, period. I have a huge amount of respect for the website’s owner, creator and sole developer Michel Jongbloed, because so far it has all been his own work. From initial idea to execution. And that rocks. But I think the site would flourish, and be more pleasing to the eye, if the design was taken to the next level.

Setting up an account is relatively straight forward, although the site doesn’t behave 100% as you would expect. Immediately after registering, you get a chance to add yet another person from whose point of view you could be writing – an I person – say for instance your children. I was quite confused by that as that part of the concept hasn’t really been introduced to me prior to this point. Writing a story is quite simple, you enter the geographical and time data, and then the experience becomes very similar to writing a blogpost. The posts themselves are displayed with a Google Map in the header, and a pointer on the exact location. Writers can opt in readers, and completely block out others. In a nutshell, that is Stor-I.

Readers can comment, share, and rate the stories, and browse for stories that happened on the same day, or on the same continent, or are in the same language. For the future, Michel has told me, he is keen to experiment with translation services, but then they have to be a bit more accurate then they are now. One of the ideas is to be able to read stories and experiences from all over the world, and in that way broaden ones own horizon.

Collecting, integration, safekeeping, print.
I think the idea behind Stor-I is a grand one, yet simple. Combine stories and experiences with geographical data. I wonder however, whether it is enough. Although it is not its intent, the platform Stor-I provides can be easily mistaken for yet another blogging service. I think only focus, design, and good marketing can prevent that from happening. For that same reason, I feel it would be wise to differentiate in functionality from other services where one can publish his stories. Make it very clear that yes, you can post your stories on Stor-I, but that the idea and especially it’s uses are different from other services.
One of the ideas that struck me was that, although I’ll never leave WordPress as my main online story/blog publishing platform, I’d like to have Stor-I as a main (back-up) system. You could for instance integrate the two; if apart from my blog I could fill in the geo graphical data necessary for Stor-I as well, and the post would be sent to both services. Maybe you can have a tickbox nominating a post for Stor-I. I could choose whether or not to display the geographical data on my wordpress blog (I would decide not too). For me, as a blogger, that would mean that readers could find me on my site, and on Stor-I. It would also mean my blog was backed up on a different server. The real kicker for me however would be this.

You know how people always talk about keeping a diary? Or writing a memoir? And most of them fail? Well, I’d like to be able to, after a years worth of blogging (or whatever time frame) push a button on Stor-I, and order a paperback of my stories. Intergrate Stor-I with one of the bigger ‘push and print’ services (Lulu, Blurb. Perhaps a couple of design options: choose whether you want minimaps included, or pictures taken on the exact places where my stories took place. Maybe add a couple of pictures myself. That would mean integration with one of the bigger photographer sites (Flickr). The intention of the paperback would not be to sell on a massive scale. Just for me, and perhaps some family members.

The book thing goes for the other option in Stor-I as well. Say you keep somewhat regular posts about your children from the moment the are born. I personally would have found it a frikkin’ amazing gift on my 18th birthday, a book with stories, times, places and pictures from the moment I was born up until my 18th. The best thing is that the writer can forget about the end goal. He can just write and share, only occasionally remembered of the fact that in the long haul, he will have a collection of stories worthy of printing. Needles to say, all of the above could work with ebooks too. Who knows, in 20 years time we may have nothing but ebooks. But I surely hope not. There is nothing like the real deal when it comes to books.

Conclusion
Use Stor-I. Give it a try. Go out and play with it. Think of what you are to gain if indeed you would be able to easily share the stories that matter most to you, with friends and family. While doing so, try to consider the long term, rather then tomorrow. Stor-I is available in English and Dutch. Drop me a line in the comments if you wish to discuss the review, or better yet, send Michel your comments and questions.