HELLO & WELCOME

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dear friends, colleagues, mentors, and loved ones,

Since you’re reading this, you’ve likely touched my life in a meaningful way, even if it’s been some time since we last spoke. The last year has reminded me how connection and community are only getting more precious. I want to share a few small updates, one big update about my new company, and an invitation to engage at whatever your level of interest might be. After this long season of being distant from one another, I’d love to hear what you’re doing too.

I’ve been excited about the power of immersive media like virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR, collectively XR) for a few years now. Finding my place in this field has been a messy, inspiring, humbling journey. I’m fortunate to have gotten space to experiment, serving in technical roles and creative roles (sometimes both at once), always trying to understand where I belong. Do I want to make VR movies? Do I want to make games? Documentaries? Abstract poetic pieces about consciousness and embodiment? The answer has in most cases been “sure, why not!”

This journey, marked by the turmoil of the last year and a fiercely loving circle of friends and family, led me to take two big steps. The first was moving to Austin, Texas with Molly. If you know Molly, you know why such a big adventure with her was a no-brainer.

The second step was committing to a long-held dream of entrepreneurship by founding Living Memory.

Living Memory harnesses immersive media to preserve the life stories of fascinating people in families, communities, and organizations. It’s a special sort of time capsule that does what pictures and video just can’t. This work enables people to sit across from a friend, family member, or mentor one more time and hear their words of wisdom.

Think about a loved one, living or not, family or not, whom you love(d) to be around. What questions would you ask them if nothing was off-limits? What wisdom and advice would you want to make certain they pass on? Where would you speak to them? I’m asking purely out of interest and to understand peoples’ reactions to these questions. If you have any kind of story that comes to mind, I’d love to listen.

One of my favorite parts about Living Memory is that I get to donate every sixth project to a nominated family or organization. As nominations begin to roll in, I think it’s important to have a truly diverse group of individuals to determine who these donations will benefit. That’s why I also invite you to consider joining Living Memory's selection committee: a team of volunteers who vote on which stories Living Memory will record and preserve.

What do you think about all of this? Please reach out and share where you’re at, even if you aren’t anywhere at all. It will be enough just to talk to you.

Love, respect, and gratitude to you and yours.

Trent