Peter Vogel, in Tampa, Fla. US, was never able to reach all of his stepson Nathan’s online friends after the boy died at age 13 during an epileptic seizure. A few years earlier, someone had hacked into one of the boy’s accounts, so Vogel, a computer administrator, taught Nathan to choose passwords that couldn’t be easily guessed. He also taught the boy not to write passwords down, so Nathan left no trail to follow. Vogel himself has a trusted friend who knows all his important login information. As he points out, having access to a person’s e-mail account is the most important thing, because many Web site passwords can be retrieved through e-mail.
“Nathan has proven, anything can happen any time, even if you’re only 13.”
Future Vision by Erwin Van Lun on this article
Whether we’re talking about our identity in the virtual world or in the physical world: in the mind of people it’s all the same. Whenever someone disappears, they’ll be missed. And to miss someone is a negative emotion. To address this emotion, new companies will step into this market. And this is just the first step.
Social networks will soon integrate this functionality. In the next step, they will first make sure that each individual profile is checked with a birth certificate (or authorisation by the country of the individual’s nationality) to make sure each profile really represents one single individual. As soon as someone claims that someone is dead, it has already been in the national administration, so it can be acknowledged immediately and death can be communicated by their relatives. The social network will offer services to help those who are left behind to handle their emotions. That will be much more important than just informing them.
That’s how social networks evolve into social coaching brands.