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E-Tomb Memorializes the Dead With Social Networking

by Amar Toor on November 11, 2010 at 10:55 AM

e-tomb conceptMemorializing the deceased with Facebook mausoleums may offer some digital consolation to bereaved friends and family, but a new product concept called the 'E-Tomb' has taken the idea of post-mortem social networking to an entirely new (and creepily literal) level.

Designed by Huang Jianbo, Zhao Ting, Wang Yushan, Ran Xiangfei and Mo Ran, the E-Tomb sort of looks like a cross between a tombstone and an external hard-drive -- and, essentially, that's what it is. Solar panels at the top of the tombstone power the device's storage mechanism, which holds all of the blogs, Facebook posts, photos and videos that the grave's occupant ever posted online.

All this information is accessible via a cross-shaped Bluetooth key on the face of the headstone, allowing friends and family to revisit the deceased's archived online material from their mobile phones, and post their own personal anecdotes to the hard drive. It may sound strange to bury someone with their archived online history, but, for people who spend just about every waking moment online, it sort of makes sense. Excuse us as we go rewrite our wills.

Tags: Blog, bluetooth, concept, dead, death, design, e-tomb, facebook, grave, memorial, SocialNetworking, tombs, top

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