An Insight into Digital Death Day London!

Digital Death Day 2012 was an exciting collision of people from different backgrounds, with vastly different experiences and perspectives on the concept of death and digitality. 

We started the day by setting the agenda (translation: writing in that moment what we felt like discussing with the various experts/ interesting people that were in attendance). As a PhD student/academic I am currently putting together a chapter on the relationship between the physical body and technology, including what happens to this relationship when a person dies, so my session was called: Embodiment, Authenticity and Technology (this title was also inspired by Sherry Turkle's recent book: Alone Together). Whereas Andriana (my fellow co-organizer) being an entrepreneur and designer wanted to conduct her session as a kind of mini-focus group discussing various aspects of Announcing Death and Mourning Online as she is in the process of developing a platform which would aid people in this process (further notes/ audio of sessions will appear shortly on www.digitaldeathday.com). 

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

 

Myself and Andriana getting excited about our our discussion topics!

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

As a side note: Digital Death and privacy seem to go hand in hand as a main concern of this community. I don't think we have ever had a Digital Death Day where this was not a central theme and it certainly gets discussed as a part of other sessions as well. There are mounting concerns regarding what will happen to our data after we die including the lagging legal framework, the conflicting terms and conditions of major players in the industry and the lack of education for young people in relation to understanding what it means to post something (public) online. 

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

After some coffee and breakfasty stuff its time to construct the agenda by placing the sessions we want to run on the wall and designating a time and place where that conversation will take place. This is also when the four guidelines of unconferencing make their appearance (the below were very well phrased by The Usual Suspects so I borrowed and adjusted their explanations):

1. Whoever shows up is the right people… reminds participants that they don’t need “world-famous death expert guru X” and 100 people to learn something, or to have an interesting time. What we do need are people who care (world-famous or not :) )
2. Whenever it starts is the right time …reminds participants that “spirit and creativity do not run on the clock.”.
3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have …reminds participants that once something has happened, it’s done. Spontaneity and ‘going with the flow’ are important, and this is one of the guidelines which creates a space in which unexpected things can happen.
4. When it’s over, it’s over …reminds participants that we never know how long it will take to dive into a topic, once raised, but that whenever the discussion or work or conversation is finished, move on to the next thing.

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

So with these guidelines in mind and a relaxed attitude we begin our conversation about Annoucing Death and Mourning Online: How to strike a Personal/ useful balance, in the comfy chair space ;-)

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

As a second side note: we also had BBC Radio 4 there during the day conducting interviews for the final part of 'The Digital Human' series, presented by Aleks Krotofski, which will focus particularly on the topic of Digital Death. 

  

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

As the day progressed and we felt ourselves losing energy Kaliya (identitywoman) started a doodling session to run alongside our conversation about how terminally ill patients engage with the idea of what happens to their data after they die and how the hospices and old age homes deal with (or don't deal with as the case may be) internet access and patients blogging. 

Photography by: Vered (Rose) Shavit: http://digital-era-death-eng.blogspot.co.il

The day ended with pages of notes and colors, some new ideas, collaborations, contacts and lots to think about and process. Unconferencing is definitely my favorite form of work gathering, as it is really a working event that feel like a social event, made up of people talking about the things they are interested in and passionate about. 

As I was told on my first attendance of an unconference in San Fransisco (the Internet Identity Workshop): the most useful things that happen at a conference do not usually occur while listening to people present their papers. They are generally the strange conversations and serendipitous encounters that happen during the coffee breaks, the lunch and the after party. So we decided to create an event that was like one long coffee break!

Happy Unconferencing!  

Digital Death Day: London 6th October 2012

Digital Death Day is a series of Unconferences which have been running twice annually since May 2010 in Europe and North America. We are very excited to be bringing this event once again to London! In the past this event has received high profile international press (such as http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8691238.stm and http://obit-mag.com/articles/life-after-death-in-digital-form). 

Digital Death is the term used to describe the growing issue of what happens to your personas, ideas, feelings and accounts online after you die. This workshop is open to professionals and amateurs alike. Anyone who wants to learn, discuss, ask questions or even display a working product.

