E-Tombs Will Hold The Blogs Of Deceased Social Network Addicts
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Thursday, Nov 11, 2010
I’m not making this stuff up. This is an actual design concept for a solar powered “e-tomb,” an internet age headstone that will contain the digital fragments of a loved one’s blogs, online social networks and more. Accessible via Bluetooth. From your smartphone.
The idea is that the memory of a individual is becoming more and more defined by what they post online, so why should a monument in their honor be simply a flat gray stone with their name, their date of birth/death and a year book quote on it? Wouldn’t it be better if a more elaborate portrait of the person was illustrated by old Facebook photos, or a blog post?
Some questions that we’re dying to have answered:
• Would people other than family members be able to look at the contents of the stone on their devices as well? What are the ground rules of post-mortem digital privacy? Would unauthorized access be considered a form of grave robbing?
• What happens if someone hacks someone else’s grave? What kind of assurance is there that our digital monuments won’t be defaced with pictures of cartoon phalluses or links to Goatse.cx?
• How long before we see the world’s first posthumous Rickroll?
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About the author
Electronic musician and computer culture journalist. Contact: josh ◢at◣ motherboard ◐dot◑ tv
