Dave's Favorites: Imeem Shares Your Photos With Friends and Family

Blogs--both the text and the photo varieties--are all the rage these days. But what if you want to publish a photo blog not to the entire world, but just to a few select friends and family? Traditional blogs are broadcast to the whole Internet, which can be a bit daunting for those of us who want more privacy. Imeem, however, lets you choose your audience.

Think of Imeem as a private Internet. It's an application that displays a list of your invited friends in a roster on the side of the screen and a main window for seeing content. That content includes text blogs, photos, discussion forums, and more.

I created an Imeem account and immediately posted a few blog entries and photo collections. It was fast, fun, and easy, and only people whom I personally approve can link directly to my content. Indeed, Imeem has inspired me to maintain a blog, since I know I'm writing for a focused audience of friends and family.

When you're not logged into Imeem, your user profile and text blogs remain available to your friends, since they're stored on the company's servers. Your photos, though, are stored on your own PC, so they're available for viewing only when you're online--until a friend views your photos, that is. Then the pictures are stored on the friend's PC as well. The more friends who see your photos, the more they're dispersed across the Internet, and the more likely they'll be available when you're offline. It's a cool idea and it seems to work well. I've surprised myself by just how "into" Imeem I have become. Now I just need to coax all of my friends and family to join as well.

For another take on Imeem, read Staff Editor Laura Blackwell's September "Download This." Both the Imeem service and the client software are free; you can download the software from us.