Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor got a bit of press when he announced that he was founding Tributes.com, “a central location to house online memorials for those who have passed on,” writes Marty Graham on Wired.com.
Taylor’s idea is not revolutionary. Sites such as MyDeathSpace, RememberWell, SweetMemoriesSite.com, Celebrations of Life (which includes pet stories and more), ChristianMemorials.com, Legacy.com (“Where life stories live on.”), and PreciousMemoriesAndMore.comalready offer similar services.
Here’s how Tributes.com differs, according to Graham:
- People can find information on those who’ve died with a name search from a database that includes the entire Social Security Death Index since 1936.
- The site plans to market more to the funeral industry than other sites, where individuals pay for tributes.
Legacy.com uses Social Security death records and also picks up obituaries from 650 newspapers. Tributes.com’s planned partnering with funeral homes aims to cut newspapers out of the loop, Graham reports.
Taylor was recently interviewed by Geoff Edgars of the Boston Globe
You recently launched your latest venture, Tributes.com, a site that allows individuals to post obituaries online. It’s pretty depressing, don’t you think? I mean, why base a whole business around dead people?
You know what? I think it’s exactly the opposite. I have this fascination with having a storied life. I had a relationship with a grandfather, but I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it and I find I have nothing to look at to be able to enjoy that story.
Addendum [ added 1-18-08 ]: On a related note, here’s an article that touts story as a meaningful element in funeral services.