By Ola Pat Gbenga
In Nigeria, digital photos
are now become a part of everyday life and one of the questions people ask me
is: how do I keep my digital photos for the future? Unlike most countries,
where most family have and own personal digital storage facilities to keep and
save their digital assets, most Nigeria do not enjoy such luxury. Indeed, there
are limited accesses to digital storage for individual and families considering
the size of people that own or have digital products, which include photos,
documents and E-books. Most Nigerians are limited to storing their digital
products and asset on their phone or tablet, which have high propensity to get
lost or stolen. I have listed 10 affordable medium for storing your digital
photos and other digital assets. Although, they carry certain amount of risks but
these can be mitigated by combining 2 or more together.
Private Server: A dedicated computer can be easily converted into a private server by individual and small businesses. This means the computer only function as a backup server for your photos and digital asset.
Social media
account: You may be surprise
but don't be. Your Facebook, Tweeter, Istagram, Google Plus can also serve you conveniently
as a cloud storage for not only your digital photos but also for most of your
digital assets. The current surge being experience in digital photography is
due in part to the social media. Photo posted online in any of these media are automatically
saved until you delete them or the company fold. A word of advice since most of
these social media are free, they can close down at anytime or suspend you
without prior notice.
Phones and
Tablets: This is the most ready available option to the average Nigerian. Having
your photos on your phone or tablet give you unhindered access to it anything
and anywhere. This also makes it easy to share with others and entertain
friends and guests. However, the propensity and probability of losing or having
your phone or tablet stolen is too high. Thus, it is wise to backup your
digital photos on another device(s).
Computer: Your digital photos can be
domiciled on your home or office computer, which is one of the most secure and
safest personal storage facilities until it crashes. The same thing cannot be
said for the laptop, which attract both petty thieves and armed robbers, it
also draw the attention of some law enforcers e.g. EFCC, the Police and the
king of all SARS. But, this also provides easy access to your digital photos.
CDs: Y Before the arrival of
flash and Smartphones (Android phones) became a regular feature in our lives;
CDs have always top the list of options available for storage of personal
digital assets. But, nothing has taken away it storage capacity. In fact, i
recommend that CDs should be among your choice of saving your digital photos as
a sure backup. You will need to be careful though not to scratch the CD silver
underneath surface.
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SD Memory: Do you know that your phone
SD memory card can be utilized as a backup storage device? Although, they are
highly volatile, they can act as a good storage and backup device for your
digital photos. They have a large space, so you can simply copy your digital
photos and other digital assets into it and keep it in a good place.
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Flash drives: is a common storage system
that can be used to store all your beautiful Digital photos. It downside
however is that, it is also volatile. But taking great care can eliminate the
risk and enjoy its storage facility.
External Hard
disk: apart from phones
and computer, this is the most reliable backup and storage device and also the
most expensive option in this list. Now you may be wondering why go to such
extreme to preserve digital photos. Well, I can assure you it is worth it
because those capture moment are essential and gone forever. External Hard
Disks are very large digital storage device, the minimum being 250GB. External
Hard Disks are perfect storage system for your digital photos and assets.
Email: Surprisingly, your e-mail
account can also serve you as a cheap cloud base storage for your digital
photos. You can simply use any of the different methods to upload your photos
into your account. One of the methods is to email the photos to yourself or a
friend. Another means is to COMPOSE an email attached the photos and then save
as draft. Using an email account can guarantee good cloud storage for your
digital photos and asset.
Save in the cloud:
Cloud service is
gradually crawling into Nigeria “digitalshere” and you can use this service to
keep your digital assets. Cloud saving is the storing of your digital asset
e.g. document, photos, software on a server using the internet. And these
personal digital can be accessed from any computer terminal anywhere in the
world as long as there is an internet connection. In Nigeria, there are two cloud service
providers- Main-one and Nigeria Stock Exchange, however these companies only
service corporate organizations with huge important data.
Ola Pat is a Graphic Designer,
Printer and photographer based in Ota, Ogun States. He is well known for his
community advocacy on his blog: www.communemag.blogspot.com. Ola Pat is a magazine editor and run a studio in Ogun
state, Nigeria. Ola enjoyed sharing his vast experience in computer, journalism,
printing and photography.
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/mgpat