back in June 2005, i did a presentation on the topic "What Happens to your Web-based Email After You Die?". that was when i first became aware of the probable risk of losing my blog, email account, flickr album and many other online assets altogether after my death. it's such an fascinating topic i soon wrote a paper on it for my Cyber Law course in my final school year.

as a procrastinator however i did nothing forward-thinking to minimize the risks (except maybe a little description of what i want my tombstone to be like). but the importance of planning ahead strikes me again when i came across a blog post earlier this year entitled "It Bothers Me That I Have To Go" (written by one of the world's oldest bloggers on the fear of his foreseeable death) and Dave Winer's entries on "Preserving ideas" and "Future-safe archives".

concerned like i am? here's a list of things you can do:

• create a living will online (geez i'm reeeeally looking forward to the probate classes next week so i can learn to write my own will =p)
• pre-write a message to be sent to your loved ones upon your death
• choose a person you trust to act in your stead (even better if s/he knows a thing or two about flickr and wordpress)
• install a wordpress plugin that will notify a person you choose when you fail to log in for a specified period of time

more interesting discussion:

• Business Idea Du Jour: Computer Mortician - Darren Barefoot (July 2003)
• Ghosts in the Machine -Ryan Boddy (June 2004)
• Sorry I Wrote....? - James Edward Maule (Jan 2005)
• Digital Property and the Laws of Inheritance - TechNewsWorld (Feb 2005)

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