The uses of social media – in life and in death

My first real foray into the land of Web 2.0 was a blog I started in fall 2005. It was mainly a way to record and share the moments in my life with friends and family. Since then, I’ve jumped on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I feel immersed in the world of social media and its capabilities as a personal and business tool.

But earlier this month, I discovered an entirely new use for social media and the Internet when a professional colleague and friend passed away after a battle with brain cancer. Terry Harper was the executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, an organization with more than 8,000 members. I served on the SPJ national board of directors for six years so had worked with Terry during my board service.

When we found out about his cancer, members of the organization rallied their thoughts and prayers and put full support behind Terry and his family for many months. But a few weeks ago, we found ourselves coming together again, this time to pay our respects to our colleague and friend.

What struck me as most interesting was the method for our collective sadness. With SPJ members scattered about the country, the majority of us couldn’t physically attend the memorial service or other events that would honor Terry’s memory. So we pulled together online. We posted messages on Terry’s Facebook page as well as a special group page that had been created to support Terry’s fight with cancer. We tweeted our grief on Twitter. We posted hundreds of comments on Terry’s blog, Thumping My Melon. SPJ created a memorial page on its Web site where members and friends of the society could post comments, donate to a memorial fund or simply remember Terry in pictures.

I couldn’t help but think about how social media has changed the way we do everything, including celebrate lost loved ones and friends. In the past, we could only send a card of condolence, make a phone call or give a memorial donation to a particular charity. And while those are all still quite appropriate and important, now we have a chance to create a living, breathing memorial, a place where a person’s friends and family can read the many touching and inspiring comments as long as they like and friends can continue to post their thoughts.

Terry wrote a final blog post that his wife posted the day of his death. At last check, that post had 241 comments. Many of the comments are from people who knew Terry well; other comments are from people who didn’t know him at all – just another example of the far-reaching power of the Internet.

Housed online, these blogs and Facebook pages live on forever, a touching reminder of a person’s contributions here on Earth. And, I have to admit, I’ve been thinking: what would my final blog post say?