DeadSocial: Social Networking Site Helps You Contact Friends And Family From Beyond The Grave

Ever worry about what will happen to your social accounts if, one day, you suddenly bite the dust? Well, now you don't have to.

Rather than let your Facebook and Twitter profiles sit unused forever, DeadSocial, a U.K. startup that launched in beta on April 27 at The Next Web Conference 2012, will put your social networking accounts to good use even after you're six feet under.

You can link your DeadSocial account to to your Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts and write messages to loved ones and friends to be sent out at given times after your death -- days, months, even years after you've passed. A "super administrator," or a person you've chosen to access DeadSocial in the event of your death, can "untick" your account to indicate you've died; now your pre-written messages can be sent out, according to The Next Web.

As shown in the photo below, a DeadSocial profile shares many features with typical social sites: There's a box to share statuses, an "About Me" section and different tabs to view friends, groups, photos, videos and more. According to the site, a series of tutorials, sure to explain the ins and outs of using DeadSocial, will be coming soon.

LOOK:

While it seems to be the first social network to focus on the afterlife, DeadSocial is certainly not the first service to address the problem of what happens to digital property after one's death, an issue that has yet to be settled legally in many states.

In fact, as Mashable reported earlier this year, only fives states -- Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana and Connecticut -- have laws addressing how digital assets should be managed after death.

According to Mashable, lawmakers are attempting to create a uniform law to address the problem through the formation of a committee by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC). According to the ULC, this committee will make recommendations to states on what kind of authority and access a fiduciary of digital information will have after a person dies.

ReadWriteWeb reports that Nebraska lawmakers are considering legislation that would give "representatives legal possession of Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other online information." In other words, the deceased's social accounts and login information "could become a standard part of [his or her] digital will."

Check out the video (above) to learn more about DeadSocial. What do you think of this new online platform? Would you use it? Let us know in the comments!

Read on for a look at our slideshow of the strangest social networks on the web.

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Comments

[TamerAir]

10:05 PM on 04/30/2012

People who believe in afterlife can keep using their accounts on the other side. You never know you might add your imaginary sky daddy on your friends list.

[ZenVudo]

03:10 PM on 04/30/2012

This whole concept struck me as Stupid. So I emailed the article to myself to read it again. Got it right the first time; stupid.

[tweetmarither]

12:58 PM on 04/30/2012

Is that picture really necessary? Does death has to be that ugly and scary? Freaky and scary to read this alone at past midnight, esp with that awful pic. Hahaha

[Evan Danielson]

02:31 PM on 04/30/2012

Yes...we will all eventually be zombies. I've always wanted to be a zombie.

[jubbajing]

09:51 AM on 04/30/2012

My dad inherited a Palm Pilot when my uncle passed away. He had it off and stored away, and then, on my dad's birthday it turned itself on and played 'When the Saints Go Marching In' and had a reminder to wish my dad a happy birthday. It was as if my uncle wished him happy birthday himself, and it was really touching. Some people might appreciate things like this.

[mad world]

09:33 AM on 04/30/2012

I can't imagine anything better for a grieving family member already hitting the Kubler-Ross grief cycle pretty hard than actually receiving a FB message from their dead loved one. Talk about a nervous breakdown on the way.

Our culture is already desensitized to a number of tragic occurrences. People tape attempted murders on cell phones and post the vid to Youtube instead of giving it to the police. People are stabbing other people over FB statuses. How will this serve to desensitize an already fairly ignorant and detached generation from the actual gravity of death? "Dude, he just sent me a message. He's good. Let's go draw on his face before the funeral.....I bet his mom would freak...."

[Wanderland]

09:18 AM on 04/30/2012

Is there some feature in Outlook that allows me to block messages from dead people? How much more worthless can spam get?

[FlowerGypsy]

08:54 AM on 04/30/2012

this creeps me out so so so much

[Jordan Kratz]

08:52 AM on 04/30/2012

Now my bloated and decomposing Corpse can have a site of its own.
I will want a full large image of my Corpse as a Portrait Photo.
Just stand my body up and duct tape it to a Microphone stand.
I can do a dead man Concert.
"Punks Not Dead" !

[Nathan0316]

08:32 AM on 04/30/2012

People leave wills, notes and video testimonials for their loved ones after they've passed on. There was a story this week in Metro about a cancer sufferer who wrote a How-To manual for her young daughter that covers everything you could think of, right up to marriage and having children of her own. People thought that was selfless of her, even sensible, to leave advice from beyond the grave.

This is merely an extension of an old idea into a new medium, one that will almost certainly take off, especially as todays social-media savvy generation get older and start to think about these things. However, whether we use it or not, it does pose an interesting question about digital information and what happens to it after we die. In the not-too distant future, will we be able to freeze our accounts, will they remain open or will we link them to a service like this, possibly with an option of others refusing it access to their accounts?

[sabrina D]

06:26 AM on 04/30/2012

Social networking sites are best in this services.

[FinalHorcrux]

05:39 AM on 04/30/2012

This is so idiotic.....and the fact that you actually advertised this is even more so.

[joshmar11]

03:35 AM on 04/30/2012

Seriously whats up with that Picture? I could barely read the article with the Freakish face.

[The Platzner Post]

02:03 AM on 04/30/2012

Bizarre!!! Let us know if you would use this site. The Platzner Post on Facebook, and Twitter

[JakeFX]

01:57 AM on 04/30/2012

Ooohhh, sounds like fun! I can't wait to scare the living everything out of my loved ones when they get a posthumous facebook message from me!

[Lawrence Prior]

08:37 AM on 04/30/2012

You can't wait? You understand that you have to die first, right?

[Wanderland]

09:25 AM on 04/30/2012

He's dying for the chance.

[DenverPainters]

01:52 AM on 04/30/2012

An elderly man once told me he wished to be buried in a Walmart parking lot. Puzzled look, he went on to say at least his wife would visit his grave each and every day.