Virtual Goods for Virtual Memorials at GoneTooSoon.org

GoneTooSoon.org is a non-profit organization that is building on the basic social function of virtual gifts to create a website that lets friends and relatives of those who've passed on create virtual memorials to help express very real grief. The website currently hosts 45,750 virtual memorials to the dearly departed.

Creating a memorial is free, and users may visit memorials to leave comments and pay tribute to the deceased in much the same way one might if conversing at a funeral or wake. Visitors can also choose to leave virtual goods at a memorial, digitally reproducing the old custom of leaving flowers and trinkets at a gravesite. Any user can leave candles, which are free, and more elaborate gifts can be purchased through GoneTooSoon's virtual gift shop.

Keeping a non-profit website alive can be difficult, and GoneTooSoon seems to have several sources of operating revenue lined up to help the site operate. While most of GoneTooSoon.org is ad-free, the site is sponsored by gift shop GettingPersonal.co.UK and flower shop Interflora. GoneTooSoon also has a sister site for pets who've passed on that is currently offering free memorials during its trial period. When the trial period ends, users will be asked to pay a fee for each pet memorial they create on the site. Users can also opt to leave candles and buy virtual gifts for pet memorials, just as they can on the main site.

The real goal of GoneTooSoon.org is to offer the bereaved a change to work through their grief online. Both sites maintain forums where users are invited to discuss ways of coping with the loss of loved ones, even children and spouses, in a way that is not possible on most online forums. The site especially presents itself as an outlet for those who are affected by a loss, but perhaps are not a relative or intimate friend of the deceased.

"Often close friends set up the site and later pass on the upkeep or passwords to someone who was not able to deal with it at the time. The earlier you set up the site, the more response it will have. People are eager to leave messages of condolence as soon as someone has passed away, and it's a comforting feeling to those left behind knowing so many people took time to care. You should tell as many people as you can about the site," states the site's About Us page.

GoneTooSoon.org is a community currently vocused on users in the UK. While there are similar communities aimed at users in North America and other territories, they don't use virtual goods as part of the process of grieving through a virtual memorial. Given the popularity of virtual goods and the cost of maintaining websites, though, it seems inevitable that you'll begin to see more virtual memorials follow GoneTooSoon's lead.