Hannah Harrison
AFA Journal staff writer
August 2020 – “My father died quickly a few years ago, and our family had no substantial video of his life story,” said Nathan Firer, founder of Megilla.
When Firer became a parent, he realized his children would never know the person his father, their “Papaw,” was. The thought saddened him and motivated him to help other families avoid the same fate. His solution: Megilla, a web service that makes it easy for families to record and preserve family stories before it is too late.
The word megilla is defined as a one-sided scroll used to record ancient scripts. The Old Testament book of Esther was supposedly written on one. Using today’s technology, Firer helps families generate video stories and family history that will become lasting family treasures.
What’s the question?
When creating questions to spark the imagination of users, Firer began with things he wishes he had asked his own dad. From there, he and his team built an impressive array of 750+ pre-programmed questions from which Megilla users may select as they plan their own family video history.
The service also allows users to add their own questions. The only catch is each question must be answered in three minutes or less. For long-winded storytellers, this may be a bit of a challenge. But studies suggest the average attention span is shrinking, and Megilla found people are more likely to watch short videos than long ones. Hence, the three-minute goal.
The pre-programmed questions are organized in topical folders ranging from family to hobbies, religion, travel, and everything in between. The simplicity of the questions streamlines the process while covering the bases. It should be noted that in the religion folder, a user may select questions not only from the Christian faith but also from other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
What’s the process?
“I remember hearing the phrase ‘cradle to grave’ and thinking, What a morbid saying, but I also remember thinking, That’s life!” Firer said. “I tried to include questions that can bring someone from their birth story to their current perspective, allowing them to time travel through their lives by answering these questions.”
Recording a story is as easy as choosing a question and hitting “record.” The current model allows users to email questions to family members, have them record themselves answering the questions, and email the response back. This feature gives even families who live apart from each other the joy of sharing their lives.
Currently a web-based app can be used on any device with access to a web browser. However, Firer said, “We plan to create a mobile app soon. We have a long list of exciting new features we will be adding shortly.”
Megilla is not a free service, but it enables users to tell their story without breaking the bank. Some free trial specials will be offered. Each user owns the full content of his/her videos and retains all rights to them. 
Testimony: from ‘too busy’ to ‘love it’
AFA Journal asked for a satisfied customer and Nathan Firer was quick to share: “After telling a 91-year-old friend about Megilla, she said, ‘I don’t have time for that. I’m very busy.’ I laughed.
“But a few weeks later, her grandson showed her how to use Megilla, and after recording a few videos, she loved it. She thanked me and said, ‘There is peace knowing future generations will see and hear my stories, rather than just seeing me in photos.’”
For more information or to use Megilla, visit megilla.com or call 424.337.1006.
