eFamily //

// eFamily is sponsoring this post by giving me monetary compensation as well as a free year of the app for my own use and one free year of use to giveaway to a reader of mine. You can be sure that all the opinions expressed in this post are my own. //

I've been here in Jersey for a month now. My family and I have always been really close and distance makes staying connected tricky. Being able to text each other is great -- wouldn't have had that level of connection ten years ago! -- but big events like birthdays can't be experienced through texting and little life moments like the dogs racing around slip through the cracks of text communication.  I was really excited to be approached by eFamily a month ago to try out their app. It's essentially like Facebook, where you're able to write a post or put up photos and videos, but exclusively for your family (and you can invite anyone you consider to be a part of your family!). You get a personal domain name for your eFamily site so all the information and moments you choose to share are just between you guys. Access it is convenient on either your computer or smart phone. I love checking my phone throughout the day and seeing what is happening in my family members lives on the same day. These are a few of my favorite moments from the past month...

Written Post

Photo Album

Photo Post

Here are examples of posts from a computer...

New Member

Photo Album

Written Post

I make the most use of the mobile app. Occasionally it has trouble posting or refreshing but shutting it down and reopening it after a little bit is usually all that's needed. Plus the staff at eFamily are super helpful if you have any questions or issues. In the notifications it shows you who "loves", comments or posts and on what. The funny thing is that it notifies you of what you do too. 

My little sister makes the most use of the website on her laptop. This is the easiest place to make edits to your profile and its the only way you can add photos to an existing photo album (or if you are able to add images to an old album on the mobile app, I have not figured out how). 

If you sign up for a personal domain for your family, y'all get a 30 day free trial -- just like my family and I did! Whoever sets up the domain simply emails invites to the people they would like included in their eFamily circle and you can start sharing moments with each other right away. I'm very picky about what apps I have loaded on my phone but eFamily earned its way to my phone's front page quickly because it is the best way our family has found to close the gap between all of us -- aside from Skype calls and long weekend visits. Try it out and see if it's a useful connection tool for you and your dear ones then, if you love it as much as me, check back here because I'll be giving away a free year subscription to the app in the near future!!