The idea:
Horizons as a concept is a website which provides services now for all things after death. As we digitize our lives more and more it makes sense to think about what happens to our digital presence and not just our physical presence. The latter already being a crowded space, the former is wide open and full of opportunity for a budding entrepreneur - like you.
Currently, much of the tools and services we use in our virtual existence do not make it very clear what happens when we croak. Will your family have access to your Flickr account, including all photos you've marked private? Will your awesome blog be taken down because of inactivity or stopped payments, or will it be kept up for years - long enough for your great grandchildren to read them? Will Twitter and Facebook continually recommend friending you to friends of people you know? An organization called Digital Death Day seem to be tackling some of these questions.
That's all the practical stuff.
What if through Horizons you can write all your loved ones goodbye emails, you save and update them as time goes, until they are triggered to send by the event of your death? Sure, that's simple enough. Now how about if you can defer this trigger to more meaningful dates, say, anniversaries and holidays? Imagine your kid getting an email from you on his 18th birthday even though you've passed many years back. Imagine your spouse looking forward to your next anniversary when he/she will receive the next love letter you wrote. Imagine how this process could be very useful for those who mourn your loss and could use your help in moving on.
There could be some pretty fun stuff as well. Fun enough to possibly make you look forward to dying.
What if through Horizons you can pre-compose not just emails but other types of online vitality enabling your virtual presence to go on many years after your death? Digitally, there are many possibilities here, scheduled status updates, location check ins, etc., all dispersed in time. To a great extent your habits and likes can be learned by a robot. Along with your help - and subscription to Horizons for a mere $99 a year giving you access to robust Posthumous Vitality (TM) tools - you don't digitally ever have to die.
What if through Horizons a real person can take on your virtual presence and continue it on for you? An actor slash playwright personifying you and keeping your bits warm. All that history and content shouldn't have to go to waste. What if your kids can get paid for selling it to someone in desperate need for a new reputation? See another great product concept I call Reputation Farmer.
Okay what else?
How about an archive section where all your digital assets are guaranteed up time and access even as file formats and protocols change. How about a top page 'gravestone' with the best JPEG of your choosing. How about a Felo-de-se how-to section in case you get too excited about this whole thing :)
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