The hidden meaning within your furniture

BBC Article about a meaning of domestic things, which is not quite new things to say, but still interesting to read since it is about things that we see and interact everyday. 

The hidden meaning within your furniture
7 April 2014
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26881731

"Why we keep any of this stuff I do not know, except as something to hand on to our own children, to keep in cupboards of their own - our endless inheritance of waste."

BUT

"All furniture communicates meaning - it's unavoidable. It's what things do. A bed speaks of our inner lives, of the body and the soul. Our cupboards and cabinets imply secrets. Wardrobes suggest our dreams of other worlds. And tables invite company."

And records...
And digital materials...

Story goes / needs to go on. 

Book: Personal Archiving: Preserving Our Digital Heritage

Personal Archiving: Preserving Our Digital Heritage
Edited by Donald T. Hawkins

2013 

Information Today, Inc.

Short overview by Mike Ashenfelder at the Library of Congress and one of the contributors:
http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2013/11/library-of-congress-contributes-chapter-to-new-personal-digital-archiving-book/

I contributed one chapter where I attempted to show the deep complexity of this phenomenon and tried to provide an overview about how personal digital archiving as a practice and as a research theme is related to many areas and fields.

One fruit of the Personal Digital Archiving Conference

Digital Afterlife related articles and reports on BBC

It seems that the (digital) afterlife related topic has grabbed an attention occasionally but constantly, which is not surprising since it is the situation that everyone will experience (or many people already experienced) at some point in her/his life.

6 FEBRUARY 2014
Facebook reviews family memorials after dad's plea
By Dave Lee
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26066688

8 OCTOBER 2013
Death in the digital age: Are you prepared?
By Joe Miller
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24380211

12 April 2013
Google launches tool to determine data use after death
"Google will allow users to decide what happens to their data after they die or become inactive online, the first major company to deal with the sensitive issue."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22119227

14 OCTOBER 2011
I bequeath my iTunes credits to...
By Jane Wakefield
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15292748

The Personal Analytics of My Life by Stephen Wolfram

The Personal Analytics of My Life
March 8, 2012

http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2012/03/the-personal-analytics-of-my-life/

Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Wolfram|Alpha, and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research.
This is his blog post about his own (quantitative) exploration of his e-mail collection with Mathematica.
(Blog post provides more personal feeling when talking about a personal life in my opinion.)

Related New York Times Article:
What 23 Years of E-Mail May Say About You
By ANNE EISENBERG, Published: April 7, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/business/mining-our-personal-data-for-our-own-good.html?_r=0

Bequeathing the Keys to Your Digital Afterlife: GOOGLE

Bequeathing the Keys to Your Digital Afterlife - Google

New York Times Article
By ANNE EISENBERG
Published: May 25, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/technology/estate-planning-is-important-for-your-online-assets-too.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

"Google has a program called Inactive Account Manager": Well, at least, following social interests.

However, overall, we need a more innovative approach to treating digital materials NOT "like a boxful of jewelry."

Related Article on BBC

12 April 2013
Google launches tool to determine data use after death

"Google will allow users to decide what happens to their data after they die or become inactive online, the first major company to deal with the sensitive issue."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22119227

What To Do Online When a Loved One Dies

What To Do Online When a Loved One Dies
By Geoffrey A. Fowler, WSJ, January 4, 2013, 10:35 PM
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/01/04/what-to-do-online-when-a-loved-one-dies/

Continuing social interests in what to do for digital documents after one's death.

Data on a deceased person’s account is extremely vulnerable since its ownership shifts to a service provider and it is hard to identify if any privacy is violated or not.

Forwarded to me by Pat Galloway

Digital Savant: Grieving increasingly being expressed and supported online

Forwarded by my Advisor, Dr. Pat Galloway


"Digital Savant: Grieving increasingly being expressed and supported online: As the time we spend online increases, social mores around online bereavement are changing"
http://www.statesman.com/news/technology/grieving-increasingly-being-expressed-and-supporte/nTPwQ/

Yes, indeed.

Cyberwills: More web users seeking to protect 'online legacies' in death

My iSchool colleague Lorrie Dong forwarded the following interesting article:

Cyberwills: More web users seeking to protect 'online legacies' in death

By Telegraph Reporters
11:30AM GMT 18 Nov 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9686104/Cyberwills-More-web-users-seeking-to-protect-online-legacies-in-death.html

Why everyone has to be a historian in the digital age

Why everyone has to be a historian in the digital age
By Katie Beck and Charlene Pele
BBC World News America

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8999128.stm

This article is not far from the idea of "citizen archivists."

Piecing Together 'The World's Largest Jigsaw Puzzle'
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/08/162369606/piecing-together-the-worlds-largest-jigsaw-puzzle

The story makes me to think of what archives are for.