Think of it as a verbal time capsule of memories – ranging from testimonies of survivors of WWII POW camps to UK miners who recall the strikes of the 1980s, and hundreds of other equally momentous events. In design and layout, the site does indeed resemble Youtube and is thus very straightforward to use. Designed by etonDIGITAL, StoryVault has already been featured in online galleries such as CSS mania and continues to draw praise for its design.

As the database of videos grows, no doubt the site will start to resemble an extremely valuable resource for everyone from historians (both family and academic types) and those who are generally interested in the workings of memory and history. In this sense the site is doing a fantastic job of tying into current trends in fields of historiography and academia (as well as film-making) which are intensly debating concepts of individual memory and its relationships to history right now.

However, perhaps even more significant is that StoryVault offers users so much more than just this database of video content: like Youtube, it can be accessed without registering to be a member of the social network side of the site, but for those who do choose to quickly register (for free) then a whole new range of options opens up.

The most interesting of these is no doubt the family tree function which allows you to make detailed family trees online and share them with other users – and family members. In this way collaborative efforts to piece together expansive family trees can be initiated – with everyone adding details and info from wherever in the world they are.

So far i can see three very strong facilities that StoryVault provides, and consequently would be very surprised if it didn’t go onto to become quite a success once it emerges from the beta testing stage. Firstly, the general resource of good quality (and exclusive) content on a range of historical material should prove a draw for a wide variety of users.

Secondly the interactive family tree creation facility looks like it could enable people to do something many of us consider – but often struggle to get around to due to the time investment required – which is to piece together a comprehensive family tree. StoryVault not only makes this easy – but it also enables collaboration from multiple family members, potentially across different continents.

Finally, StoryVault looks like it offers a valuable repository for the filmed testimonies of family members that might otherwise get lost on outdated video formats, in house-moving chaos or lie in dusty shoeboxes for decades. I for one will be keen to utilise all three – well done so far to both the StoryVault and etonDIGITAL teams working hard on this great project!

Dejan Levi