Remember when our fathers or grandparents would pull out the little picture portfolio from their wallets and purses and show pictures of their families? They’d always be full of pride and eager to show them to anyone who they might come in contact with. They got outdated quickly and you’d always have to explain when the pictures were taken. As the tradition got passed down to my generation we might have a single picture of our families in our wallets to show people. As the kids grew up this wasn’t as important and many wouldn’t even bother.

At a recent conference something hit me as I talked to some friends and we all whipped out our iPhones to show pictures of our kids. No longer did we have to wait until school pictures happened to have a new picture of our kids. Thanks to this device we can now show the latest of hundreds of snapshots or videos.

I try not to judge, but when I see a fellow Dad pull out their iPhone and notice that the wallpaper is of their kids I instantly like them a bit more. I will always have pictures of my kids or family as a wallpaper so that every time I turn on the phone it is the first thing I see. You have no idea how much of a pickup this is when you are on the road and away from them. That single picture has cheered me up more times then I can accurately expressed.

Technology is empowering us to capture and share memories like never before. I am constantly taking pictures or videos and then never doing anything with the video. Last night I went to Karaoke with some friends and I found myself video taping some of it. What am I ever going to do with the video? Most likely nothing, but because I can capture it I’d rather do that then look back in the morning and think, “man I wish I had fired up the video camera.”

Certainly an iPhone is not the only option for this. Most phones can handle this sort of request and if yours don’t almost every point and shoot camera now takes great photos and video of some sort so you have no excuse. I recently purchased a Kodak Zi8 and have found myself shooting more video then ever. As the technology gets smaller and better it makes not capturing moments of life inexcusable.

I certainly don’t miss the fading pictures and plastic portfolios unraveling from friends wallets at the bar. Long live the digital picture albums in our pockets!

Photo Credit: Marlooz Veldhuizen