Archive | Cultural

The issue of digital death is getting common enough that we can now FAIL to answer the question. http://failblog.org/2009/06/10/yahoo-answers-fail/

Humans seem to have a need for immortality. We also seem to have a need to understand where we came from. So here are two scenarios to help me frame a question: Today What would you give to know how your ancient ancestors lived? Where were they when the pyramids were built, at the birth […]

People often talk sadly about the last thing they said to or did with a loved one before they die. Petty arguments. Missed meetings. These regrets often follow the survivors for the rest of their lives. Technology is now making it easier to send your loved ones messages that they receive after you die. The […]

At the end of most wedding vows is the line “til death do us part.”  Death is the end of your physical life, but if your digital existence continues, when does your online marriage end?  Can the relationship between two online personas continue even if the people behind them change?  What if one partner is […]

It seems like the issue of digital death has reached mainstream, evidenced by The Onion now commenting on it. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/facebook_friend_apparently “Boy. That’s a shame. Just goes to show you that you really have to enjoy every SuperPoke like it’s your last.” Thanks to Sharkey for the link.

In this post, Steven Keith, a strategist at Capstrat, has provided me with the next real world need in search of an online equivalent. I recently watched the director’s cut of Bladerunner. His job is to kill the aging androids. I thought a job of the future would be to kill someone’s digital past- for […]

A friend emailed this today. Written by chromepoet. Very soon, we will read about people who toss it all by posting a list of their usernames/passwords, shutting down their computers and walking off the grid, never to be heard of again. It will be the equivalent of a digital suicide. And would make a great […]

Egyptian kings buried themselves with treasure, food, and even slaves. Chinese emperors made ceramic armies to command after death. What do modern people do? They bury themselves with their mobile phones, Blackberries and iPhones and iPods. In this MSN article, funeral directors talk about how people are requesting to be buried with their digital devices. […]

Imagine leading a quality digital life for 50 more years. What will happen when you die? What will become of your online accounts? Your data? What do people pass on to their heirs? Can your survivors box up your digital life and archive it? Will the data be lost without people to tend it? Or […]

There has always been money to be made selling the afterlife, and the digital afterlife will be no different. In the near future a host of businesses will spring to life to help us deal with virtual bliss. But what will they offer? The digital mausoleum. A place where people can go online to see […]