A very interesting article came out over the weekend called “Obits are must reading” written by a gentleman named John Weeks of the San Bernardino County Sun who has been in the newspaper business over 40 years. This article brought a lot of things to mind as I scanned the page.

First, no one thinks about obituaries or the funeral industry until they are touched by the death of a close friend or family member. A lot of new companies I see, and entrepreneurs I have met in this industry who tell you that their idea all started when they lost someone close. They got to see first hand how the ’system’ can work better and make the experience that a family goes through when dealing with death much more manageable. Then their entrepreneurial gears get turning and out of them shoots a new idea that changes the industry. Its like a part of our brain that we never knew existed all of the sudden started working. John Weeks, who started writing obits in 1968 didn’t even realize that a company like Legacy exists, and they actually run the online obits section for his paper.

Second, “Obituaries go through changes of style and fashion.” John is referring to the content of the actual obituary itself here, but as I look at it the changes he speaks of really has nothing to do with the actual obituary itself, but rather the business of news distribution. The obituary itself was once much longer, it didn’t take up just a an inch or two of a newspaper column, it did not cost $400 and it told a better story of a persons life than just the standard facts that we see today. All of these limitations have come about because of the limitations of having a physical newspaper be the only channel to distribute the news of a person’s death.

Technology can, will, and is currently changing how this news is consumed and in a very short time I believe that physical daily newspapers will be a thing of the past. Shortly thereafter the Sunday edition will cease to exist as well. Does that mean that everyone will go to one website to get their obituary news? Probably not, but additional players will get a seat at the table. Newspapers will figure out a way to achieve an online edition of their paper, some already have. I think that we will see all of the same content in a lot of different places, but all on the web. When the small, albeit terrifying (for some people I know) earthquake hit LA last night we saw the same story on the websites for Fox, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, WSJ, LATimes, Washington Post, Twitter, Facebook; you get where I am going with this.

Casey Gustus

Sr. Director, Marketing

Tributes.com

Working at Tributes, I read a lot of obituaries.  Very few of them go beyond the basics—when the person passed away, where and when the services are being held, surviving friends and family, etc.  Sometimes, it seems a bit sad to me that a person’s life can be summed up in a few paragraphs of sterile details.

Our online tributes allow you to tell the full story of who your loved one was—what made them laugh, what inspired them, what activities and hobbies they enjoyed—all the intricacies and qualities that make a person special and unique.  Sure, we need the details about where the funeral service will be held and the names of the family members and friends who are left behind, but to really honor the person and the life they lived, our tributes offer you the tools to tell their full, colorful story with photos, videos, web links, music and unlimited text.

When my father passed away, he left behind a large family including many young grandchildren.  Since his death, we have added to the family with more grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Some of my nieces & nephews may have vague memories of him but most were too young to retain any real recollection of the man he was.  Creating a tribute was something I did for him, for myself but most of all, for them.  It will be a permanent place for them to go and learn about who their Papa was, see photos of him, and begin to understand the connection and continuity of family.

This technology was not around when my grandparents, aunts and uncles passed away.  All I have of left of them are some fuzzy memories and a few scattered photographs here & there.  Our tributes give families and friends a place to keep the memories alive.  I don’t know a lot about what made my Grandfather special but my nieces & nephews will be able to read the tribute I created for my father, know that he had an insatiable sweet tooth, know that he enjoyed spending time outside tending to his lawn, and most of all, know that he loved his family beyond measure.

So, don’t limit the life of someone you love to a few sentences that convey only facts and dates.  Create something lasting, something special, something that encompasses all that your loved one was and how special they were to you.  Create a Tribute today!

Kim Gavrilles – Manager of Customer/Channel Support

Are you on Twitter?  10% of people on the internet use Twitter.  60% of them join and then go inactive for a month, some come back some don’t.  Since I have really interesting things to tweet about the funeral industry, you should follow us.  http://www.twitter.com/tributescom