Guest Post by Sam Lytle
In the market for a solid eJournal for your computer or mobile device? If you have taken the time to look around, you may have been a little overwhelmed at all of the different options and the features that they advertise.
“This journal has just under a million fonts!”
“This diary will make you more attractive!”
“This app shoots out sparkles when you write a week in a row!”
...or something like that.
Well, not only am I here to clear up all of that confusion, but also to inform you that all features are not created equally. Basically they can be separated into three different categories in this fairly self explanatory list:
1: Essential Features
2: Features that Matter
3: Features that really don’t Matter
This first in the three part series covers the Essential Features.
If an eJournal you are interested in doesn’t have all of the essential features, you should almost not consider it further. They are essential to providing a true personal journaling experience that can last longer than the title of best Android phone on Verizon.
1. Cloud Compatibility- This means that your eJournal can be backed up or synced in some manner. This can range from full server storage (such as an online journal like Penzu), syncing with free services like Dropbox, Evernote or Google Docs, or just the ability to backup on your own hard drive or email to yourself. This will save you when you drop your phone into the toilet or when it becomes obsolete in a month and you have to get a new one.
2. Password Protection- If you are like me, your computers, tablets and/or smartphones are public domain around the house. Either you are sharing them, showing off pictures or apps, or a child is playing a game on them. For this reason, you absolutely need to have an eJournal with password protection. This goes for online journals as well as mobile ones. Even if you have a passcode on your smartphone, I still recommend getting one on your journal. My wife and I know each other’s passcodes but we wouldn’t share our journal passwords. If we did, it would prevent true personal journaling.
3. Picture Import- This one is less important than the first two, but I think it should still be a prerequisite if you are going to take your journal into the digital realm. Even if you don’t think you want to add pictures into your journal now, you likely will someday. Not only does this make your entries better by leaps and bounds, but it also has a surprising effect of you taking more pictures of events, both important and tender. I have recently made the goal for myself to include a picture with every entry and now that I am almost a month into it, I can’t believe how many great moments I was missing with my camera! Oh, and if you journal with your smartphone, snapping a picture with your device and loading it into the journal is (ahem) a ‘snap’.
Interested in getting started with your eJournal? Just type ‘personal online journal’ in Google or search ‘Journal’ or ‘Diary’ in your smartphone’s app store. Mobile app stores are great at listing most if not all of the features before you buy so just make sure the above three are among them.
For more in depth reviews and recommendations, visit www.easyjournaling.com
About the Author
Sam Lytle is the founder of Easy Journaling, a site dedicated to making personal journal and diary keeping easier in our busy lives, especially through mobile and online applications. He works in the civil engineering industry, is an (obviously) avid journaler, and loves spending time with his wife and son.
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