Senterna interviewed on BFBS Radio

One of the Senterna Team, Jim Lang, was invited along to speak about Senterna on the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) yesterday, on Wednesday 2 July 2008.

The BFBS Radio broadcasts to permanent British forces bases around the world, including Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Brunei, Belize and the Falklands. Their audience extends to the hundreds of thousands and their target audience is the British forces personnel and their dependents. Large numbers of expats also take advantage of the three channels and their radio service can be found on the Web, http://www.bfbs.com/

Jim was interviewed by Graham Rogers on the Glen Mansell Show to introduce Senterna and give a brief overview to the British armed forces personnel.

Jim said of the relevance of Senterna to soldiers, navy and air crew,

“We feel that Senterna is very applicable to the armed forces with the number of conflicts they are currently engaged in. We know it’s a dangerous job and that some forces personnel are already taking the precaution of carrying a letter in the event of a tragedy.

Senterna is an secure online version of this practice. With Senterna, if the worst were to happen, there are no worries about the delivery of users’ letters, photos, videos, documents to the people they specify and on the dates they wish to see them. The service is completely confidential and discrete and doesn’t require the involvement of any 3rd parties.”

We would like to thank BFBS again for the opportunity to come along and speak about the Senterna service.

The Senterna Team

A secure ‘virtual shoebox’ online

We probably have all encountered the same ritual in books, films or real life – where a group of people are looking through the contents of a shoebox or trunk of a deceased family member, or mutual friend. Some have letters addressed to them by name whilst others are left to interpret why particular objects held such importance in the deceased person’s heart.

Either way, the sentiment of these personalised messages and select items is real and can be a true source of comfort. It can also act as a prompt for a host of memories –funny, poignant and irreplaceable.

How can we ensure that all the people for whom letters were written, photographs saved and other items kept will remain confidential? And how can we know that they will be safely delivered to their intended recipients and remain secure for them to enjoy?

The answer is a ‘virtual shoebox’ that overcomes the challenges of confidentiality and the need for using 3rd parties, no matter how reliable you believe them to be. A virtual shoebox can be the answer to many logistical considerations such as making the same individual item available to lots of people to enjoy, as opposed to just one.

Senterna is continually compared to a secure virtual shoebox in that it works in exactly the same way as the traditional shoebox in that it’s a free, private environment, which account owners can access, update and change 24/7, 365 days a year.

The benefits which Senterna adds to the equation is it being future-proof with regard to how your family, loved ones and friends access the content you leave behind and delivering it to who you want and on whatever dates you want it made accessible in the future.

A Senterna account owner, can collect photos, letters, videos, diaries, documents and then choose which items are made available to whom of their guests by assigning different levels of access and at different times in the future, if they so wish.

Your virtual shoebox with Senterna is free and signing up is quick and easy.


Senterna - Share your life

Collecting thoughts and giving gifts

Wednesday 18th June witnessed two milestones, my daughter Imogen’s, sixth birthday including her party, and the public beta-launch of Senterna. As to which was the more exhausting - I haven’t had that discussion with my wife as yet.

It may appear strange to the link the two, beyond my involvement in them both, but there is a synergy which I am excited to explore now and in the future. Senterna provides its users with an online 24/7 service where they can document their feelings, upload photos, videos and other memoranda, as and when, for the express purpose that at some point you can ‘cherry-pick’ what items you want your invited guests to see and when you want them to see them. This may be on the point of my passing, when the account is activated and my content is accessible, or, it may be at some further point in the future. As to what those dates will be I don’t know.

I certainly hope to be around for all my children’s 18th birthdays. I hope to be around for their graduations, weddings and even their children if their lives follow such a typical path. And so, if that is the case I can hand whatever thoughts I’ve compiled by then to them in person. If not, I know I have another resource that affords me complete discretion and confidence that they can read my letters and potential diary entries assigned to them if I ever get around to being so disciplined.

I know already, even at this stage with Imogen having reached the grand old age of six, I can’t easily remember the emotions she inspired in me which I thought would remain with me forever because they were so vibrant and clear at the time. I never consistently noted down events that would have made perfect anecdotes to have told her later in life – or even at this age.

Am I atypical in this regard? I don’t think so. Life gets in the way - work, family and just stuff. If I use Senterna for anything it will be to record these events in the form of letters and diary entries and know that I don’t need to remember in which notebooks these precious memories are kept to help unlock a whole string of thoughts about her and me. I’ve never been one to hoard photos and videos but that may change and I can keep those safe in my account too if I change my mind.

So, that’s how I’m thinking about using Senterna for me at the moment, its usefulness in helping keep my all my memories fresh, on tap, and knowing these will be passed on to Imogen, as and when.

