I want to know if there are free websites where my extended family can
all post information about themselves, current activities, photos,
travel itineraries, etc.  Would want to make access available by
invitation only. If more than one site is available, are there any
significant differences in sites.

Hi SouthwardBound,

  There are numerous free sites and blogs, used by families and
friends to share photos and current events. Most are easy to set up
and are easy to maintain. Some are more ?customizeable? than others,
and some interfaces are more attractive that others. Here are what I
have found to be some of the better sites:



MyFamily
My first choice:
This site is free, although they do have paid upgrades. I have a
family member who has used the free version for years, assigning us
all a password that allows us to upload our own numerous photos and
information. I like the easy to use interface and features.
http://www.myfamily.com/isapi.dll?c=home&f=default


WordPress
A free blog, that can be controlled with a password.
http://wordpress.com/

Here?s an example of a WordPress blog. Take a look around? I think you
will like the interface.
http://web-owls.com/category/research/



LiveJournal
Free and upgradeable plans.
http://www.livejournal.com/


Blockstar
This site also has a free version, which has 50mg of storage. There is
also a paid upgrade at $24.99 for 6 months.
http://www.blockstar.com/


FamilyPlanIt
2mg free space, with paid upgrades
http://www.familyplanit.com/


OurStory (New and in Beta)
Free and with privacy control
http://www.ourstory.com/?keyword=Go_beyond_blogging.&src=google_free_blog&gclid=CMC1ysmh-YYCFRKMCwodJibRYg


ClearBlogs
http://clearblogs.com/home.php


TribalPages
A family tree website, free.
http://www.tribalpages.com/


Free Photo Sharing Sites
=========================

Flickr
http://flickr.com/


ImageStation
Free, with nudges to purchase prints.
http://www.imagestation.com/


Shutterfly
Similar to ImageStation
http://www.shutterfly.com/


DotPhoto
http://www.dotphoto.com/DefaultLand.asp




Fotolog
Free with paid upgrades
http://www.fotolog.com/


Photobucket
http://photobucket.com/


PhotoSite
http://www.photosite.com/


Fotki
http://www.fotki.com/


GJPix
http://gallery.greatestjournal.com/




For a fee
=========

FamilyBuzz
$12  a year, a reasonable fee for chat, photos, address book, calendar
and organizing tools. I think a dollar a month is a bargain, and seems
to meet all of your criteria.
http://www.familybuzz.com/


Famundo a family blog, but with a slant towards managing events.
$9.95 a month. I really like the interface and features of this site!
http://www.famundo.com/

See screenshots and a demo here:
http://www.famundo.com/demo/screenshots.html



This article may interest you as well:
http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/07/27/genealogy-blog-starting-with-a-purpose-and-a-plan/


There are oodles of free sites. I consider the FamilyBozz and MyFamily
to be some of the easiest, most useful and attractive sites. I
purposely left out sites that contained flashy or excessive ads,
spyware, or were apparent spam magnets.


I hope you find one or more of the above will meet your needs. If not,
please request an Answer Clarification, and allow me to respond,
before you rate.

Enjoy your family site! I?m sure you and your family will appreciate
and enjoy personalizing and sharing photos! I do!

Sincerely, Crabcakes


Search Terms
============
Personal knowledge
Free family photo sharing sites
Free family blogs
Free family web sites photos

---

Clarification of Answer by crabcakes-ga on 24 Aug 2006 15:29 PDT

I can hardly believe I left out three free Google applications you may enjoy.

A free calendar that can be shared among family members.
://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1


Google Blogger
http://www.blogger.com/start


Google Page Creator
http://pages.google.com

Enjoy!

Wow!  Quick and thorough.  this is just what I have been looking for. 
My first post on Google answers and you can be sure I will be back.
Thanks, Crabcakes! and thanks, Google!

I recommend Blogger http://www.blogger.com. You can create blogs only
accessible for members of your family, is totally free and many
knowledge are not needed to make work them

I'm so glad you are happy with your first Google Answer! Thank you for
the stars and the nice tip. Both are much appreciated! Regards,
Crabcakes

One small clarification:
Having administered a myfamily.com site for 2 years, I would also
recommend MyFamily.com, however it is not free. When first introduced
the site was free (which is probably why the answer indicated this),
but several years ago they began charging. The cheapest plan is $30 a
year, which includes 100 megabytes of storage space. You can add more
storage for a fee. Though they cost a little, they are really reliable
- I can't remember the site ever being down. It has been well worth it
for our family.