It may be hard to believe, but it’s true: your digital photos captured with the latest and greatest technology may not last as long as the old film photos you snapped a generation ago. The reason is simple – in the old days, the only way you’d lose your photos is if some massive catastrophe struck – a fire, or flood or any event that would physically destroy those photo prints.

Today, in the digital world, your images can disappear in the blink of an eye thanks to a hard drive crash. And, unlike fires, floods and tornadoes  a hard drive crash is a very common occurrence. Hard drives last on average about five years.  Hard drive crashes are not a matter of “if” but “when” – and when your hard drive goes, it could very well take all your digital photos and videos – your digital memories – with it. Imagine the photos of your child’s birth and first steps wiped out forever. Yikes!

So it’s very important that you devise a photo protection plan to ensure your digital photos will last as long as your film prints. Here’s a four point plan that can save your digital memories.

Step 1: Stay Organized. Before you can protect your photos and videos, you need to know where they all are. If you’re not using some form of photo software, like Picasa, to organize your photos  and are instead trying to deal with folders on your PC, you’re not as organized as you can be. Photo software programs can scour your computer and find and organize all the images and videos it finds. Using software offers another benefit – they offer tools to protect your photos. To learn more about organizing your images, see Four Steps to Organizing Your Digital Photos.

Step 2: Make a Copy (or Two). To keep your digital photos and videos safe what you need to do is make a copy of those digital files and store them on something in addition to your hard drive. The idea is to have multiple copies of the same photo on different storage mediums. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry it’s pretty straightforward. You have a number of options for storage, CD or DVD discs, external hard drives, and cloud services. Our advice: use both a large external hard drive and a cloud service to give you the ‘best of both worlds’ security.

Step Three: Make it a Habit. Depending on what (or where) you choose to store your photos on, you’ll need to be sure you’re regularly copying over any new images. If you use an external drive or online service, this can sometimes be done for you automatically: every time you load a new photo onto your hard drive, it will be automatically copied to an external drive or online server. But if you don’t have this automated option, you’ll have to get into a routine whenever you load new photos onto your computer to also back them up on another storage media.

Step Four: Stay Informed. The trickiest part of any photo protection plan is keeping up with different storage formats. Today, all computers come with DVD drives. In 10 years, chances are, they won’t. If you’re sitting on a pile of DVDs with photos on them, you’re going to have to move them onto another storage format as DVDs become obsolete. If you’re at least somewhat aware of changing technology trends, you’ll be able to stay ahead of this curve and move your images onto updated storage formats as times change.

You can learn all about how to organize and protect your photos in the e-book: From Fleeting to Forever.

We don’t typically cover digital cameras here but seeing as this particular camera can actually create a story as it shoots, we thought we’d make an exception. We’re referring to a groundbreaking new camera that decides itself when to take a shot. Developed by British motion capture company OMG Plc, the Autographer  uses five built-in sensors and software developed by Microsoft Corp to choose the best moment to capture an image without any intervention from the user.

The high-resolution pictures, which can number 2,000 in a day, can then be combined to create a visual record of an event like a party, a music festival or a typical day in the life of the owner. The Autographer, which the company seems to suggest be worn around the neck, clipped to clothing or placed in a particular vantage point, is the first consumer device from OMG, whose stop-motion technology is used in fields ranging from computer game development to surveying roads.

The company originally developed an earlier version of this camera as a memory aid for people with dementia, but recently decided to launch it to the broader market after finding users and their families were also using the devices to record and remember special occasions. The camera currently carries a price tag $650 and is due later this year.

Okay, there’s been quite a few video sharing apps the last year or so such as Socialcam, Klip and Vlix but a new one we’ve stumbled on called GivIt adds a different wrinkle that makes it worth a look.

GivIt, available on the web and now also on the iPhone, is designed so you can control the number of viewers who can watch the videos you upload.

Unlike most of the other social video sharing apps, Givit isn’t designed for mass distribution of videos into the social network sphere ((Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.). The GivIt model is for the user looking to upload videos of the kids or other “family” moments who aren’t really that comfortable sharing those clips with the masses on a site like YouTube or other public-facing video sites.

GivIt makes this easy because they actually transcode the videos into multiple formats to support a wide range of browsers and devices so your chosen circle can watch these videos from whatever device they own – laptop, smartphone, or other mobile web browser.

The service is in public beta now, and is free to use, but the company is planning to introduce shortly a freemium model that will include several premium features that will carry various charges.

A look at MiMedia's photo organizer.

Digital Memories and the cloud storage service MiMedia announced a partnership that will enable Digital Memories customers the chance to have their film and album scans uploaded to MiMedia’s cloud service.

