Engaged Technology: How To Use Your iPad To Create Closeness

This guest post by Shane Ketterman is a lot of fun, and I think you’ll take away some great ways to use technology to enhance the romance in your marriage!

Warning: This post will help you create amazing memories with your spouse and bring you closer. It also assumes you have a Mac and an iPad.

Technology has pretty much infiltrated our daily lives. We use it at work. We use it for entertainment. We also use it for education. There are some really great ways it has brought people together, but it also has another side: It can drive a wedge between couples.

Technology has certainly evolved over the past few years. We have smart phones, social networking, and innovations like the iPad. All of these great things could also be considered distractions. I can’t count how many times I hear couples say, “I wish we could go back to when things were more simple.” And they say this because they have been slightly driven apart by all the distractions of technology.

But here is a way to turn that around. Here is a way to get closer using technology. Here is a way you can take the latest and greatest mobile device (the iPad) and share something extremely special with you spouse.

The Weekend Getaway

When is the last time you took a break with each other? Turned off the phones, forgot the appointments, hired a sitter, and took a few days off to spend some time with each other? The next time you do, how about taking the following things with you:

* Your digital camera

* Your iPad

* The Apple Camera Connection Kit

OK, so not all technology will be left behind, but there’s a good reason. First, resist the temptation to use the Internet on your iPad. I know, it can be tough, but turn off WiFi and 3G (if you have it).

Now, use your digital camera. Take photos of everything you do and see together. Even if it seems like it’s a boring picture, it’s the memories that count, not the fact that you might not be Ansel Adams. So shoot away! I have even done this and created a game out of it; to see who could take the most mundane or craziest photos.

Now, before you end the getaway, use the Camera Connection Kit and transfer those photos to your iPad. But do this together. Simply plug one end of the Connection kit into the dock connector on your iPad (on the bottom) and the other end right into your digital camera. If you use an SD memory card, you can also plug that in as well.

When you turn your camera on, the iPad will see it and begin pulling the photos over. Take some time to go through them together.

Watch the slideshow which automatically loads and begins playing. While you watch the photos, think about the ones that really stand out because the next thing you will do is simply amazing.

The Weekend Getaway Book

Have you ever sat down and looked at a photo album and drifted away in memories? Perhaps you got out your Wedding album and relived that awesome day. Either way, it was nice to have something you can sit and look at which stirs emotion.

Guess what? That weekend getaway you just had with your spouse is about to become your very own book!

A little known feature of Apple’s iPhoto (which is installed on every Mac) is the ability to have a hard-bound book created and sent to you using your own design and photos. It’s not only a memory, it’s an amazing keepsake and something you can look at with your spouse time and time again.

Now, once you get home take out that iPad and sync it to your Mac. They will all go right into iPhoto and be stored as an “Event”. You can name this “Event” something memorable like “Weekend Together”.

Next, head over here to the Apple iPhone tutorials and scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “how to create photo keepsakes.” The video will literally walk you through the entire process.

It’s easy. It’s fun. And it’s something that will really bring you closer. I think you will be amazed at the quality and personalization you can add to your very own book. This is quality time together using technology.

More ideas? Surprise your spouse with the book. Have it sent to his/her work. Create one from past photos. Create a special place in your home for the books and look at them from time to time.

So there you go. While technology has the ability to be a distraction, you can now use it to create closeness. Try it out. You will be amazed when the book arrives in the mail how truly powerful it is to re-create that special weekend – again and again.

Have you ever tried this idea?  Do you have other great romantic ideas to make technology work FOR your marriage?

(photo source)

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Shane Ketterman is the Editor of the popular TCGeeks iPad blog. It’s a place to learn how to get the most out of your iPad for business, school, or just daily use. You can also find him on Twitter @tc_geeks.

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