Easter & World Backup Day

Image Source: LDS.org

Two very important things happened on Sunday and I was too busy enjoying them to post about them, so here is the recap.

Sunday, March 31st was one of my favorite and most important holidays ever, Easter. As a Christian I am forever grateful for what Easter represents to me and the fact that I am able to celebrate it is perfect. I am loved by Jesus Christ and I am thankful for Easter to help me remember His atoning sacrifice for me.

Image Source: World Backup Day

The other major thing to happen on Sunday, March 31st was World Backup Day. According to the events official website,

You might think your computer, phone or tablet is pretty reliable, but in reality, it's not. Everything (yes, everything) fails, and once it does, all the important information you've stored on that device can be destroyed. In fact, it's not a question of if a piece of technology will fail - it's when. 

More than 60 million computers will fail worldwide in 2013. Only 1 in 4 people back up their information regularly - that's roughly 45 million times this year where files will be lost forever. Even worse - 113 cell phones are lost or stolen every minute in the United States alone. That's hundreds of photos, conversations, calendars and more, gone in an instant.

It is so incredibly important that we remember to backup because as it says, "it's not a matter of if … it's when." We are becoming more and more reliant on our technology and yet many of us are playing "russian roulette" with our data by not backing it up. I could go on and on about the merits of backing up, but I feel that's not the point, instead, I will send you to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW for short) and editor Steve Sande's coverage of how to back up your different devices in his article Don't Be an April Fool. Take a few minutes and read through their tips and tricks. You might enjoy it enough you may add it to your regular reading list, I know I have.

One last thing about backing up, it doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. Some of you, hopefully all of you, are using the service Dropbox to store files in the cloud. By using Dropbox you are actually creating a backup of whatever you choose to store there. If you aren't already using it, use this link to sign up and you will get an additional amount of free space. If you already have Dropbox, consider looking into SugarSync or Box for additional online storage of your files, both of those links are also referral codes where you will get additional free storage. The way I see it, the more places you are storing your files the better chance you have to not lose them.

Even though World Backup Day is gone and over for 2013, it's never too late to find a backup solution. If you look on their site you will find additional suggestions for how to backup your data. Please take a few minutes this week and read over their site and find a backup solution that works for you. Be safe out there and guard your data!