Like death in the real world, Digital Death promises to be ever-present in our increasingly digital world. Despite the topics relative newness this is an issue which has already touched the lives of many people who understand its relevance, whether they themselves have experienced loss or whether it is simply through observing the multiple online tributes, RIPstatus's and memorial sites. However systems are slow to change and the companies that house our data often need the pressure of their users demands to alter current practices. We invite you to be part of that change!  

To register for Digital Death Day please visit: eventbrite

HERITAGE AND SOCIAL MEDIA: UNDERSTANDING HERITAGE IN A PARTICIPATORY CULTURE

Finally it is here, the long awaited for book on the emergent field of Digital Heritage. Edited by the ever so talented Elisa Giaccardi.

This book explores how social media is constantly reframing our understanding and experience of heritage. Through the idea of ‘participatory culture’ it begins to examine how social media can be brought to bear on the encounter with heritage and on the socially produced meanings and values that individuals and communities ascribe to it.

My contribution is to this book is the chapter Museums of the Self and Digital Death: An Emerging Curatorial Dilemma. 

Chapter Abstract: This chapter is primarily concerned with exploring the connection between digital legacy of data that people currently leave behind and how this data can begin to form a part of our collective “digital heritage”. By reviewing current practices around online data storage in relation to memory and death, the chapter considers the value of ‘digital memory objects’ for the growing field of digital heritage. It also discusses the significance and implications of designing new contexts and systems for the future management of personal legacy data. By using the transformative properties of the ‘digital memory object’ itself, the chapter presents various strategies concerning how this data could be both (re)used and (re)evaluated, making it a useful asset in our contemporary collective; for both history and heritage.

Heritage and Social Media can be bought directly from the publisher at: www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415616676/ or ordered from Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Heritage-Social-Media-Understanding-participatory/dp/0415616670

Science Fiction: Looking to the Future!

I would like to take the opportunity to contrast two examples from popculture; science fiction films. I believe these examples will enrich my notion of digital death and allow me to use my collection of real life events to consider how one may begin to design for the future. The two films I have chosen to cross evaluate were both released in 2004 and run along parallel themes, both broadly considering peoples relationship to memory.



{1} The Final Cut is a film which considers what the world would be like if we had the option to implant a ‘Zoe chip’ in our baby’s head. This chip would then record every second of life through the person’s own eyes. Upon the person’s death this chip would then be removed, edited by a ‘cutter,’ in accordance to the wishes of the family and used within a ‘rememory’. The characters within this film, consider this a way of preserving important memories. In one of the scenes the cutter asks the bereaved family “do you recall any moments with your daughter?...I need you, your family to choose those moments you want to keep.” However some of the characters are
seen, throughout the film, to rebel against these sentiments. “I couldn’t take it, I just couldn’t stay, because it wasn’t, it wasn’t him and I wanted to remember him my way.” This statement reiterates the human need for memories not to be tainted. By looking at this audio-visual life document do we run the risk of ‘losing’ our own memory of past events and recalling only the document? In another scene one the cutters innocently reveals a fatal flaw in the system of ‘rememory,’ she states “we have to make story decisions, otherwise there will be no rememory.” This led me to consider all forms of archive and on-line memory and question who can make these ‘story’ decisions, who is qualified to make that choice? And how does the sewing together of memories (or information) change or give false images of who this person actually was? There are also many cases where people within the film use the system of ‘Rememory’ to literally edit their lives. One character claims, “my husband was a great man...he deserves to be remembered as a great man... I’ve seen rememories where the cutters were careless; they had no respect for
the dead.” This brings home the idea that having a ‘rememory’ is not for the person who is dead, it is instead a chance to give the living, the ability to construct the narrative of their loved ones life, the life they would have liked to have and to erase all the bad memories with powerful images and cinematography, that will remain lodged in their brain and eventually inhabit the place of old ‘real’ memories, creating a person who in death has become exactly who they wanted them to be. Both publicly and personally. “These implants destroy personal history, therefore all history” If every person’s personal history is to be selected, curated and edited. When we look back a hundred years from now, what will we see?

