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Ask HN: Best way to set up family webapp?

13 points by edw519 ↗ HN
As the family "geek", I have been drafted to set up our family website. I am happy to get this going, but ONLY WITH existing offerings (I'm way too busy with my own work to start programming this.)

We have hundreds of family members all over the U.S. Many in the 4th generation have no idea who the rest of us are and how we are related. We would like to share messages, old photos (even some video), and plan our 100th anniversary reunion for 2010.

Ideally, I'd like to set something up so that the community can "take over". I don't want to get stuck planning a family reunion and get stuck in between lots of differing opinions. Previous attempts by others have never gotten off the ground.

I've already started a family tree at geni.com and I'm thinking of expanding that, unless there's a better approach.

Anyone here with similar needs? What have you done?

14 comments

[ 1226 ms ] story [ 4475 ms ] thread
riklomas
Would something like Ning.com be the kind of thing you're looking for?

Maybe, Posterous would be better, most people "get" email so it wouldn't be a problem for your family to post to and you can set up email subscriptions for the latest posts

edw519
I don't know what ning is and I can't access from work, so I imagine other family members may be blocked from their work, too.

Posterous looks like an interesting option because 99% of the people on the list have email. Also, it has to be simple for them. I clicked on "Families and Groups" to learn more and got an error. Is Posterous a yc company?

Network_Punk
http://ramamia.com/ Was very good when I tried it, and I think it may provide most of what you are looking for.
markbao
Hey, that's my startup! Thank you :)

Any ?s, email me at mark@ramamia.com or 617.395.5633

jasonlbaptiste
Just came in to suggest it, but looks like Network_punk and my cofounder Mark Bao brought it up already. If you have ANY questions, let us know:

email mark+I both get: founders@ramamia.com

my # if you need immediate support: 772.801.1058

abyssknight
I had to do this once, and I can't agree more. Don't try to roll your own, and don't try to roll out community software like phpnuke, mambo or joomla. Most of the time, at least with my family, if it takes more than one depth into a menu its too complicated. Email is something everyone can do, and it looks like Posterous is doing a great job with that. Facebook does a decent job as well, though the new interface is an abomination. Ning is pretty, well, annoying. There's a bunch of menus and groups are almost indistinguishable from users themselves. It needs to be easier.

Might be a good idea for a start up, actually... ;)

obxerve
Posterous is great for this because it handles photos and videos simply and effectively - a favorite for families. You cannot customise the look yet though. It's much simpler than Ning so non net savvy users have less chance to get lost. Good luck.
bayareaguy
Sounds like a neat project for Google App Engine.