Thursday, June 16, 2022

Guest Post: Old Stone Tag: Preserving History and Securing Memories

Memories can be fleeting, and the fleeting, ephemeral nature of memory can be especially problematic when preserving the history of loved ones who have passed.

That’s where Old Stone Tag comes in.

What is Old Stone Tag?

The idea behind Old Stone Tag came to Jason and Korie when visiting the cemetery. As they walked past rows of headstones, they realized that behind the name and a date on each stone, there were lost memories, lost stories, and lost history. People are so much more than a name and a date.

As Korie explains, “It’s the dash that counts™- the life lived, no matter how short or how long, my dream is to see those memories and stories preserved and shared for generations to come, and Old Stone Tag gives loved ones the ability to do just that.”

Leveraging Innovation to Preserve History

Using an NFC tag with a high bond 3M™ adhesive, people can place a tag (the Old Stone Tag) on a gravestone. With their phone, visitors can touch the tag to open a special web page that tells the life story of the person.

The purchase of a tag comes with the ability to upload up to 30 pictures, 3 videos, and as many documents as you want. “This is not a subscription service. With your purchase, you will always have access to the site to add, delete, or make any changes you want to the content of the tag,” said Korie. “We also have a legacy user option in place so that you can designate a user to take over management of the tag’s contents once you pass away. Or, if you are like me, you can create your own tag while you are still alive to be sure the memories you want to be shared are shared.”

Future features are being planned. They include dropping a pin for the mapping of family members within a given cemetery and a family tree builder.

The tag itself comes in four different styles and two different materials, including a rigid PVC for outdoor use, and a flexible PVC with an anti-metal layer for indoor use on urns. Tags are UV coated so the print is guaranteed for up to 20 years. The inlay is an NFX NTAG 213, which is highly adaptive and interchangeable for future updates. The adhesive used on the rigid PVC tag for outdoor use is the same glue that is used on oil rigs, meaning there is nowhere in the United States that it will lose adhesion.

The Old Stone Tag Mission

The mission of Old Stone Tag is simple – preserving history for future generations. How do younger generations learn about family and the past? Scrapbooks, keepsakes, and family stories were useful in the past, but people today are used to finding information on their phones. “What better way to engage younger generations to learn about their family history. Large family reunions and vacations have gone by the wayside and families just don’t pass memories down from generation to generation the way they used to,” said Korie.

Already, many have seized on the opportunity offered by Old Stone Tags to preserve and share the memories and stories of loved ones that have passed. Early feedback has been strong, with many appreciating the ability to preserve and share the story of those who have passed.

While much of the current business for Old Stone Tag has come from word of mouth, Korie is building partnerships with funeral homes and monument companies that will offer the tags to the families they serve. Genealogy groups and pre-planning insurance companies are other potential partnerships for Old Stone Tag.

Korie is also working with local VFW and American Legion groups to provide members a discount on the purchase of Old Stone Tags, as well as donating $10 from each sale back to the member’s post. “I have a great many memories of grandparents engaged in American Legion activities,” Korie explained. “My grandpa served as the commander of our local post for nearly a decade before his death, and my grandma continued as the auxiliary president for many years after. I come from a family of veterans and giving back to the families of those who served is very important to me. We are working out the details to offer a lunch and learn for those members that struggle with the use of technology.”

Korie recently partnered with an in-home sales consultant who will bring Old Stone Tag Creation Sessions to your home in a typical product party style. The hostess would provide the beverage of choice and an internet connection, and all that the guests would need to bring is $50 and memories to share,” said Korie.

Life As An Entrepreneur

It’s been an adjustment as the owner of Old Stone Tag. Right now, Korie is a one-person team. She’s had to develop the product, work on supply chain and pricing, manage her own website, create a marketing plan, handle sales, and manage fulfillment. Even though she is handling everything herself, she frequently bounces ideas off of trusted friends, previous co-workers, and of course, family.

“It hasn’t been easy, but it sure is exciting,” said Korie. “At first, I struggled the most with talking about death, but once I embraced that we really aren’t talking about death at all, we are celebrating individual lives, the struggle disappeared. It was a new experience for me this past Memorial Day to laugh and reminisce at the cemetery instead of only crying while taps were played, but that is exactly what happened thanks to the memories that were shared on various tags and the subsequent conversations that took place.”

Right now, Korie has found that word-of-mouth advertising has been her best tool. People love Old Stone Tag, and as they tell or show people how it works, then the customer base grows.

Old Stone Tag can be found online at www.OldStoneTag.com, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.  There are demonstration videos on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/oldstonetag).

For businesses interested in participating in one of Old Stone Tag’s partner programs, Korie would love to hear from you. She can be reached at korie@oldstonetag.com or 740-745-7009.

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Disclosure:  I was contacted by Korie several weeks ago requesting publicizing Old Stone Tag.  I agreed to publish a guest blog post written by Korie.  I have received no remuneration or special privileges by posting this information. 


Copyright (c) 2022, Randall J. Seaver

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