Perhaps a testament to the growing awareness of digital afterlife issues, a number of events have sprung up recently ostensibly focused on the topic. Here are the ones that I have learned about. Let me know if you have one that isn’t listed here. HCI at the End of Life April 10th, 2010 Workshop at […]
A list of events at SXSW that all deal with digital identities and afterlife. Virtual Interviews: A Chat With Darwin’s Ghost #syntheticinterview Ralph Vituccio and John Dessler Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center Synthetic Interview is a unique technology that allows people to have a conversation with a character or persona as if that person were […]
It’s that time of year and there’s one thing that the Internet is not short of–predictions about what will happen in 2010. And like most others out there, we have an opinion too. Let’s take a brief look back at 2009. Without doubt, 2009 was the emerging year for the digital afterlife. Since we started […]
Once you’re dead and gone – past the time when anyone that you know is alive – will your digital identity remain? Will your future descendants be able to look at your images and videos, read your writing, and get to know what your life was like here on Earth? Most likely, but currently there […]
John Romano and Evan Carroll, creators of The Digital Beyond, appeared on WRAL in Raleigh, NC giving some helpful advice about preparing for the digital afterlife. You can read the full story online at www.wral.com. We also have a checklist to help you plan for your digital afterlife. .
We’ve discussed several times the value of the past, that desire to know more about those who came before you. And we’ve postulated that the digital age presents an opportunity for individuals to be known by future generations through their online postings. Preservation issues aside, this raises the question of identity. Is an online persona […]
When researching the various services that deal with the digital afterlife, a certain pattern started to emerge. I call this pattern the three stages of the digital afterlife: missed, remembered, forgotten. I’ll address each in that order, naturally. Missed This is the stage that occurs right after death. You’ve left a void and your survivors […]
I have two friends, Paul and Richard. They only know each other through me. What happens to that social connection when I die? Normally all the social connections created through me after I die may slowly decay. As Richard and Paul die, only the physical artifacts (the photos, letters, etc.) remain. 100 years from now, […]
In the physical world, interactions between people are remembered. Sometimes the interaction leaves behind physical artifacts. Letters are frequently treasured objects – remembrances of love, loss, and revolution. Photos of people long gone often become family heirlooms. That fact that interactions help form our self identity and our bonds to other people reminds us that […]
… along with the promise of a digital after life. The concept of “digital death” and “digital afterlife” are just beginning to enter into the public consciousness. We see a constant stream of writers, academics, and entrepreneurs that are realizing the coming importance of digital death and afterlife. What we know Interacting and expressing yourself […]