MiMedia offers 7GB worth of free storage. If your scans from Digital Memories exceeds 7GB, you’ll enjoy three months of free MiMedia storage before you’ll have to pony up some cash. The service costs $5/month for 25GB of storage and goes up from there. Digital Memories offers a variety of scanning services, including photo-retouching and video-to-DVD services.

Before the Flip and YouTube made video recording a national pastime, parents would have to lug out the shoulder-fired canon of a camcorder to capture precious moving memories. That meant tapes – and lots of them – stored in closets, attics and basements.  Unlike our shoeboxes full of photos, a box full of camcorder tape is basically useless without a camcorder or player to view them on.  But technology marches on, and many of the older camcorder formats have been passed by. If you’re sitting on older videos you want to view and enjoy again, read on.

Digitize Your Video

Older camcorder tapes have gone the way of the T-Rex – they’re a menacing fossil. To enjoy the videos trapped inside them, you’ll have to convert them to a digital format – i.e. a DVD or a video file that can be viewed and edited on your computer. So, pop open that box of tapes and ask yourself – what do you have in there?

I Dunno, Some Tape-Like Things? The common tape formats include VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, Super8, and Digital8. How do you view them today? Well, you can drag out the camcorder (if you have it) and connect it to the TV (good luck finding the proper cables) but that’s an imperfect solution at best. Far better to take your tape formats and convert them to digital. Here’s how:

Image via ScanCafe.com

The Easy Way: The simplest way to tackle this is to let someone else do it. Video scanning services will take your tapes (or film) and create DVD movies out them. YesVideo, for instance, has partnered with numerous major retailers like Costco and Wal-Mart to offer just such a service. Hand over your tapes and in two weeks you’ll get DVD movies back. Other services include iMemories,  ScanMyPhotos, ScanCafe and MyMovieTransfer. Your local photo retailer can also provide these scanning services (find one here).

The downside is that having someone else digitize your videos is more expensive than doing it yourself. Scanning services can run $20 per every two hours of video footage burned. If you have a lot of footage, it can quickly add up.  While many scanning services offer some color correction, it’s basic. You can get more extensive fixes performed, but you’ll pay more for the privilege.

Services like YesVideo will break up long videos into chapters, but your ability to customize your final product is fairly limited. Once you get your DVD (and original tapes) back, chances are you can’t simply transfer the video from the DVD disc to your computer to view and edit on your computer (or upload to YouTube) – at least, not without a lot of effort. The videos you get back on DVD are primarily meant to be viewed on a TV through a DVD player. That’s a great solution for someone who’s not tech-savvy but it limits what you can do with those videos as far as online sharing or emailing is concerned.

If viewing your videos on your computer (and sharing them online) is important, ScanDigital offers a unique service: they will transfer your video to a hard drive (you can purchase a 500GB Western Digital drive from them for $120 or mail-in your own drive with your videos). This is a great solution, since it brings your videos into the digital age in a format that, unlike DVD, will be around for a while. But it’s pricey.

The Hard Way: If the thought of handing over your videos (and money) to a third party doesn’t sit well with you, there are plenty of ways to get that older video into the digital era yourself.

If you still have your old, tape-based camcorder: You’re ahead of the game. All you’ll need is a cable to connect it to your PC. Devices like Roxio’s Easy VHS-to-DVD ($60) combine the hardware to connect your old camcorder (or even a VCR) to your PC or Mac via USB along with software to convert that video into a file. That file can be burned to DVD or saved in a format suitable for viewing on a computer or mobile device.

While this method isn’t all that difficult, it is time consuming. Videos are usually transferred in real time – which means one hour of footage takes one hour to transfer. That’s painful,  particularly if you’re staring down a box full of old tapes.

If you only have the tapes, but no camcorder: Well, now you’re in a pickle, aren’t you? If you have a form of VHS tape (like VHS-C, a smaller version of the full-sized tape format), you can use your VCR with devices like the Roxio. Simply plug the tape into the VCR and the VCR via the cables supplied with the Easy VHS-to-DVD to your computer. But you don’t have a VCR, do you? Congratulations, you’ve now chosen the easy way. (See above)

What if You Used a DVD Camcorder: So you have the discs, but the camcorder’s long gone? Well, you’re in better shape than you would be if you were only sitting on tape. Software such as DVDx can transform your DVD footage into editable files that are stored on your computer’s hard drive. From there, you can use programs like Corel’s VideoStudio or Adobe Premiere Elements to edit and share that footage.

