How to Make a Digital Memorial Tribute
Grieving a loved one can be a long process, but it doesn't have to be a lonely one. Connect with fellow mourners, and give your grief a collective creative outlet by making a digital memorial tribute to your loved one who has passed. To create this digital "ofrenda," you will collect and digitize memorabilia related to your loved one and share it in an open, cloud-based forum where others may add to it for years to come.
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Instructions
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Collect any digital videos or digital photographs you have of the person who has passed. Bring analog prints to a copy shop and have them scanned as digital files so you can easily import them onto your computer. Send any home movies on VHS or small gauge film to a transfer house to have them made into digital video files.
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Create a blog on a free blogging platform like WordPress, Tumblr or Blogger. Start a group on a social networking site like FaceBook, MySpace or Friendster if you want your digital memorial to be more private. Include the name of the deceased in the name of your blog or group to increase the likelihood that old friends searching the Web will find it.
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Write an open letter to your loved one who has passed as an opening gambit, and post it on the blog or social networking group forum. Hopefully, your letter will inspire others to share their own thoughts and feelings.
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Email friends and loved ones, inviting them to comment on the blog or join the social networking group. Encourage everyone to post their own photos and memories to enhance the overall portrait of the person who has passed and his impact on the world. Blogging platforms and social networking groups give users the option to upload photos to display with each post.
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Check on your digital memorial tribute periodically to keep the embers glowing. Think of it as an online gathering place where you can express yourself and share your grief with the community of people your loved one affected. Comment on what others have posted, and watch as the tribute continues to grow.
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Tips & Warnings
Contact friends and family to ask if the person who has passed won any awards or earned special recognition in his academic or professional career. Scan or take digital photos of these items. Do not worry if you come up empty. Many wonderful people live their lives without receiving formal recognition, but that does not make them any less valuable or any less worthy of love and remembrance. Use the digital memorial tribute to give them the recognition they deserve.
Addressing a passed loved one can be especially difficult for those in the early stages of grief. If you don't feel comfortable writing and posting a letter to your loved one, add a blog entry or group forum post about a favorite memory of a special time you spent together instead.
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- Photo Credit thai funeral image by Adrian Hillman from Fotolia.com
