FamiliLink: Connecting Families through Technology

In a world where technology is growing faster and more complex by the day, there is bound to be a generation or two that may not be able to keep up with the latest tech trends. Even though I can barely keep up with the ever-changing popularity among social networking sites, touch screen phones, and thousands of mobile applications, my parents can barely text and I can’t even imagine how my grandparents would react if they were still around. For the generations now willing to work with technology in order to stay in touch with family and friends around the globe, a new company has a plan for you. FamiliLink uses services via the Internet to connect aging family members who are not friends to technology.

After taking part in the 2009 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit & Business Plan Competition in California in June, FamiliLink hopes to provide connectivity between people who may not have the ability—or the newest educational tool—in order to stay in touch. For those of you who, like me, have not heard of the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit, it is a forum for entrepreneurs and emerging businesses to present their new ideas to benefit the “Baby Boomer” generation (Americans 45 years and older). A competition is in place at the summit in order to gain recognition within the field and FamiliLink touched on a lot of the same ideas presented at the summit (helpful ways of giving care to older adults and their technological needs) garnered a lot of attention.

The co-founders of FamiliLink, Lauran Nuhaan and Inger Rarick, started the company in 2007 with their combined decades of business experience, healthcare expertise, and web savvy techniques these two women put their heads together to come up with an idea to keep families and friends together even when they can’t physically be close.

Besides offering an easy, uncomplicated way to connect generations through a website, FamiliLink also keeps everything you could need in one area. When you login to your personal site on FamiliLink, your daily calendar pops up with reminders, you can scroll through new photos sent by loved ones, and you can check your email (you can also link other email accounts to your FamiliLink account) by clicking on a set of tabs all located on one handy page.

In an attempt to make people more confident while using the computer, this one stop website aims to take the mystery out of the technological devices and replace it with convenience. For seniors who are unable to keep their faculties much less their internet database, there is an option for a caretaker, family member, or close friend to log in for them. Patients under the grasp of a disease like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or arthritis may take advantage of this friendlier option to FamiliLink. Sharing photos, videos, and notes will not be able to take the place of face-to-face interaction, but creating a virtual visit a lot more often will make your relatives happy and save you on airfare.

Hoping to create peace of mind for family members who are not close by to keep an eye on their elderly loved ones, the team at FamiliLink is excited to finally offer this easy-to-use site for everyone at a reduced price…free! The first 2,000 users can register at no cost and after the initial two thousand spots are filled, it is only $4.99 per month to join and link up with your family across the globe.

FamiliLink is already getting great reviews and positive feedback from healthcare professionals, users, and family members of users who are thrilled to have another care option for out of reach family and confused relatives who have trouble working their way around a computer. Although I still have hope that I can catch up with the budding technology and that maybe my dad will one day be able to receive, read, and reply to a text message, it’s nice to know there is website available to navigate all the needs of the baby boomer generation and beyond.