Facebook to "memorialize" deceased users' profiles

Facebook has introduced the option to modify the accounts of users who have passed away.

From the Facebook blog:

"How do you deal with an interaction with someone who is no longer able to log on? When someone leaves us, they don't leave our memories or our social network."

Friends or family of the deceased can notify Facebook via this form, providing proof of death (eg an obituary or news article) and request to have the account "memorialized."

"Memorializing the account removes certain sensitive information and sets privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in search. The Wall remains so that friends and family can leave posts in remembrance."

A sensitive move by the social networking site - preserving the account as a memorial, if desired, while removing actions such as friend suggestions.

Memorial accounts and groups have been around on Facebook for a while - you sometimes see messages like: "Memorial only shares certain information with everyone. If you know Memorial, add them as a friend on Facebook." However, this is the first time Facebook has offered to cater in this way for users who'd like a loved one's profile to be kept "alive."

Interesting that they're accepting web links as proof of death (although it's not stated whether a copy of the death certificate would do instead).

More evidence that nowadays, we live and die online.

Lib Dem Bloggers' Unconference - have you signed up?

The first Lib Dem Bloggers' Unconference will be held in Edinburgh: shaped by the participants, centred around one theme (the clue is in the title) and depending on YOU for its success.

No podiums nor preaching - it's a practical, sociable day.

MPs Jo Swinson and John Barrett will be there, plus Lib Dem blogfather Jonathan Calder and members of the Lib Dem Voice team (including moi!)


Note this:

Venue: Edinburgh - Scottish Lib Dem HQ, 4 Clifton Terrace EH12 5DR. Map here.

Date: Saturday 21 November 2009

Time: 10am-4pm

Facilities: Wireless network will be available, meeting room and (tbc) a smaller breakout room.

Transport: Haymarket Station opposite, good bus links, parking not so good on the doorstep but is available within a few minutes' walk. Edinburgh airport to the west of the city.

Do this:

Register via this thread in the Lib Dem Voice Forum.

If you're already a blogger, think about leading a session on your area of expertise. If you're interested in starting a blog, bring your questions and ideas.


If you're a Lib Dem and a blogger (or would like to find out how), then this is for you.

Details are also on Flock Together.

A capella on the Paris Metro

Just back from a few days in Paris - I did look out for this lot on the Metro, but didn't see (or hear) them!

Still, fabulous musical musical highlights did include: an a capella concert on the Left Bank, an 18-piece string ensemble busking in a tunnel at Gare du Nord and an accordionist playing a mashup of "Over the Rainbow" and the Can-Can on a train near Bir-Hakeim.

Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous

London bus routes as Google Maps mashup

What Bus?! have produced a handy mashup of all the London bus routes.

"We aim to make it easier to travel by bus by displaying bus routes near you on an integrated and interactive map. Bus route maps can quickly turn into spider diagrams and become hard to navigate, especially in large cities. We hope that our format is intuitive, helpful for identifying buses to catch if you find yourself in an unfamiliar location "bus-wise" and saves you time getting to wherever it is you want to go!"

Transport for London bus maps are downloadable as PDFs from their website, but with WhatBus?! you can zoom and drag, or even type in a postcode to look up the nearest routes. Click on an individual line and you can view it in isolation.

It works well on PC and Mac, but it will really come into its own when it's accessible for mobile devices. Dave from WhatBus tells me that this is the next step, including BlackBerry and Google Android devices.

An iPhone app is currently under development.

'Star Wars (John Williams Is The Man)' - an a cappella tribute

More a capella excellence!

  Thank goodness the lyrics are now revealed! And helpfully captioned so you can sing along.

 

Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous

Testing out m'new ukulele strings - I feel a Prom coming on

Inspired by Alex Foster's blog post about his new uke and the upcoming Prom by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, I've restrung my uke and got down to some serious training.

  Ladies and gentlemen, our soloist tonight, etc, etc...

  Anyway: snippets from Stairway to Heaven and (for balance) Highway to Hell.

  Who else is in?

 

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Stairway to Heaven.mp3 (406 KB)

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Highway to Hell.mp3 (289 KB)

Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous

Liberty Street (contains font irony)

Liberty Street, London SW9, is an enviable address with a suitably distinctive street sign.
 
Unusually for London, the sign features The Village Font, (a derivative of Albertus™) which was used in the 1960s TV drama The Prisoner.
 
Bonus font fact: Liberty Street is just around the corner from the Type Museum in Hackford Street.
 
Tantalisingly, the museum is not open to the public at present. As with the Village in the Prisoner series, I'd like to know what one has to do to end up inside...
 
 

Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous