Questions you want answered.

Didn't you just describe Facebook?

If you don't want to use Facebook specifically, maybe imgur?

Congrats!

Yeah, Facebook would work, or, if you want something narrower than your FB is currently set up, a new instagram account that's private would totally do the trick too. Apple devices have photostreams which can be good for this, but as someone who switched to an Android device in the last couple of years and now no longer see pictures of my nephew, it is not a friendly service for non-Apple users.

You could create a Facebook group and only invite those whom you would want to see what's in it. Have it completely private/invisible otherwise.

BushPilot wrote:

Our first child was born 3 weeks ago! We are thousands of kilometers from our extended families, and they want lots and lots of photos. We are trying to avoid plastering her all over Facebook, Instagram, etc., but sending to individuals is pretty tedious, and so we're looking for an alternative. We want something where we can add, remove, and organize photos (and perhaps video, but that matters less) for sharing with the family. Ideally it would be private (login/invite required) or semi-private (viewable to people who happen to know the link). It's fine if family and friends want to download the photos, as we'll only be inviting people we know and trust. Some of the viewers are rather techno-averse, so a simple interface would be best. Free is nice, but I would pay a reasonable fee if the service is worthwhile. Any recommendations?

Dropbox is easiest.

DropBox or Google Drive sound about right.

I've used Google Drive to share pictures of my wedding and a couple trips and it works quite well. You can also set up multiple people as contributors for an album. Scrolling through and downloading the pictures is pretty easy, and I recently figured out how to switch our Chromecast to slideshow our pictures. So that's a cool option if any family members have one.

A private Facebook group is also a good option, if you have relatives who are most comfortable using that. I'm personally removed from that ecosystem at this point though.

I'd also suggest not worrying about the less tech-savvy members of your family. We dumped everything into a single Dropbox folder and said something to the effect of: "if you can't figure out clicking on a single link, ask someone else to help you - we're too busy with a newborn over here to be your tech support"

Some friends of ours used Tinybeans to post pictures online and avoid the hassle of Facebook or Dropbox type stuff.

Congrats on the new addition to your family!
We use Amazon Photos as it's basically free with Amazon Prime. Photos are automatically uploaded from our phones, and then we simply add any that we want to share to a "Family&Friends" album. Then send them the link and done. Also, no matter what sharing method you use, Jonman is 100% right, don't be tech support for your less tech-savvy contacts. Let someone else handle that while you enjoy being a parent.

We also use Tinybeans. It sends a daily (or weekly or monthly) summary that you can sign people up or they can subscribe to if you send them the link. They can also hit the website and see stuff, add comments, order prints, etc. It has a decent mobile app so you can just take the pictures or videos and upload them from your phone.

Google Photos?

Pretty easy for sharing, albums, and can handle video, too. Also supports comments on anything.

Downside (?) is that it's hard to share direct links to media.

BadKen wrote:

Google Photos?

Pretty easy for sharing, albums, and can handle video, too. Also supports comments on anything.

Downside (?) is that it's hard to share direct links to media.

This was going to be my suggestion.

That or Facebook and just make stuff friends only.

Rykin wrote:

That or Facebook and just make stuff friends only.

Nah, then you're mandating people have a facebook account. Other options like Dropbox or Google Drive don't necessitate making accounts.

Any option with private sharing would require an account.

BadKen wrote:

Any option with private sharing would require an account.

Google often has "anyone with a link can view" permissions, which I think is the idea here.

*Legion* wrote:
BadKen wrote:

Any option with private sharing would require an account.

Google often has "anyone with a link can view" permissions, which I think is the idea here.

This.

Dropbox doesn't require an account either. Or at least, it didn't last time I used it for exactly this purpose.

Right, that's why I said private.

With anyone-with-a-link-can-view, you find out how many sick freaks are in your circle of "friends of friends" :D.

Pfffttt... I don't need a photo collection to tell me that...

Thanks for all the congratulations and the great suggestions! I've never heard of Tinybeans before, so I'll have to check that out, and I hadn't really considered Google Drive as a solution. Sounds like I'll be able to figure out a way to tackle this without needing to get Facebook/Instagram accounts.

What's something fun that can be found in America, but not Japan? Probably some sort of snack. My fiancee made a friend and wants to send a small gift, but we can't decide what would be good.

Delbin wrote:

What's something fun that can be found in America, but not Japan? Probably some sort of snack. My fiancee made a friend and wants to send a small gift, but we can't decide what would be good.

Dill Lickle, Salt & Vinegar, All Dressed, or Ketchup (granted these are mostly Canadian) chips. Japan doesn’t have the same chip flavors and those are the most popular to try. We brought All-Dressed and Ketchup when we went over in January. Also brought over some fireball and fine sour beers since it’s not popular over there yet.

Otherwise, if there’s something specific to your region, send that. I get requests for smoked salmon and maple flavored things.

Dropbox.

Vector wrote:
Delbin wrote:

What's something fun that can be found in America, but not Japan? Probably some sort of snack. My fiancee made a friend and wants to send a small gift, but we can't decide what would be good.

Dill Lickle, Salt & Vinegar, All Dressed, or Ketchup (granted these are mostly Canadian) chips. Japan doesn’t have the same chip flavors and those are the most popular to try. We brought All-Dressed and Ketchup when we went over in January. Also brought over some fireball and fine sour beers since it’s not popular over there yet.

Otherwise, if there’s something specific to your region, send that. I get requests for smoked salmon and maple flavored things.

Also a lot of the youtubers I follow in Japan talk about candy they can't get at home. Things like sour patch kids and other American candies tend to be hard to find in Japan.

Delbin wrote:

What's something fun that can be found in America, but not Japan? Probably some sort of snack. My fiancee made a friend and wants to send a small gift, but we can't decide what would be good.

Old Bay Spice

Vector wrote:
Delbin wrote:

What's something fun that can be found in America, but not Japan? Probably some sort of snack. My fiancee made a friend and wants to send a small gift, but we can't decide what would be good.

Dill Lickle, Salt & Vinegar, All Dressed, or Ketchup (granted these are mostly Canadian) chips. Japan doesn’t have the same chip flavors and those are the most popular to try. We brought All-Dressed and Ketchup when we went over in January. Also brought over some fireball and fine sour beers since it’s not popular over there yet.

Otherwise, if there’s something specific to your region, send that. I get requests for smoked salmon and maple flavored things.

Ketchup potato chips are a.) definitely Canadian and b.) definitely gross.

All Dressed chips were amazing when they first came out (*here in the USA). Once they removed the NEW!!!! graphic from the bag I think they also cut the flavoring by about 70% and they have been as disappointingly bland most of their other flavors since. That seems to be the chip companies basic M.O. though as Lay's did the same thing with the Sweet Southern Heat BBQ ones.

BushPilot wrote:

Our first child was born 3 weeks ago! We are thousands of kilometers from our extended families, and they want lots and lots of photos. We are trying to avoid plastering her all over Facebook, Instagram, etc., but sending to individuals is pretty tedious, and so we're looking for an alternative. We want something where we can add, remove, and organize photos (and perhaps video, but that matters less) for sharing with the family. Ideally it would be private (login/invite required) or semi-private (viewable to people who happen to know the link). It's fine if family and friends want to download the photos, as we'll only be inviting people we know and trust. Some of the viewers are rather techno-averse, so a simple interface would be best. Free is nice, but I would pay a reasonable fee if the service is worthwhile. Any recommendations?

LTTP, but my wife uses Google Photos for storage and organization into albums. We don't currently share that way, but I would imagine it's relatively simple, based on the Google Drive experience.

Vector wrote:

Dill Lickle

Dill Lickle? Is this a typo or is this a thing?

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Vector wrote:

Dill Lickle

Dill Lickle? Is this a typo or is this a thing?

I am sooooo not googling that.