Frequently Asked Questions.

Stories have a way of bringing family together. Enter the TightKnit platform. A whole new way for families to privately and securely share, enjoy and preserve all the wonderful memories behind cherished old photographs and more. And since stories are more meaningful when others are involved, the TightKnit site makes it easy for relatives and friends to join in. Just like those “kitchen table” conversations of days gone by. Except now, your loved ones can pull up a chair from anywhere, at any time. So the whole family can create their legacy, together.

While the TightKnit site certainly has some social aspects to it, at its core it is different. The TightKnit platform is designed for your family – a truly shared space where your family will capture memories, tell stories, and preserve everything. It embraces a new way of collaborating — all about WE, not all about ME, where you and your family decide who the WE are. We have re-created the kitchen table, virtually. Imagine, your aunts and uncles sharing memories and stories about growing up on the farm, with you and other family members able to join the conversation. Privately. Securely. Just like around the real table, you know who is sitting there, who is listening and who is talking. This is the kind of environment where conversation flourishes. Memories and stories, triggered by photographs and other items, unfold. And the conversation is captured, preserved and built upon with each passing day.

Simply stated, your content is yours. We lay no claim to it. We respect your privacy. Our platform is designed to help you manage your content. For example, in addition to giving you a place to store your content, we also let you choose with whom you want to share it (if anyone). Should you choose to share content, which we encourage, you can always see with whom it’s being shared. The content you share and who you share it with are your decisions, not ours. As for security, we employ industry-accepted practices for securing your content in the network and on our servers. You can help by using a strong password when you create your account and never sharing your log-in credentials with anyone.

You have complete control over what other users can see. You decide what “families” to share your content with. When sharing content with a family, imagine sitting with them around a kitchen table, where people place photos for the others at the table to see and discuss. Only those at that table can see what you show them, and they cannot share your photos with anyone else.

Ultimately, members will join the TightKnit community by selecting a subscription plan. However, we are early in the life of our platform and currently more focused on providing a feature set and user experience that our members will value. Therefore, for a limited time while we gather feedback from early adopters, we are offering a promotion to new members, providing them lifetime access to the TightKnit platform at no charge.

You don’t need to scan all of your old photos in to start! In fact, all you need is one! It can become the catalyst to get things rolling. Find something interesting – ideally from the past, as it is the older images that create more intrigue and interest. Maybe it is a photo of your grandparents with their young family. Share the photo with family members, and watch the magic begin as the stories unfold! It is the Throw-back Thursday affect! Are there more photos that go with that? Maybe others in your family have them, and they can also put them on the table to share. Watch as the story grows in size and richness with more photos and memories and even new stories.

While this is something that has to be done to get photos into TightKnit, the good news is that there are lots of options! Look for a future blog post on this subject, but for now, here is a summary:

• If you want to do it yourself. You can do it for very little money if you have the time!
  • Unless noted otherwise, you will need a desktop or laptop computer
  • Buy a scanner. You can buy a good one for a couple hundred dollars (US). It takes time as it is usually a one-at-a-time scan. However, the quality is excellent. Flatbed scanners are best for hard-copy photographs and documents. Avoid automatic feeders as they may damage the original. If you have slides, look for a flatbed scanner that does both.
  • Rent a slide scanner. This is like the “Netflix of scanning.” If you have slides, this may be something to consider.
  • Use a photo scanner app on your phone or tablet. While the resolution is not as good as a flatbed or rented scanner, these are getting better all the time. They also have some great time-saving features – for example, taking a single “scan” with your phone of a photo album page and it automatically creates individual files for each photo on that page.
• If you want to hire it out. Costs more money than the DIYers approach, but saves a huge amount of time and the quality is outstanding.
  • Local scanning services. You bring in your box of photos (or video) and they digitize them. Most metro areas have “Photo conversion” or “Photo Scanning” services that do this. We highly suggest using one that does not ship your photos out – but instead keeps them in house, as this all but eliminates any risk due to loss. Can’t find one? Ask us!

Hire a person. Have a nephew or niece that is looking for some hourly work? You still have to have a computer and scanner, but they can do the grunt work for a fee! Also, there are professionals who will help you organize and digitize your photos. One such organization is the Association of Photo Organizers.