Facebook takes you beyond the grave

You may die, but your Facebook profile won't. True to their promise, your words will stay etched in the sands of cyberspace long after you're gone. And now, thanks to a new FB application called ‘If I Die', your cyber-self will still be able to Facebook your friends, posting messages and videos on their wall, long after you're six feet under. The application allows you to reveal all post-death, or say those final goodbyes, or even one last wisecrack, provided at least three friends vouch for your death. Although fascinatingly morbid for some, the application has created waves online. Since launch in December 2011, the If I Die page has close to 6,000 likes, with the numbers growing steadily. Here's how it works. Assuming you believed death is in your near future, you would have to download the application and select three friends or "trustees" who would notify Facebook about your death. Once your trustees have accepted your invitation, they would have to log onto the If I Die application at the time of your death and confirm the news. As each trustee reports your death, they will get a message saying: "If you are completely sure that [insert name] is no longer with us, please continue. As part of our responsibility to validate such sensitive information, [Insert name]'s message will be posted on his wall only if three of his trusted friends report his death. With our deepest sympathy, If-I-Die team." Additionally, the application also sends you an e-mail notifying you that three of your trustees have, in fact, confirmed your death. No, it won't be a miracle message that reaches you in your grave. It's a clarification to check that you are, indeed, dead, and that all this isn't some sick joke. In a wall post on the If I Die page, Brandon Holthaus writes, "A couple of years ago, I had written a 20+ page ‘In case I die' letter. Most of it was lost, so this will be a fun way to try it again. And here I thought I was dark for doing so. Lol [laugh out loud]. but… ya only die once. Leave a legacy. It's all you can leave." Users who have signed up can write text message, record videos or create as many Facebook posts as they would like, to be published for as many years as they choose, with preassigned dates and profile names, long after they've kicked the bucket, so to speak. Physically, you may no longer be in the land of the living, but electronically you'll become immortal.