Do you have a plan? Sanjay Maharaj
Frequently an allusive Sanjay Maharaj posts comments on my blog postings. Generous with his comments, they are always encouraging and informative. But, he never reveals who he is or how to respond directly to him. So this week I decided to uncover his identity and I landed on Virtual Lockbox where he is the President and C.E.O. (http://www.vlockbox.com/about-blog-author).
Sanjay who is an avid genealogy blog follower wrote on his Virtual Lockbox blog, 29 Jan 2010, a passionate post on family genealogists safe-keeping records for future generations. The blog is entitled Do you have a plan? Although Sanjay is not a family genealogist, as of yet, I found that his wording on this post puts into perspective why we research our family histories.
“I am also fascinated by all the treasures they [genealogists] have in their possession which reminds them of not only their heritage but gives them a sense of belonging as it brings the past to the present day and helps them appreciate who they are and where they come from.”
In this particular post, Sanjay asks genealogists “…do you have a succession plan in which a family member or a friend will be the guardian of all your hard work?” Well, in reviewing the concept of the Virtual Lockbox, perhaps Sanjay offers us one solution through Virtual Lockbox: “similar to a bank vault, Virtual Lockbox allows users to upload and store images, video, audio and document files in a secure virtual vault” (http://www.vlockbox.com/faqs#what).
What I like most of this post is that Sanjay gives us a different perspective of our work; one, not of a genealogist but of a fascinated reader. What I like most about this Virtual Lockbox, although this is not an official review of the product, is that you can put release dates on your treasure to share at a given time.
The hardest part of this concept is the lingering twinge of facing our mortality, but I maintain that we, genealogists searching deceased ancestors, see that up close on a daily basis. So readers like Sanjay are reminders of the importance of safe guarding and passing our data to future generations.
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Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteWhat a detective you are! I’m so glad you found him and wrote this piece. Sanjay has made quite a few comments to my blog as well, so it is indeed nice to learn a little something about him. Thank you so much. And Sanjay, she found you!
Thanks Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI was really worried that everyone else knew he was. Glad to know that there are others out there.
Kathleen
Thanks Kathleen
ReplyDeleteSanjay is a great guy - he and I have even spoken on the phone about the concept of data successorship and why it is important to all computer users, not just genealogists.
I hope to have a review of the Virtual Lockbox product posted soon!
Good detective work! He drops nice comments on my blog too. Nice to know who he is and what he does.
ReplyDeleteComment from Sanjay, left on http://aaagenealogy.blogspot.com (mirroring website).
ReplyDeleteSanjay Maharaj said...
Thanks Kathleen for your post and mentioning me and Virtual LockBox on Follow Friday.
You are absolutely correct that one cannOt predict when we will go so in a way it is difficult to assign a date on our Virtual LockBox concept when the information can be released to your loved ones. Our date driven aspect is more for a date you know of such as a milestone coming up, perhaps a grandparent would like to pass on their genealogy research to their grandson or granddaugher who will turn say 16 in 2015, so that is a known date and that is what the date driven aspect is for. We also have an option called event driven and this option is geared precisely for the unknown date.
Many Thanks once again
March 5, 2010 10:37 AM
Ahhhhh! Good work, Sherlock! (lol) Thanks for "outing" Sanjay to the rest of us. He has made a few very kind comments on my blog, and I've wondered who he was, but did nothing to find out.
ReplyDeleteI love the Virtual Lockbox idea! I actually listened to a piece about a company that does this on NPR a couple of weeks ago. (It could have been Sanjay's. I don't recall the name.) It's definitely something to consider, isn't it?
Renate
I guess quite a few of us didn't know who he was. Again, good piece.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for stopping by and meeting Sanjay "formally". Thanks Sanjay, I should have featured you though on a Treasure Chest Thursday. You are a treasure.
ReplyDeleteKathleen.
Great detective work. I enjoy reading his comments and always wondered who he was.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened? I cannot find a website for Virtual Lockbox or ShareMyLife Inc through a Google search.
ReplyDeleteMartha,
DeleteThanks for this note. I just sent a note to Sanjay on his whereabouts. This was a great product, so hopefully it did not go by the wayside! Will keep you informed.