After viewing different social networking sites in Comm. 301 this past week, I went in search of some social networking sites that we had not touched on. In my search I found a social networking site whose global resource is Myspace.com. This social networking site, http://www.mydeathspace.com/, is a site of online memorials that allow family and friends to pay respects and vent their griefs of loved ones who had a Myspace account and have past away. Mydeathspace.com, actually tracks individuals profiles on Myspace.com that are deceased.
It is interesting to see social networking used in this way. It can be nice to have a place where people can get together and share their feelings and provide other with emotional support. Another positive for the site, is that they provide archive, containing news articles, online obituaries, and other publicly available information. When first reading the name of the site however, it sounded morbid and unattractive to visit. The name could potentially be a downfall because I can not see many people wanting to be a member of a social networking site with the work "death" in the link. Also, even though this may seem like a great way to remember a loved one and comment on the person they were, there have been problems with people posting rude, disrespectful, and insensitive comments such as, “I am happy she is dead."
Site manages are supposed to be tracking these kind of comments and deleting them. It may be hard for manager of the site to stay on top of the comments considering there are numerous members and many posts. If they can not find a way of stopping these comments they should think about taking down the site. I am not sure what they will do if they can not keep up with tracking comments but something needs to be done because it is disrespectful and hurtful to friends and family.
Overall the site has a lot of positive aspects for people who lose someone they love to create an online memorial. Also Mydeathspace.com seems to be a healthier and more productive way to use technologies to bring people together in a time of grief and allow them to provide one another with support.
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5 comments:
I find this site quite interesting, and Im glad I read your blog about it. I might actually join this site, because it might help me with what Ive been going through for the past couple of months. I do agree with the site name though. It does make sense, but the word "death" always makes people back off, but other than that, its a good site.
Along the same lines as you and Emily, I think the site's web address is a little morbid. I do believe there are better ways to pay respects to a loved one who has passed away, but my interests undoubtedly may differ from the next person. This might be a great way for some people to relieve themselves emotionally, without having to go directly to another person or drown themselves in their own sorrows. It actually creeps me out in an eerie sense. Maybe if they changed the name it would lose some of that odd feeling you get when hearing about it.
I agree with you about the whole morbid thing...maybe something like "remembrancespace.com"? Any ways, I think this is a great idea because in today's world we have gotten so caught up with expressing our feelings online. This is an escape for people who are unable to speak thier emotions.
I too agree with you guys about the name of the site being a bit morbid. I like the suggestion that Sarah mentioned. But it is, however, an interesting concept. Especially with the high rate of young people using social networking sites today. It can be a good outlet for people to voice their pain over losing a loved one because some people do have a hard time just saying it out loud. It kind of makes you wonder what sort of thing are they going to come up with next?
Hey, I appreciate your blog. I work in the internet marketing business and just recently wrote a blog which talks about my personal experience with online memorials. Social Media, Lifecasting, and Life After Death.
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