DownloadSquad.com writes about a social networking site for dead people.
Yep, you read that right. Dead people.
Respectance is a site where people can post obituaries for their loved ones and then invite others to share memories about the deceased. The site has raised $1.5M in funding from two venture capitalist companies.
I think I’ve seen it all now.
-TPP
Bereavement is a very special case as bereaved people clearly have no control over what is posted about them and their next of kin are often deeply vulnerable in the midst of grief.
I think we need to be careful to distinguish between a site that is aimed at general social networking regarding feelings generated by the death and lives of public figures (such as ex-Presidents or famous rock stars), and a site looking to help individuals experiencing and trying to cope with their own very personal and painful grief.
In the UK, there are charities such as muchloved and missyou who help bereaved people preserve memories and to help with loss and healing and it certainly isn’t seen as a business model with proposed rolling out of premium services. I wait to be convinced that respectance can respectfully cross this divide as 1.5million dollars from venture capitalists and helping with bereavement feels like a case of mixing oil and water!