About John Romano

John is an award-winning interaction designer and an ardent cultural observer. His fascination: the mass adoption of digital communication tools and the change they are having on the way we interact with each other and the way we view ourselves. When he isn't contemplating on how to achieve immortality, he is either designing interactive projects at Capstrat in Raleigh, building stuff in the garage with his boy, or wandering off the beaten path on a motorcycle. Contact him at .

Author Archive | John Romano

Welcome to Life

By on May 16, 2012 in Cultural, Legal, Video

Copyright infringement in the digital afterlife. Hilarious.

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SXSW Wrap Up: Robot Panelists, AI and the Future of Identity

By on March 15, 2012 in Cultural, Featured, Technical

I sat with 65 other homo sapiens in a room, waiting to have an interview with a robot. Little did I know that in the end, it would be an interview with our own humanity.

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Robot panelists, AI, and the Future of Identity – SXSW 2012

By on August 7, 2011 in Archival, Cultural, Technical

In the future, we aren’t going to fight the robots, we’re going to become the robots. In fact, it may be even sooner — like, now. We’ll have two AI-powered panelists taking questions from the audience. Oh, we’ll have some great biological panelists, too. They’ll discuss artificial intelligence, digital avatars, and the future of identity. [...]

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Grieving online: social grief goes mainstream

By on June 26, 2011 in Cultural, Featured

With significant adoption of social networks by people of all ages, we now have a broad population that is open to using the Internet as a way to grieve and remember loved ones after death.

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Digital Avatars: what the?

By on May 29, 2011 in Cultural

What if you had someone there for you, every single day, without fail – if they were always ready with a kind word or a response to your latest musing. Never mad. Always caring ans concerned. Always ready to take time to be with you. Would it matter if he or she were a robot? [...]

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Digital Death Industry Attracts Cash, Shows Success

By on March 5, 2011 in Industry

The fledgling digital death industry is beginning to have some published success. We are seeing companies publish more facts about venture capital and how many users they have. Read on to learn about companies that are making hay.

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Interview on KDSK

By on March 1, 2011 in Video

We were interviewed on KDSK St. Louis. Kasey Joyce interviewed John and Evan about digital legacy. Matthew Koons, a man whose wife died at age 31, talks about having to decide what to do with his wife’s online accounts. Tim Yaeglin, an estate attorney also answers some legal planning issues.

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SXSW Panel and Meetup

By on February 24, 2011 in News

Are you interested in the subject of digital legacy? Come down to the South By Southwest Interactive Festival. We’re hosting a panel followed by a meet up. It’s all happening March 14th

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So what *does* happen to your digital assets after you die?

By on December 21, 2010 in Archival, Featured, Legal

Take a look into the terms of service for various sites like Facebook, Twitter and Gmail.

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Panel accepted at SXSW

By on December 8, 2010 in News

John Romano and Evan Carroll will be leading a panel at the 2011 SXSW Interactive festival. “You’re dead. Your data isn’t. What happens now?” will explore digital death and legacy from several perspectives. Here’s the description of the event: The Web has changed your life, your death and what you leave behind. Your heirlooms like [...]

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