July 2, 1999
Are you missing some family members at this years Fourth of July picnic
because you're miles apart or don't have the money to travel?
There is a new way to keep up with family-- even if they're half way
across the world.
News Specialist Scott Light shows us.
For the holiday weekend, Sara Field is spending time with her cousin in
Provo, her mom in California, dad in Idaho, a brother in Hawaii, and relatives
in Chile.
And she's not even leaving the house.
The idea was to connect everybody through a family website.
They found one six months ago and now have 30 to 40 family members logged
on.
"Your pictures are on there.. newsclips.. someone has a farewell..
a new baby," Field explains.
Her niece and nephew are in Hawaii.
The first time she heard her nephew speak was on her family website.
Field says she sees or hears about the big events and the smaller ones.
"Say Maryn had a great basketall game.. she scored 12 points and that's not
something where you'll pick up the phone and call every family member."
Internet experts say there's another benefit.
The National Institute for Media and the Family says today's children spend
four times more time with computers than they do with their parents.
Family websites can get parents and children at the computer together.
Steve Conlee, of MyFamily.Com, says, "It's meant for kids and parent to sit
down together to post pictures and crayon drawings that kids have just created
to scan and put them up so all the cousins and grandparents can see."
MyFamily.Com offers family websites.
If its growth is any indication, families are getting together in cyberspace
at cyberspeed.
The company started this year with a couple thousand customers.
Last month, its customer list topped the one million mark.
MyFamily.Com is a free service.
The company also recently joined with U.S. West to offer the "Connected
Families Website Guide."
You can get a free brochures and more information by calling U.S. West.
