Comments on: Blogging Fears – Death

By: Legacy Matters™

Legacy Matters™ — Wed, 11 May 2005 03:32:16 +0000

Your Digital Assets

Darren Barefoot wonders if it isn’t time for Digital Morticians Just where should you put all those bits and pieces about your digital assets and your online life?… Your will is not the only way or the document with which you can direct how y…

By: Legacy Matters™

Legacy Matters™ — Mon, 09 May 2005 14:16:13 +0000

Your Digital Assets

By: BobbyMasteria

BobbyMasteria — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:15:04 +0000

Advanced posting could help someone to be the first to cover his own death – but it’s risky.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:47:51 +0000

It is a morbid topic indeed but you make a good point! I didn’t think about granting access to my blogs to the people who survive me in the event of my death (at least sooner than anticipated).

As for continuity, perhaps this is a good case for grooming someone to take over in the case of things going badly? Perhaps you could consider introducing a guest blogger who could work with you on an ongoing basis?

By: Dylan Greene

Dylan Greene — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 19:13:40 +0000

Hi Darren – I recently made a blog for a friend, Anoopa, who was in a terrible car accident. She passed away only a week later, at only 24 years old. Her friends and family members regulary visit the site, but it also has had thousands of strangers that learned of her untimely death through news coverage and other blogs. Hundreds of people have left comments for Anoopa and her family on various blog entries.

We keep it up-to-date with information about her memorial services, a new memorial fund, and other relevant information.

Her site: http://www.Anoopa.net

By: Laura Moncur

Laura Moncur — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:44:29 +0000

The weirdest thing I worry about is that I advance post about a week or two. If newspapers can do it, I figure I can to. If I were to die, my posts would keep on coming every day at 5am and my readers wouldn’t know that they were posthumous. Creepy…

By: Jill Fallon

Jill Fallon — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 12:32:16 +0000

So interesting that this question of what to do with digital assets is finally coming up. My advice, leave whatever money is necessary to support your blog for one year in your will so that there’s time to figure out what to do. Problem wills are public documents, I recommend that people also draft a letter to their executor – not legal, but morally binding, to deal with passwords to online accounts, what you want done with your email, email or blogging friends that should be contacted along with your last wishes, the music you want at the funeral etc, how you want to be buried.

I really urge everyone to keep what I call personal legacy archives in digital form. Blogs are definitely part of that.
Take a look at Ronni Bennett’s post on Stories to Leave for the Infinite Future http://www.timegoesby.net/2005/04/stories_for_the.html. She’s the first blogger I know of who’s made plans.
I will definitely post on this in the near future and welcome any other suggestions of what people are thinking to do.

By: Darren

Darren — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 12:20:14 +0000

yeah I do Duncan. Keeps the site ticking over.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 06:32:57 +0000

Side question, do you find that advance posting is effective?

By: Darren

Darren — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 04:06:19 +0000

aaah – yes – the illusion of working around the clock in advance posting so that it hit the blog when the rest of the world was awake!

Let me know your passwords Duncan – trust me – mwhaahahahaaar

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 02:26:45 +0000

I note the post time and would suggest that you get more sleep, but you do make an interesting point, particularly given that not even my wife knows the passwords to my blogs and other related services (hosts, domain sites etc).

By: BobbyMasteria

BobbyMasteria — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 18:06:16 +0000

I remember having asked you by the end of February if you had made out your will concerning your blogs. You answered :

no, but i will be soon

I think that I would want my blogs to be archived on archive.org, at least.