{2} Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a film centred around a fictional company, ‘Lucuna cooperation’s’ which has “perfected a safe, effective technique for the focused erasure of troubling memories." In their press release they state “Why remember a destructive love affair?...[when] in a matter of hours our patented, non-surgical procedure will rid you of painful
memories and allow you a new and lasting piece of mind.” The film centres around a couple who have broken up and end up using ‘this’ service. Clem, one of the main characters “decided to erase [her X] almost as a lark.” Throughout the film, as you live out ‘Joel’s’ soon to be erased memories, you are constantly being led to question whether it is better to forget an episode of your life because it is painful or to consider that perhaps, the most painful memories of our lives are also probably the most valued and valuable? Characters who believe in ‘Lucuna’ defend it, saying, “to let people begin again, it’s beautiful.” However as the film progresses it becomes clear that all characters become caught up in either questioning the ethics of this company or abusing their position of power. The main character in particular realizes that losing the memory of his X-love is akin to losing her all over again, forever and during her erasure is forced to relive the beauty of their relationship together, through this exquisite agony, he exclaims “please let me keep this memory, just this one!” By the time Alexander Pope is quoted, near the end of the film, by an employee of Lucuna, who is intoxicated and flirting with a married man: “How happy is the blameless Vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d,” This quote begins to sound almost
tongue in cheek and the title “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” transforms into an ironic ‘wish.’ Which as with most wishes leads not to ‘eternal peace’ but to receiving ‘exactly what you asked for’ which is in this case; ignorance, emptiness and absence.

Group Dynamics: Converge and Diverge.

Diagram depicting how the digital space has enabled "ridiculously easy group-forming," (Shirkey, 2008). This allows for the potential convergence of an infinite amount of members in a group. However the fact that every person experiences and engages with an event in an original way means that groups also diverge and split when people realize their 'differences'. So at the other end of the scale because no one can experience an event in the same way as you, you could also comprise your own individual group (of one).

Death Spans

This is an info-graphic which depicts the inequality of how much time each individual has to come to terms with his or her death.

Networks In Crisis: Relative Strangers

Relative Strangers considers the affect 'death' has on family networks in the diaspora. To do this it takes a step back and begins to deconstruct the relationships of family members questioning whether it is possible to form close relationships when mediated over huge geographical distances. By tapping into the rich fields of cognitive science, philosophy, bereavement and virtual management; a proposal is built up which considers the development of a new form of 'audio ritual' (shared broadcast.) Allowing each family member the option be 'linked' through a tapestry of shared soundscapes. By locating this ritual around a fairly mundane event, i.e. eating dinner. The project aims to highlight the opportunity of evoking a new audio-ritual, giving families in the diaspora the opportunity of getting to know dispersed family members on the micro-scale (as you do when living together) without pressuring people to communicate directly.

Project Presentation can be found at: http://www.vimeo.com/11159627



Networks in Crisis : Microsoft Research Lab Cambridge.

Brief: to consider, both critically as design students who are informed by many of the most recent debates within the discourse of design and contemporary social, cultural, and critical theory, and practically as designers who are aware of the radically transformative potential of design, some of those key social, cultural, political, economic and environmental concerns that have arisen latly in relationship to the question of ever increasing involvement in those various "networks" - whether material or immaterial - that are increasingly "in-forming" the very nature of the world in which we currently exist. Microsoft is a major contributor to the field of "network" technologies, i.e. technologies that allow us to create systems or "networks" of communication and connection between different people, places and things.

"how might we possibly design, or perhaps even more appropriatly, re-design or redirect the essential nature of these technologies and the networks that they create in a way that is capable of not only revealing but also possibly remedying many of those essentially dehumanising, disincarnating, and destructive qualities of their nature that seem to be such an intrinsic part of their existence - and the "crises" that they produce"

(5 week project)