After It’s Digital

After you’ve successfully transferred your tape-based video to a digital format – a DVD or a hard drive – your primary goal should be to avoid a replay of this scenario in the future. That means that you’ll need to store a copy of your video in a format that will be easily accessible and viewable in the future. For that, it’s best to keep your videos safely secured as files on an external hard drive (having a separate, duplicate copy on DVD is a good idea too). While file formats do change, they do so slowly and it’s easier to convert files using software than it is to convert physical media like discs which become obsolete (along with the devices that play them).

Read More About Protecting Your Photos & Videos:
Fine Print on Photo Sites: Are Your Images Safe Online?
Four Steps to Protecting Your Photos and Videos
Make Your Digital Photos & Videos Last Forever
Why You Should Burn Photos to Gold DVDs
What Discs Are Better – Blu-ray, DVD or CD?
The Latest News on Photo & Video Backup & Protection

Click image for the full infographic.

A lot, if a new study from IDC is to be believed. Every two years, the amount of data generated in the world doubles. In 2011, 1.8 zettabytes (or 1.8 trillion gigabytes) will be created and duplicated.

Among these trillions of gigabytes are people’s photos and videos, which pile up quickly day after day, year after year. In fact, IDC told us that photos and videos make up over 90 percent of this “digital universe.” It’s an astounding figure.

One interesting finding from IDC is that metadata – or “data about data” – is growing twice as fast as original data. In other words, we need a lot of information to help us sort through all the information we’re acquiring.

This makes sense when you think about photos and videos – it’s much easier to handle, share and enjoy your pictures using software and applications than to try and find and share files in a basic interface.

With all this data piling up, it’s important to stay organized. While software programs should get increasingly helpful at keeping our digital life organized, secure and easily accessible, there’s still plenty for you to do. To learn more about how to keep your photos and videos organized, check out our tips. You may also want to think about bringing in a professional photo organizer, if the task is just too daunting.

Learn More About Protecting Your Digital Photos:

People of a certain vintage are likely sitting on a fair number of video tapes – VHS (and its smaller cousinVHS-C), Betamax, Hi 8, Digital 8 and MiniDV. Over time, these tapes are not only harder to view (since we no longer have the camcorders or VCRs required to play them) but they’ll also start to physically degrade, especially if they’re not meticulously cared for.

A new service from ScanCafe can help bring those home movies into the digital age. For $15, the company will digitize your tapes and send you back a DVD. Each digitization is done by hand and includes a variety of edits to improve the look of your movies. Colors are corrected and the firm’s technicians can reduce the jitters and flicker that often plague older home videos.

Each DVD produced will have graphic menus and other special effects along with manual scene selections so you can skip ahead to your favorite moment. The $15 price tag is for movies up to two hours in length and the service can tackle VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, VHS HiFi, Hi 8, Digital 8 and MiniDV formats.

The video transfer service YesVideo said late last week that it would add high definition video transfers to Blu-ray disc as part of their service offering.

Consumers can hand over their HD videos saved on an SD memory card to one of YesVideo’s participating retail locations (you can find a local YesVideo retailer here). The Blu-ray disc can hold 90 minutes worth of footage and will include chapter pictures on the disc case.

If burning your own Blu-rays seems to intimidating or time consuming, this service is worth a look. According to YesVideo, the turnaround time on Blu-ray ordering is the same as DVD, roughly three weeks. It costs $35 per disc and $13 for extra copies ordered during the time of purchase.

Three weeks ago, Cisco announced it was killing off the popular Flip camcorder and with it, the online video-sharing and storage service FlipShare. Cisco has since provided a few more details as to the fate of the online sharing service – it will remain live until December 2013.

Obviously if you’re a Flip camcorder owner and a FlipShare.com user, you should not be uploading anymore of your videos to the service and instead should be ensuring that all your FlipShare videos are stored locally on your computer and on an external hard drive.

Unlike some other online services which close rather abruptly, at least Cisco has given FlipShare users a long lead time to work out some alternative to the service.

Owners of the popular Flip camcorder woke up to some bad news today: Cisco is killing the Flip camcorder. Not only that, but they’re also going to “transition” FlipShare – an online service designed to store and share videos recorded with the Flip camcorder.

Cisco was vague on the future of FlipShare, saying in a statement that they will “support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan.” In all likelihood, they’ll either provide FlipShare users with the option to migrate their videos to another service like YouTube or Vimeo, or they’ll give you a limited time window to download your videos before they’re permanently deleted. We’ll keep you posted.

Either way, FlipShare’s demise is another reminder that online services aren’t always reliable when it comes to storing your photos and videos.