Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

You probably remember my previous posts about Dead Man's Switch and the e-mails I've received from the service.  Here's a follow-up to the last e-mail.

Subject: Dead Man's Switch is REALLY worried about you 

Hi, Are you okay? You haven't answered our last two emails. If you don't answer this, your emails will be sent out in one week.

To update your status, visit the following address:

http://www.deadmansswitch.net/update/

Hope to see you there,

Dead Man's Switch staff

 There's only one more week before my test e-mail gets sent out.  I'll be sure to post when it gets to me.  Stay tuned.

 

 

You probably remember my previous posts about Dead Man's Switch and the e-mails I've received from the service.  Here's a follow-up to the last e-mail.  It seems that I didn't successfully confirm my continued existence, so here's my next notification:

Subject: Dead Man's Switch is worried about you

Message: Hey there, where have you been? You didn't answer our first email. If you don't answer this, you will get one more warning in a week before all your emails are sent out.

To update your status, visit the following address:

http://www.deadmansswitch.net/update/

Hope to see you there,

Dead Man's Switch staff

 

It's still kind of creepy, but I do like that the subject line shows a bit more compassion.  I wonder what the final notice will say... stay tuned.

As I said previously, I don't have it setup to send any e-mails in the event that I don't respond.  Although I may set it up to send one to myself, just to see what type of introduction the service might add to the e-mail message.

A while back I posted about www.deadmansswitch.net.  Here's the first e-mail they sent me to confirm that I'm still alive.  I like how it's doesn't assume that I'm alive, but I was hoping that it would be something more formal.  In either case it's still kind of disturbing. 

Hello you,
this is your plain old regular email to remind you that you should check
back with us at Dead Man's Switch, so we know you're doing well.

To update your status, visit the following address:

http://www.deadmansswitch.net/update/

Hope to see you there,
Dead Man's Switch staff

For the record: I don't have it setup to send any e-mails in the event that I don't respond.

When the gang here at Capstrat set out to brainstorm some ideas for SXSW 2009, we talked about what "digital will" service might look like. We decided that the basic model would allow a user to write e-mail messages and they would be sent on their behalf posthumously. The user would be prompted to check in from time to time to keep the messages from being sent. It's like having a jet ski engine stop when you fall off or stopping a train if the operator isn't touching the controls. It's called a dead man's switch.

www.deadmansswitch.net went into beta in late July with a service that does just this. From their site:

This is how this works. You write a few e-mails, and choose the recipients. These emails are encrypted with military-grade algorithms, so you can be sure that no-one except the intended recipient will ever read them. Your switch will email you every so often, asking you to show that you are fine by clicking a link. If something were to... happen... to you, your switch would then send the emails you wrote to the recipients you specified. Sort of an "electronic will," one could say.

The concept here isn't new. People have been writing wills and leaving behind letters for centuries, but now we have an online equivalent. I'm not sure how I feel about having a web server send an e-mail asking if I am alive, but the service is designed to give you several chances to verify your continued existence. I also think these guys deserve the award for the most morbid user welcome message on the Internet:

The last time you showed signs of life before today was on Friday, September 19, 2008. Now you can write a new email, or see the ones you have already written:

Of course, the terms of service state that "it comes without any warranty, neither express nor implied (even the actual sending of the messages is not guaranteed, but we'll do our best)."

What do you think about this? Is it something worth using or too morbid to think about?