Dave Winer of UserLand created MailToTheFuture.com in 1998. Just something he did on a lark, seemingly, where you could set up an email to send to yourself (or others) in the future. I used it a few times to send myself an email as a reminder for a dentist appointment or small things like that. Since I use my inbox as a To Do list, and always email myself notes at home from work and vice versa, I like the idea, though I have not used it in years.
This morning, in an email newsletter from Marketwatch, I read the following:
E-mail that’s here after you’ve gone to the great hereafter
Mylastemail.com will deliver your parting thoughts after you’re dead. The $10 subscription e-mail service is based in Tampa, Fla. It is all about, “planning ahead and leaving positive last minute memories for family and friends,” according to Karen Peach of LifeTouch LLC. Account holders can log on and update their e-mails anytime, to keep “messages relevant, up-to-date and even more personal” she added, comparing it to the practice of leaving personal letters for relatives after one’s death. “It’s a bit of a strange subject,” Peach conceded, “but after thinking about it for some time, people say it’s a good idea.”
Aside from being morbid, how is this a business? More importantly, how do they know you are dead? That’s the only part the original MailToTheFuture.com cannot handle… unless you know a bit too much about when you’re going to die?
From reading the FAQ, it seems that you have to register (on paper) a formal request for your trustee to send a copy of the death certificate to the company. That sounds like more trouble than the $10. Couldn’t you just leave a note with your trustee? Another amusing point: for your $10, you get 5 emails (you can buy more, of course), for a three year period. If you’re still alive at the end of the three years, you have to pay again.
After thinking about it for a few lousy minutes, I don’t think it’s a good idea, despite Karen Peach’s citation of ‘people’. Let’s check back in three years and see if they are still with us.