Case: A writing instructor and photography teacher has passed away. He was described as one of the most fun, inspiring instructors in his field of expertise, and also an amazing photographer. After he unexpectedly passed away, the site hosting was not maintained, and the instructions and photographic archives were lost.
Case: People receiving cancer diagnosis blog about their experiences, creating an encouraging resource that is valuable to others. Once they pass away, they would be disheartened to know that their experience also disappears.
Case: An historian and author has created an interactive website that includes many external links to informative and relevant supporting information. Once she passes on, what happens to the quality of the outbound links on the site?
Case: An author, craftsperson or artist offers their products for sale on their website. Upon passing, who ensures the functionality of the existing website to ensure the proper receipt of orders, processing of them, and receipt of revenues from ongoing sales?
Case: A photographer hosts a couple of butterfly field guides with many hundreds of photographs, one for South Carolina, and a second for the Yucatan Peninsula. There are presently no other printed or web-based field guides to those two areas. They don’t have a lot of traffic, but for those several hundred a year who use them, there are no alternatives. Therefore, the photographer wishes that their creative writing and other digital work would survive them on death.
Case: A successful business person who passed away ran a YouTube channel that will continue to generate advertising revenue on a regular basis. The flow of money will need to be managed. The same applies to popular Instagram profiles that contain sponsored posts and through which advertising contracts were finalized. As well, what about orders placed online that haven’t been received yet, and online subscriptions for digital content (e.g. streaming services or e-book libraries). In short, digital legacy is enormously important to influencers, content producers, and other people that make money online.
