Lately, I've started researching my genealogical history a little bit. Intrigued by discovering previously unknown relatives within 23andMe, I've spent some time combing through public records, bought a couple more 23andMe kits for living ancestors, and started talking to my family to see what they remember while they are still alive. It's a fascinating puzzle problem.
One thing that I've started wondering about is the future of the content I'm creating during my lifetime. This goes beyond backups: I 'm reasonably skilled at protecting my data while I'm still alive. I'd like to have some of my data survive me. I want my story to be immortal. I have no clue how I would go about making such guarantees. Lots of organizations are trying very hard to bring data from the past into the present, but how would one go about pushing data from the present into the future?
This isn't just motivated by ego, although that's partially true. For example, it would be useful for my future relatives to be able to know my medical history to understand their own risks. Sshould I become famous after my death for some odd reason, it would be historically interesting to have more details on my life story. As someone living in my ancestor's distant future, I would absolutely love it if I could comb through the digital remains of my great great great grandparents who lived during the civil war.
It's an interesting problem. How can I assure that the content in my blog posts will be immortal and searchable for all time. Can I safely assume that blogger will keep my blog running forever? Yahoo closing Geocities makes it pretty clear that there is no guarantee of persistence in free services. Lots of companies have appeared that allow me to send data to family immediately after my passing, but what if the future historian who is interested in my data hasn't yet been born, and family that outlives me doesn't take much care to preserve my data?
One approach would be to create a company designed for this purpose that would attempt to outlive it's employees. That company would require a large upfront payment for storage, for example: $100/GB. The price would be calculated such that interest on a safe investment of that size could safely expect to cover ongoing archival costs for eternity along with some profit.
Even this though seems risky. What if interest rates decline and storage costs increase (peak oil causing a rise in electricity cost for example). What if the company changes hands and the new owners decide that the best option for shareholders is to delete all old data and cash out the interest bearing bank account? Maybe the executives decide to invest in something a little risky to improve profits and the company goes bankrupt.
Maybe we could back this organization by some large government, such as the US. Costs are still paid as a large upfront chunk, so it would require no taxpayer burden unless there is a gravely bad estimation of the ongoing costs. Presumably it would be politically unpopular to risk losing this data, so there would be more pressure felt from historians or the like than if the organization was profit motivated. Governments have historically done at least a reasonable job of preserving records, such as Census data or birth certificates.
I think lots of people would pay a reasonable cost for this service. Perhaps most wouldn't while they were living, but as part of a funeral service, a mortuary could accept a box of writing or a CD or whatever and scan/upload all of the data found for the deceased. Compared to the rest of the costs of funerals, this line item would be pretty modest. If there were privacy issues, you just put some kind of digital seal on the data: do not open for 100 years. Future Historians would presumably find this to be a very valuable trove of information.
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