What happens to your Facebook when you die?

Because I have a rather long drive to and from work, and I’m alone in the car (unless you count the morning show hosts on the local country station) I’ve got a lot of “me” time. I should practice my Spanish, pray a rosary or something else usefully, but this tims is usually non-productive, generally spent singing loudly and off key to guilty-pleasure top 40 type songs. Other times, I replay recent situations where I SHOULD have said something witty/sarcastic/funny/smart, or even just said something at all. I always come up with the BEST responses and comebacks on the way home. Sigh.

I also cry in the car a lot. For some reason, being alone in the car puts me in a sappy mood. Lately it’s been over our old dog, the Satchmonger, who we had to put to sleep last summer. I’ve got a picture of us stuck behind the steering wheel, and every time a song comes on that reminds me of my pooch, I look at the picture and cry. Phew. It’s therapeutic to admit that. Also somewhat embarrassing. Yikes.

I digress.

So this morning, a comment was made on the radio that led my train of thought to this morbid gem:

What happens to your facebook (or myspace, or whatever social networking site you prefer) when you die?

I spent quite some time pondering what would happen if on my way to work, I came to a tragic demise, and my facebook page was still there?

First the obvious: My Zynga games would never progress. I’m somewhat obsessed with Farmville; I hate to imagine all of my wilted crops and animals waiting patiently, never to be collected.

I have a lot of “friends” who I’m not close to at all, and would probably not know that I was dead. How awkward would it be if they tried to comment on my wall, but felt snubbed or ignored when I never responded? What if they proceeded to leave nasty comments when they thought I was just being a bee-och?

I’ve told hubby my password, but it’s rather confusing and nearly impossible to remember, it’s doubtful he would be able to log into my account. What would he do anyway if he could get it? Change my status to update everyone?

“Posted Friday, February 19 2010, 3:25PM by Lady Fromage: Today I died”?

No, that would be way too morbid.

I thought about this the whole way to work. Uplifting, I know.

Imagine my surprise when I logged onto my computer to check the news and this article was featured:

What Happens To Your Facebook Profile When You Die?

“In an Oct. 26 blog post, Max Kelly, Facebook's head of security, announced the company's policy of "memorializing" profiles of users who have died, taking them out of the public search results, sealing them from any future log-in attempts and leaving the wall open for family and friends to pay their respects. Though most media reports claimed this was a new Facebook feature, a spokeswoman for the company told TIME that it's an option the site has had since its early days. “

(Quick side note: CNN is not my normal news source. I like Fox. MyYahoo just happened to be promoting this article.)

So there you have it. The article goes on to explain how this process happens, but mostly, I was just relieved to know that someone had thought of this already. Sadly, no mention of what will become of my farm. Maybe I should still leave my password for hubby so he can tend to my crops and cows should that day come before we’re ready.