I flew to Charleston, South Carolina last week to attend the Spoleto Music Festival, visit Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot and visit with friends that I met on a River Cruise in Europe last summer.
The flight from SFO to ATL was about 4 hours and the connecting flight from ATL to CHS was about another hour.
And of course, the reverse was true in order to get home. So this left me about 10 hours of idle time as I sat on a plane while traveling!
I have T-Mobile as my Mobile Carrier and they offer free wi-fi on Delta Flights so I had the ability and the time to noodle around the internet. For some reason I became fixated on on what happens to all of the Data in iCloud, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and other sites when you die.
I know that’s a morbid thought, but give me a break, I was 30,000 feet in the air, sealed in a metal tube with several hundred other inmates and none of us had control of the situation. Anything could have happened.
At any rate here is what I discovered: many of these sites have plans in place for you to ensure that someone that you choose could access your data after you die! The downside to this is that you may have pictures and texts that you wouldn’t want to come to light of day!
For the rest of us, check out the following websites for some great info!
Business Insider has a great tutorial on how to use Apple’s Digital Legacy feature on your iPhone, iPad and Macs to grant access to someone on proof of your death. Check it out here: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-digital-legacy
The Digital Legacy Association will give you a template on how to create a social media will! https://digitallegacyassociation.org/social-media-will-template/
The Guardian has a great article on how to plan your digital legacy. They cover Apple, Google, Facebook, and Instagram. They explain that Twitter and LinkedIn don’t really have ways to accomplish what you can do with the others, but it is still a good read. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/04/upon-my-death-delete-how-to-plan-your-digital-legacy
The Website Legal & General asks the question “What happens to someone’s social media when they die?” and then goes on to answer it! https://www.legalandgeneral.com/insurance/life-insurance/lifestyle/digital-legacy/ They discuss Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn as well as Facebook.
None of this is complicated to do and only takes a few minutes to set top, so you might want to do it at your house.
But, where I see it having relevance in our business is you being able to provide this information to your clients, especially to your Baby Boomer clients! How many other agents in your market have info like this to share?
