Blogging Wills – Blogs and Death

Darren Rowse has given some though to the question, “What happens to your blogs when you die?”

Some things he has made sure his wife has in case of his untimely demise:

  • Contact details for partners – I have a number of blog partners that would be able to help her navigate some of the logistics of managing my blogs
  • Contact details for trusted other bloggers – a few others who know enough to be useful
  • Passwords and Contact details for Advertising Programs and Affiliate Programs – to be able to access and manage income
  • Contact details of bloggers who work for me – a number of my blogs are written these days by others.
  • Contact details for web hosts – without these the blogs fall over and income disappears
  • Passwords for Paypal accounts
  • Backup details – for blogs and computers
  • Blog and hosting passwords – to give her (or those who help her) access
  • Instructions on what to do – a few notes on what I’d suggest she does. Which blogs she could sell (and who could help her sell them), which to allow to run (and who to write on them), what my agreements are with different people etc

A good idea, at least for blogs that are generating any significant income. Blogs that have been around a while will continue to do so, as he notes, “on a decreasing scale over time.”

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.