Several bloggers just posted a few days ago contemplating what would happen to their blog/site if they should pass away.  Many had the idea that there should be a way of archiving information for the future.  As pointed out in one post, what format would best serve to carry on into the future?  We don’t know what may happen with Internet 2.0 (not Web 2.0, but the next version/replacement of the Internet) and whether or not our material will carry over.

If any of you saw Johnny Mnemonic, you saw a potential future of the Internet that was really cool, but have you ever thought that maybe files/sites as we know them today will no longer exist in their current format? Imagine being a digital archaeologist in the future trying to extract data from a PDF when the format has been dead for several decades.  Imagine right now trying to get some data off an old 8″ floppy disk and you’ll have a pretty good idea of just how difficult it might be.

Thus, the question is, just how much of what you maintain as digital work should be extracted into other forms of media?  Do you have a huge photo library on Picasa or Flickr?  Maybe you need to print some photo albums just in case (and these sites have been known to lose/delete files on occasion).  Do you have a large journal or blog?  Maybe you need to export it to your word processor, clean it up, and print it (preferrably something other than just some paper you have lying around… like lulu.com, maybe?).

Or, better yet, let’s all keep an eye out for a trustworthy archive service that will allow you to do what you already do, but know that your data is backed up regularly in another location so that it is recoverable and preserved.  However, get ready to pay through the nose too… after all, once you are gone, who keeps up the payments for the backup?

(Here’s a thought, why not allow for those who wish the site to continue to make donations for the preservation of the site like museums do?  Hmmm.)

In Yahoo!’s Finance News, there is an article titled “What to Do After You Die” which discusses preparations for bill payment (and related contact information), insurance information, legal documents and so on.  An excellent article that shows the public is getting more concerned with preparing for someone’s passing.  Now if they can get just as concerned about online information and documentation as well.  Note that this article mentions the safe deposit box and we’ve already noted before about the danger of using such security in California (I wonder how soon other states follow their example).

(Via Consumerist.com)

Deathswitch.com, brought to you by Information Immortality, LLC., is a site to manage your final message to your family and friends.  This website is a specific implementation of the advice mentioned in our post on “Sharing your Obituary after your death“.  From the website:

A deathswitch is an automated system that prompts you for your password on a regular schedule to make sure you are still alive.

This used to be a common practice by employees who sneak code into an application to make it fail when they are no longer employed at the company to prevent the “deathswitch” from executing.   In this situation, the use of this system is put to a positive use.  Please keep in mind that this service charges an annual fee to maintain this list.

In an article on WikiHow titled “How to Share your Obituary with Your Online Friends“, there is an excellent summary of how to do this by identifying the responsible person to send the obit, the recipients, and what to share along with additional suggestions.

Oh, and please review the list of related WikiHows at the bottom of the article for more material similar to what you’ll find here.

(via Lifehacker.com)

This became a hot issue on a few forums including ask.metafilter.com and lifehacker.com.  How best do you leave behind the master password for your accounts, whether it be a password database or your email password which would allow for the user to request “lost” passwords for all your accounts?

It would seem that the best method I saw mentioned in one of the forums was to manage a password list at home in a location that is static and then reference that place in your will.  For example, do you have a favorite book that you will never give away (i.e., Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard)?  Then place the list at a specific location in the book (i.e., at page 214, the area code you live in).  Then, add a note to your will that specifies that the password list can be found in that book at the noted page.  You never have to update your will again (unless you change preferred books) and then you only have to manage the list at home by updating it in the book.

Another possibility was also given within the forums, but not directly related to this problem.  Some were concerned about giving out their email password.  However, it may still be necessary to access something that requires one of your passwords.  There are several services (thelastemail.com, mylastemail.com, and postexpression.com to name a few) that offer to send a final email to your contact list once they are notified of your passing.   If you wanted to, you could include the password information in such a message so that it goes to the proper beneficiaries without having to give out all of your information.  I haven’t looked into these services, but surely you could specify several different emails to different lists which would allow for more personal, targeted messages.
Any other ideas on how to best leave a “trail” for your family to follow?  Submit your ideas to stories [at] beforeyouaregone [dot] com.  Also feel free to let us know if you have used any of the final email services and what your thoughts are about them.

CNET has an article about people who have left this mortal life and took their passwords with them.  I’m sure that eventually this issue will be more common as time passes.  What are you going to do about it?

via LifeHacker.com

It is your responsibility when preparing to determine beneficiaries of online property whether the terms of the service involved allows for such transfers.  For example, as of this time, Second Life has the following statement in Section 2.4 of its Terms of Service.

You may not transfer your Account to any third party without the prior written consent of Linden Lab; notwithstanding the foregoing, Linden Lab will not unreasonably withhold consent to the transfer of an Account in good standing by operation of valid written will to a single natural person, provided that proper notice and documentation are delivered as requested by Linden Lab. 

As you can see, it is not an issue as long as it is included in a written will.  Not all online services make such allowances.  For instance, the Terms of Service for Yahoo! accounts has the following under No Right of Survivorship and Non-Transferability:

You agree that your Yahoo! account is non-transferable and any rights to your Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted.

In some cases, it may even be necessary to identify the individual(s) within the website account itself.  This is especially true of online insurance accounts.

The phrase “Tickler List” is something I picked up from the Getting Things Done book. In this case, the list will consist of many types of online activities that you may be required to login under an account. Each of these need to be recorded in some fashion in order to assist others in recovering your information. Thus, the list is supposed to “tickle” that gray matter and help you remember online/offline accounts you may not recall using any time recently. So here is the tickler list for BeforeYouAreGone (broken down into a few categories):

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