The phrase “digital asset” is being used, but we have yet to come to a legally-accepted definition. A simple definition is that a digital asset is content owned by an individual that is stored in digital form. But this may not be broad enough to encompass all the digital elements of an estate that have […]
A Low-Effort Approach to Digital Estate Planning
If you’ve heard us talk about digital estate planning before, we always end the talk with an easy way out. It goes something like this. “If you do nothing else, make sure you inventory your most important digital accounts, record your user names and passwords, and then have a conversation with a trusted friend of […]
Digital Afterlife Industry Roundup
Dead Man’s Switch Beta Earlier this week Dead Man’s Switch released a beta version. In an email to users founder Stavros Korokithakis announced the beta and hinted at new features to come. The new version only contains about the same functionality as the old one, for now, but we would appreciate your help in testing […]
Now Our Memories Can Live Forever
Jonathan Good over at 1000Memories shared his TEDx San Francisco talk with me today. He did a great job presenting the vision of a future where people are remembered for more than their name, but for their story and experiences. This is actually one of the primary reasons that I’m concerned with the preservation of […]
QR Codes, Microchips In Cemeteries
Would you want a QR code on your headstone? That was a question posed via an email from Adele McAlear. Quiring Monuments is now offering just that with its “Living Headstone” line of memorial products. Cemetery visitors with smartphones can read the QR code and visit a memorial website to learn more about the deceased. […]
Digital Immortals: Preserving Life Beyond Death – SXSW 2012
Digital Immortals: Preserving Life Beyond Death is the panel I’ve proposed for SXSW 2012. In short we’ll talk about how we can archive our digital content so that it can be preserved and experienced in the future. I’ve asked a great set of panelists to join me: John Romano, The Digital Beyond Bill LeFurgy, Library […]
Robot panelists, AI, and the Future of Identity – SXSW 2012
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. […]
Digital legacy presented at TED Global 2011
Adam Ostrow, the editor-in-chief of Mashable, presented After your final status update last month at TED Global 2011. We’re pleased that the topic of digital legacy is getting attention on a respected, global stage. Adam mentions several services listed on our site, including 1000Memories and If I Die. Adam’s vision for the potential future of […]
Digital Afterlife Industry Milestones: A Timeline
When I started researching the digital afterlife in 2008, I felt as if nobody was discussing the topic. We found a few posts here and there, but information on the topic was sparse. About a year ago I decided to take a look back and see what I could learn about the early days of […]
Historypin: A Digital Legacy for the World
You can’t spend much time thinking about your digital afterlife without considering personal archiving and how you’ll preserve your family mementos for future generations. In fact lot’s of people are working to help individuals do just that, including the Library of Congress and online services like 1000 Memories and Chronicle of Life. Today I stumbled […]