Gents, i do print my pictures. And i also have a backup strategy (time machine, carbon copy cloner, synology raid, off site copies, crash plan, amazon photos)
But perhaps i haven't been clear in what i eventually intend to achieve. The data i have is in a Lightroom database and uses a relatively clear format / structure, the people on this forum would have the skills to be able to open up and likely find the interesting pictures.
Nobody in my family have these skills.
I also think i have a lot of family photographs and scans that may be of interest to the next generation(s) of my family. Especially if the photographs have some context around them (either in text files or metadata).
So i intend to create a number of copies of these photographs, in a media format that i hope will be easily read and understood. For example, lets make the assumption for now that dvd's can still be read in 50 years time. I will create a dvd that will contain text file explaining what the dvd is, (an archive of family photos created by Joe Bloggs on Sunday October 1st 2017 containing my family photos and scans going back 100 years. these photos will have text accompanying them telling the viewer when and where the shots were taken and some context / story where known. A number of these dvd's will then be burned and sent to family members with instructions on how to read / store. Perhaps some family members will have more than one copy, one for now and one to store. Each year (or whenever necessary, the dvd will be updated and sent around the family members.
I have to say i would love to have had this from my parents and grandparents. To read about and see generations of my family that i would know little about without seeing these pictures and text.