dead social

Today I found out about the newest social network around, Dead Social, that allows users to schedule messages to be published after they're dead. Leave nothing unsaid! this could be their motto. A genious tool, for some, but surely it leaves us with some ethical questions... let's see.


First of all, if the platform falls into "evil" hands, I can't imagine the traumas it can create. For instance, it wouldn't be nice for Juliet to receive a posthumous message from Romeo, saying "I never loved you, you're a nag and I only married you for the Capulet's money". Or "Your sister is hot", or "I killed your parakeet", or something equally nasty. By this I mean to say there are secrets that should definately follow us to our grave... and to have the possibility to unleash chaos amongst those who stay, without dealing with the consequences and using a simple computer... just feels wrong.

Then there is the whole identity theft deal. Imagine Rupert died and left a loving message for his grandchildren, ignoring the fact that his archenemy Rufus had stolen his password and changed the message for something barbaric... not pretty.

And we still have the quality of service issue. Who can ensure us that the secret message will, in fact, be delivered faultlessly, if the author is already dead? According to what I've read, the site will let the deceased family or friends "unblock" the messages. But... who can tell for sure if that was indeed what he or she wrote? And what if someone releases the messages by mistake and generates panick among the (not yet) "deceased" acquaintances?

Oh well, the whole idea seems macabre, but it's true that this can be an interesting way to achieve a certain degree of immortality. Or not. What do you think?

Originally posted in portuguese here.