Have you made your Internet Will?

Today I was at the Mass of 40 days after the Death of two young women. An accident that have engaged whole Sweden.

On top of the grief and sorrow, police investigations etc. the families have to cope with problems with Facebook and Hotmail accounts. There are procedures for closing these accounts but sometimes these channels are needed for communication with friends to the diseased. You might for example want to write what has happened at the Facebook wall, answering questions coming in by mail or sending invitations to the funeral.

Letting these accounts be closed by Facebook respectively Hotmail takes time - at least six months.  It needs a lot of paperwork - a death certificate or a link to a well known newspaper. The need of proof differs from channel to channel.

Have you made your own Internet will?
Have you written any procedure for your relatives to follow the day you die? Do you know how to take care of your kids' Facebook if they die before you? Or your spouse's?

I think all of us need to think about these things. Things that you might feel are far away and perhaps impossible to happen. But it does happen... every day... to someone. And I think it is a concern for all of us. Why cause your spouse more pain than needed if you die before him/her? Why put this burden on your parents or your kids?

It is time for you to make your Internet will.

• List all channels of importance
• List usernames and passwords. Keep track of changes or write a procedure of how accounts, and password recovery procedures are linked. This can be constructed pretty nicely 
• Write how your Twitter, Facebook and blog may be used for information, condolences or simply be put down when you die.
• Write short instructions about how to shut down - at least where to find the information
• Write the e-mail addresses of important Internet connections you want to be informed after your death

If you can figure out more issues to put in your Internet will - write a comment or send me a mail.

Talk to you family about these issues. And consider this – the blog posts you may have written may be harmless and you feel they can be published for ever even after your death. Perhaps your family do not agree. Perhaps it hurts to read your words even if they were written with love and care.

Give your relatives crystal clear instructions how to take care of your Internet business. Or give them the chance to do whatever they feel best after your death. But do not let them struggle with these questions alone. You have to tell them!

A failing signal plant at an unattended railway crossing.

The family I am in touch with had the password to Facebook. They have used this channel for condolences and information to all friends. They had decided to put down the account after the 40 day mass - a beautiful idea. But someone changed the password and spelt it wrong - they cannot log in any more. They do not have the password to the Hotmail account connected to Facebook. To let Facebook bring the Facebook account down will take 6 months from now. This is very painful for the family who want to go into the next phase of grief.

I think you should write your Internet Will now!

Read more
How to close a Facebook account
How to request data from a deceased user's account? (MSN)
What Should I Do About My Virtual Life After Death?

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It has to be fun, or else we cannot make it