Living Memory: Trying to Do Everything

Are we reaching over-saturation for Web 2.0 apps? It seems like 100 new apps are launched every day, but at least 99 of those are something we've already seen before. In this category falls Living Memory , the latest entrant in the family social networking space.

I'm going to be blunt; the site design is overly busy and kludgy. It may be that I'm just used to the usual clean designs of Web 2.0 sites with lots of white space and simple design, but Living Memory seems to subscribe to the more-is-more philosophy of site design, relying heavily on cycling photos and stock clip art and multiple color schemes. Even the "About Us" section has a background image of a forest that looks not unlike some of the AOL/Outlook email backgrounds, with multicolor chat bubbles highlighting the subtitles. I'm jaded, but I also like sites who want me to entrust my personal data to at least look like they took the time and had the professionalism to employ an experienced web designer.

The site is, of course, in beta, and appears to be based on a Freemium model, with basic services available for free, and premium services available for a one-time fee of $25.00. And here's where the site gets messy: there are so many features you have no idea where to even start. You have the expected Family Tree application, but there are also Stories. And a Timeline. And a Photolog. And Reviews, in case you want to make sure your family knows whether you liked a certain book or movie or restaurant. And then Famous Connections, which is like the old 1.0 site SixDegrees (a site that failed because it launched before its time). So here, just with the free services, you have what appears to be something resembling a mash-up of a version of LinkedIn, Geni, Flickr, Epinions, and Classmates. That's a lot to process! Pay the $25 when the Premium Services become available, and you will also get access to a Data Security encryption tool, a farewell message to be sent upon your demise and final wishes application to include funeral arrangements, and burial choices, legal details pertaining to your will, a way to send financial information to select family members upon confirmation of your demise, personal messages which can be delivered at selected increments after your passing, medical record storage, and then an extra media storage (for an extra fee) for storage of important files, documents, images, etc.

Again, it's possible that I'm jaded, but the general information available on the site gives no details about what sort of enhanced security features are employed to protect THAT much data. I find it hard to believe that for a one-time fee of $25, it's possible to sustain a company that has to utilize enough security to protect more than enough information for identity thieves to have the spree of their career. While mash-ups are the current trend, the concept is based on combining simple applications that work well on their own. Living Memory may have bitten off more than it can chew, and its ultimate sustainability may be a concern, especially when paying for services you may not use for years.