Jim,
The Senterna Team

If you’re reading this...

BBC Radio 4 aired a show called ‘If you’re reading this’ earlier today.

The programme took an evocative look at the ritual of soldiers leaving letters which are only to be opened in the event of their death in combat.

The exercise is not a new phenomenon and can be dated as far back as the Napoleonic times. It became far more popular in the mid nineteenth century during the American Civil War when far more soldiers were literate and used to leave letters pinned to their uniforms to be posted home if something should happen to them.

The reality, however, is far closer to home with the contemporary conflicts going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The problem for soldiers now in Iraq and Afghanistan is whenever you leave the camp it might be you. It might be you even in the camp with a rocket that gets through.

So you are always on edge in a way that perhaps in previous conflicts that wasn’t an issue. You would write your letter before you went over the top. Now it could be you having your breakfast, it could be you just driving out to get to the airport to go home on leave, you’re never certain.”

One source summed the ritual up as “an outlet for lots of things that an individual might not have been able to say in real, normal, everyday life”.

Senterna offers a secure online version of this historical ritual for soldiers in life threatening situations without the need for any 3rd parties to be involved or worry regarding the letters being delivered should the need arise.

We hope that Senterna can provide some peace of mind to thousands of soldiers who hopefully never end up with activated accounts.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to the all the soldiers and their families who are involved in the current conflicts.

The Senterna Team

Why you shouldn’t use a blog to leave your online legacy

I recently stumbled across an article by Stephen at PR BLOGGER discussing how future generations will be able to find out information about us from the content we put online.

Our blogs, online profiles, social networking activities and more will all potentially be found by our children and grandchildren.

But how much of the content which you post online would paint an accurate picture of you if a future relative should stumble across it. How much of it would you be happy for them to find?

His post identifies some interesting points:

1. He likes the idea of his content being found by future generations; but there is no guarantee that the places he posted his content will exist anymore and even if they do it might be hard to find without knowing what to look for or where.



2. You cannot control at what age your future generations will find your online content.They might read content which is not suitable for them at that time but you would have been happy for them to find it 5 years later.



3. His friend doesn’t like the idea at all of his content being public. Lots of people feel the same way and want more control over what they leave behind and how it's managed.



4. The implication of posting content online is raised by one of the commenter’s. This is a very valid point. Your content is going to be archived in search engines - potentially forever. If you say something which later you regret or find embarrassing it could be awkward if this is what your relatives find when they do a search for you in 20 years time.

Whether you want your content made public upon your account being activated or kept strictly accessible by the people you have given permission to, Senterna will allow you to create and control your online legacy in whichever way you decide is best for you.

You can relax knowing that your content is safe and can be updated as often as you like just in case you change your mind. It will remain online and can be found via the search engines by future generations if you set your account to be public, or made only available to family and friends you add if you keep your content private.

Start your online legacy today and manage it the way you want to.

How will you be remembered when you’re gone?

An honest and touching story over at Money Smart Life reiterates what so many of us feel;

“My grandfather left a lasting impression on many people in his life, I can only hope to leave the same legacy to my friends, family, and the rest of the world that he has”.

The author's Grandfather seems to have not only made a huge impression but also passed on some great wisdom and advice. The article highlights the importance of passing on wisdom and just how valuable it can be to those we share it with.

We all know someone who has had a profound impact on our lives. Even if sometimes they are not, or were not, aware of how much.

Even if most people don’t blog about it or think about it every day, it is something which we all consider from time to time: “What legacy are you leaving to this world? How do you want to be remembered and what are you doing about it?”

Big questions. Not always easy to answer.

Hopefully once you have figured out the answers Senterna can help you take care of the rest.

Who had a profound impact on your life? Who’s life will you impact on?

What is your most treasured possession?

“What is your most treasured possession?” That is the question which Colin Baker was asked in an interview in the Scotland on Sunday supplementary recently.

His answer; “My computer – it has my life on it”.

Traditionally speaking you might have expected the answer to be more along the lines of; a family heirloom, a favourite item such as a painting or watch or a sentimental gift with little worldly value but huge emotional attachment.

But how much of what matters to us most resides on our hard drives these days?

The song which defines an era of your life that you bought on iTunes (you didn’t buy the CD), digital copies of your baby’s first scan (the Grandmas to be snapped up the originals!), the digital photos from your honeymoon (you didn’t get printed copies), the video your extended family from around the world recorded for your birthday (how do you make a hard copy?), and so on...

These things being discovered on your computer if you passed on, let alone distributed the way you would want, is almost as likely to happen as you winning the lottery.

Don’t let your most treasured possessions become lost or worse yet, accidentally formatted by the very people you would want to find them.

Start to share your life today.

The Senterna Team