UXA’s upcoming design hackathon, XHacks, challenges participants to “reimagine human connection in the digital age.”
Today, we see an abundance of products and services designed to reimagine the breadth of human connection — including most forms of social media and matchmaking apps. However, there are hidden gems that focus instead on the depth of human connection — enhancing and strengthening existing relationships.
Depth-focused solutions arguably offer more meaningful opportunities for impact. One area we see depth-focused solutions employed is bringing loved ones closer together; solutions that strengthen such relationships are invaluable. In this article, we’ll dive into one of these hidden gems: a service pitched in this past Friday’s episode of Shark Tank that takes a depth-first approach to enhancing family relationships.
Remento is a service that aims to preserve family memories through storytelling.
Remento creates a keepsake book to preserve memories
Remento emails storytellers on a regular cadence with story prompts, such as “What was the most adventurous trip you ever took?” or “What was the most memorable job you ever had and why?” Family members can also send personalized questions, or attach photos as prompts. From the email, storytellers record their responses in Remento’s video platform, and then Remento compiles their responses over time and turns them into a keepsake book of written stories. For each story in the book, Remento includes a scannable QR code that allows the reader to watch the storyteller’s original recording.
Remento’s multi-faceted service enables family stories to transcend generations: The storytelling service is often gifted to parents and grandparents, and then the keepsake book is passed down to children and grandchildren. The service purposefully creates a space for the storyteller to reminisce on their past and the meaningful moments of their life — topics that might not come up in everyday conversation. And the product (keepsake book) uses those stories as a means for creating deeper connections with family members. As many subscribers note, the value of the service isn’t just about having the keepsake book — it’s about the deeper-level conversations that it sparks.
"What got me was the combination of traditional storytelling with modern technology. Remento isn't just preserving memories - it's preserving the actual voice and personality of our loved ones. As someone who wishes I had more recordings of my own parents' stories, I immediately saw the value in what the team at Remento has built.” — Mark Cuban, Shark Tank investor for Remento
Storyworth launched in 2013 as the original family storytelling solution. Remento launched much later in 2021, but has seen success despite their long-standing competition — an achievement made possible through several strategic innovations providing additional value and reducing user friction: