Hey all! Meet Shalini, who’ll be sharing her Digital Life stories here, and schooling us all in mom geekery! In Shalini’s own words:

Shalini is a semi-techie and aspires to be a true geek.  She is very comfortable with using and learning about new technology while trying to maintain the cool wife and Mom façade. She also hopes to be the Mom who schools her kid(s) and husband in video games while running her household with order and authority. Among her newfound Mom skills, Shalini is developing her talents as a Mommy Paparazza as she constantly photographs and videos her son.  Shalini has also started taking instructions on cake decorating, which provides some much needed “mommy time” and an excuse to bake and eat cake.

Shalini is currently dealing with the challenges of a toddler who is walk- running, scaling the furniture and wondering the house looking for “Da Da” while she slaves away to prepare healthy, organic meals and to keep him clean. She is also recording the stories she makes up for her son with the hopes of one day sharing them with the world.  Shalini blogs at www.yellowsunnydays.blogspot.com and welcomes words of encouragement!

Hi interweb folks!

I need to admit that I have a problem. I am a Mommy Paparazza (and sMother). I take countless photos and videos of The Boy. So much that when he sees the DSLR, hears the chime of the camcorder or smartphone camera, he immediately stops what he is doing and smiles and poses…even if he’s crying. It’s super adorable except when I’m trying to capture him doing something cute or mischievous without disrupting said behaviour.

Enough with the camera woman! Can’t you see I’m busy being cute here?

I have amassed quite the collection of photos and videos which started spiral out of control. Luckily I was able to intercept and tame the beast (kinda) before it became another thing that overwhelmed me.  It took a little work in the beginning and it still takes a little time to maintain.  I like having easy access to my photos and videos so I don’t mind the work too much, even though I constantly remind Baby Daddy that he should be grateful that SOMEONE keeps things organized around here.

There is a method to my madness of keeping organized. I have a photo and video filing system that works or me. Once every few weeks I download from the cameras, do some light editing and upload to my Flickr account. I created a master folder for The Boy on my PC, with sub-folders for each month since his birth. This is where the photos live initially.  I eventually move them to a backup network drive to avoid using up all of my CPU space. I also created corresponding sets in my Flickr account. Uploading the relevant photos and videos for the month is much easier for me when I pull from one folder. I often start an upload and leave it running while I catch up important issues like the happenings of Genoa City or the shenanigans around the upcoming federal elections.

There are times though, when my DSLR or camcorder is not easily accessible but my smartphone is within reach. Fortunately, my phone is equipped with both still and video camera functions and is Wi-Fi enabled. It is really handy to catch little snippets of The Boy in action. Wi-Fi is great because I can instantly upload to my Flickr, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube accounts, using my home network so I save on data charges.

I linked my Twitter, Flickr and YouTube accounts to my Facebook account so my friends can see when a new batch of photos is available for perusing and admiring. We have numerous friends and relatives who do not get to see The Boy often so this is a great way for them to keep up with him.

I do an adequate job as a Mommy Paparazza right now but need to learn some photography skills. Maybe my Fairy Godmother will enroll me in a photography class.

How do you manage your content?  Check out my friends at the Intel Canada Facebook page for tips on organizing your PC.

XO,

Lucky