We have an increasing digital tattoo. Our time spent online, in fact, is time spent building a record of sorts. When we own accounts in Facebook or Flikr, or we post to YouTube, we are creating a digital footprint.
But when the owner of these accounts pass the mortal coil, what becomes of the data?
There are a number of questions to consider, including:
– Your Facebook page can be turned into a digital memorial – or deleted – but does anyone have the password? Is your family aware of what you want done with it?
– Business sites are usually tied to a single user and credit card. Do you have a system in place for it to transition or be closed down? What about the URL — and how do you plan to deal with the web site name?
– Our photo sharing sites often contain massive numbers of photos. In some cases we use them as our online backup — and in fact they are sometimes the only record of precious photos. Who knows how to access them to take over the account and assure your family retains the images?
– Online collaborative tools, such as Google Docs, may contain sensitive or crucial data. So many questions, and we are just now begining to see the issues.
Death and Digital Zoomer
