Friends Forever
Facebook is overhauling how it handles dead people’s profiles. For instance, it’ll no longer recommend that you invite the departed to events like barbecues and concerts.
A new blog post by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg describes a number of changes that are meant to give deceased users’ legacy contacts — who essentially act as executors of their accounts — more control over how people can interact with these so-called “memorialized accounts.”
Dead Alive
On one hand, it’s good to see Facebook take steps to change its algorithm as the platform inevitably becomes a virtual graveyard for former users who have passed away.
But adding a dedicated “tributes” page to the profiles of the dead could be read another way: as showing that Facebook is committed, above all else, to making sure people continue interacting on the site — dead or alive.
READ MORE: Facebook adds new tributes section to memorialized profiles [The Verge]
More on digital memorials: The Digital Afterlife is Open for Business. But It Needs Rules.