Thursday, May 14, 2009

MyAfterlife

Could MySpace become MyAfterlife, an online postmortem site?

As MySpace members die, the ranks of non-living members grow. And if MySpace's popularity wanes (as all Internet fads do), eventually it will have more dead users than living.

A somewhat-related (and less facetious) topic aired on NPR recently1. It discussed ownership of accounts of people who die.

What should happen to your blog after you die? Would you want it to remain? Would you want someone to moderate comments, or perhaps disable commenting?

What about e-mail accounts? Should your next of kin have access to your e-mail? Would you want someone to set up a sort of automated "on vacation" message that says that you've taken a trip to the Promised Land, or that you'll be out-of-the-office from now until Eternity?

Would you want someone to enter all your favorite online social sites, chatrooms, message boards, etc., to post a message with a link to your online obituary?

What are your online plans for the Afterlife?


1 "Death Often Brings Disputes Over Online Lives," by Yuki Noguchi, May 11, 2009, All Things Considered
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4 comments:

rummuser said...

I would not be able to blog at all without the active support and encouragement of my techie son. He has access to all my passwords and accounts and he will post my obit. I hope!

May 15, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Square Peg Guy said...

Hi rummuser:

In your case, your online afterlife is easy to direct. All you need to do is write your obituary, if you haven't already done so! :)

Thanks for commenting!

May 15, 2009 at 1:03 PM
rummuser said...

My obituary is all ready.

"Dash"

The Dash

By Linda Ellis

© 1996



I read of a reverend who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

from the beginning...to the end.



He noted that first came the date of her birth

and spoke of the following date with tears.

But he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.



For that dash represents all the time

that she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

know what that little line is worth.



For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars...the house...the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

and how we spend our dash.



So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left.

You could be at dash mid-range.



If we could just slow down enough

to consider what's true and real

and always try to understand

the way other people feel.



And be less quick to anger

and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives

like we've never loved before.



If we treat each other with respect

and more often wear a smile...

remembering that this special dash

might only last a little while.



So when your eulogy is being read

with your life's actions to rehash,

would you be proud of the things they say

about how you spent your dash?

May 16, 2009 at 6:45 AM
Square Peg Guy said...

Hi rummuser:

Thanks for posting that poem. I'd read it or heard it a while ago. It's nice to see it again.

May 18, 2009 at 12:51 PM

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