With most people now online, creating facebook pages, twittering, banking online, emailing a dozen times a day…we are, in essence, building virtual lives. We have virtual conversations, store virtual money, buy virtual products, etc.
So, if you died today or tomorrow (here’s to hoping you don’t), what would happen to all that virtual property and life you’ve created? Would anyone be able to access and manage it (assuming they know it existed in the first place)? Would all those contacts and friends you’ve gathered over the years even know what happened to you?
As writers, a lot of us have websites and blogs, sometimes with sample chapters and photos, or short stories available for readers. If we get bumped off in a car accident one day, how will all that intellectual and creative property get managed?
One company is now offering a service for this kind of eventuality. Legacy Locker has created a program where you compile all of your accounts and passwords into a single file–something of a virtual will–that, in case of your demise, bequeaths all that info and access to a chosen person or persons. They can then decide whether to close down those sites you once ran, maintain them, or update them.
Kind of a morbid topic, I know, but in our rapidly digitalizing world, it may become a more vital issue to address. The more we start basing the real world on the virtual one, the more we will have to accept that our eventual deaths will leave a void in cyberspace as well.
What do you think? A valid issue? Something people are just trying to make money off of? Are you concerned with what happens to your online presence should you slip into the great beyond?
I see that smile.
I have a word file with all my info…safely tucked away though. Guess I should tell someone where it is…
Absolutely, a valid issue. I’ve been wondering about this for a while, and had no idea if there was any solution to the problem.
I’ll reserve opinion on the “just making money off of us” question until I see how MUCH $ they’re asking for. If you know what I mean. :/
Hmm. Guess I haven’t given it as much thought as I should be. There are several other companies offering this same service, so maybe we should shop around?