Respectance - Social Networking for the Dead

Over the years, many avenues for paying your respects to dead loved ones have emerged. Taking out an obituary in your local newspaper is one of the ways. The roadside memorial was created for those killed in car crashes. The car window decal and park benches with a name and lifespan dates has also served this purpose. Now, there's a whole new way to pay your respects to those who have passed away and you wouldn't guess that it's a social networking service. Although that might not be the best way to describe the new service Respectance, it is similar to the layout of other social networking services such as MySpace and Facebook.

That is where the similarities end. Respectance is for dead people only, that is, each profile is only to depict someone who has passed on, and not a living human. The surviving loved ones of those who have passed on can create a website for others to see. This is a great way to preserve a memory and to provide more info than a newspaper obituary can provide, and this lasts longer and can be seen by anyone across the world who has internet access.

According to Respectance.com, "Respectance is the online community for everyone who values and celebrates life. It's a new tradition: people coming together to remember a loved one in a personalized way." Besides creating a tribute page, similar to a profile seen in other social networking services, you can upload photos and videos of your loved ones so that you can relive those memories again and again, and also being able to share those moments with family and friends who may not be local. It also allows all of the family and friends to contribute all of their photos for one giant repository of all of the pictures and videos of the lost loved one. This is a lot easier than trying to learn HTML, buy a domain name and buy hosting for someone who doesn't necessarily know how to do all of that stuff. It is definitely a lot cheaper too.

Respectance.com also considers itself a community where you can "find understanding and support." For many people, it is hard to open up to people when you've lost a fiancé or a husband of 60 years, but through Respectance you can find others who are in the same situations that you are in and find out how they are able to cope with such a tragic lost.

All in all, this site creates an atmosphere for those who have lost a loved one to preserve their memory in a long lasting and respectful manner, even if it is considered a "social networking service."