Technology and Living in the 21st Century

I have often thought about what happened to people when their Twitter profiles goes silent or their blog posts suddenly stop without any further updates. Two thoughts comes to mind. That person has either gotten very bored with the Internet or they have met a sudden and untimely accident or death.

This got me to thinking about how I would go about letting people know if something goes wrong with me. I was thinking about an OnStar alert system for my online life. How would I alert people if I was in an accident? This is when I started thinking about a dead man switch. Imagine my surprise when I found this website. Death Switch is the digital equivalent to the dead man’s switch. You are prompted on a regular basis to provide a password to keep the system from being set off. If it goes unanswered after a predetermined number of unanswered email prompts, your pregrogrammed email (with or without attachements) is sent out to your distribution list. It is both a very interesting solution as well as morbid way of informing people of your demise.

Another option that doesn't involve responding to an email on a regular intervals is Legacy Locker. It is the equivalent of digital safe deposit box. It allows you to assign beneficiaries who can access your account in the event of an accident or sudden death (proof of death required). Equally morbid but if your websites are revenue generating and a source of income, you will want to ensure a smooth transition to your estate.

I guess the other option is the more costly but secure lawyer. I would only go down this road if my domains generated enough money that I could afford the retainer fees. I can see it now. Close family and friends sitting in a lawyer's office, listening intently to who will get what domain name, Twitter profile or blog site (or maybe not).

The last (safe) option is a real safe deposit box or my own personal favorite, my little black book and an inter-dimensional time safe.
What do you do to protect your online assets?

I have to say that I haven't spent a great deal of time on the all the different music sharing sites but when I stumbled across BLIP.fm, I was a little surprised to see the level of conversation that occurs on BLIP.fm.
What struck me the most is that some people use this site to tweet with those that share the same taste in music. It could be sharing a mood, a lost love, or a joy in the fact that it is the weekend. The fact that there at @ replies, direct messages and hashtags makes this site stand out as a Twitter music stite
that is Twitter talk but sharing music at the same time. The conversations and threads can be long (over time) and interesting. Along the way, you will meet new people and end up following new people on Twitter. And all this from listening to a little music.
I will blip a song that I like and want share and I have other people re-blipping that song and giving me props. This in turn will introduce me to people who have songs that they want to share and this then opens me up to other songs and artists that I might have never heard before. This is a global environment and people like to share local talent.
On Twitter, people are sharing URLs to websites, blogs, and news feeds where BLIP.fm, GrooveShark, List.fm and other sites are dedicated to sharing music. I've tried a few more than this but haven't gotten the bug like I have with BLIP.fm.
My one frustration with BLIP.fm is finding songs. Sometimes I will have to scroll through many songs to find the right one only to find out that it isn't available. Oh well, things will change and evolve and my taste in music will change.