Best apps of September 2011: Nostalgia

Nostalgiqa 
(Developed by HumanSpot)
Available for: iOS
Price: 99 cents

What if Facebook updates and Twitter tweets actually meant something? What if they captured the seminal moments and turning points that shaped your life instead of merely notating what you ate for lunch that day or the awful movie you watched that evening? HumanSpot's Nostalgiqa could be the future of your past: Like other social networking apps, it's a repository for your musings and photos, but the emphasis is on building an interactive personal history, documenting the people, places and things that truly mattered along the way.

The cloud-based Nostalgiqa app offers users two basic functionality options: Capture and Explore. You can add content by snapping new photos within the app or loading them from your existing photo library, fleshing out the snapshot with all the relevant details--where and when it was shot, what it depicts and why it was worth documenting in the first place. Even if no photos are available, users can still enter written memories recording any event in their lives, posting content for public consumption or saving private recollections in a secret memory chest. Over time the fragmented thoughts and images come together to create a mosaic overview of a life still in progress.

Although Nostalgiqa serves as the virtual equivalent of a private diary or scrapbook, it's the potential for social interaction that makes the app even more compelling. By enabling users to read others' stories, Nostalgiqa offers friends, family or even strangers a vivid glimpse at the real people that exist behind the pithy tweets and goofy Facebook photos. In summation, Nostalgiqa lends new meaning to social networking, helping users make connections that truly count.