Evan Carroll
Author and Founder The Digital Beyond
Media
Social
Biography
A leader in the developing digital legacy and personal archiving arena, Evan is author and co-founder at The Digital Beyond, a site dedicated to exploring the digital afterlife. Along with John Romano, Evan is the author of the book, Your Digital Afterlife: When Facebook, Flickr and Twitter Are Your Estate, What’s Your Legacy? (New Riders Press, 2010). Evan has appeared in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, NPR’s Fresh Air, Obit magazine, NPR’s Here and Now, Fox News, CNN and The Atlantic.
A frequent speaker on both marketing and digital legacy, Evan has presented to audiences at SXSW Interactive (2010-2012, 2014), the Library of Congress, and the Internet Archive, among others.
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Master of Science
Information Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelor of Science
Information Science
Affiliations
- American Marketing Association
Links
Languages
- English
Testimonials
President
http://www.nicsa.org/NICSA
We asked Evan to speak at the NICSA annual meeting and were impressed by his knowledge of digital estate planning and ability to spark a productive conversation with our attendees. Evan is an excellent speaker and I recommend him highly.
Editor
http://www.peachpit.com/imprint/index.aspx?st=61074New Riders Press
When Evan Carroll came to us with the idea for the book Your Digital Afterlife, we were taken by his enthusiasm for the subject and his articulate expression of his ideas.
As the book took shape, it became clear that Evan was also a great writer, committed to making the deadlines we had agreed upon, and a team player. He was a pleasure to work with, always gracious and accommodating of input from us as publishers. I look forward to his next book.
Media Appearances
Protecting your afterlife in the digital realm
CBS Sunday Morning tv
2014-10-26
Used to be, you knew what to do with all the memorabilia of your life. You'd put it in a box to give to your kids, or you'd write it into your will.
But these days, the most complete record of your life may not be in boxes; it may be online.
All those photos on Flickr. Videos on YouTube. Daily events on Facebook. Thoughts on Twitter. What happens to all that stuff, when you move on to the great cyber café in the sky?
Evan Carroll is an expert on what happens to our online stuff when we die. "We have entered this time as a society where we're a bit ahead of our laws and our policies with respect to our digital property," he said.
Carroll and his coauthor maintain a blog, and they've even written a book, "Your Digital Afterlife."
"Some states have laws, some states don't," said Carroll. "Some people put these things in their wills now. Some people don't. So there are so many different things that could happen."
After Death, Protecting Your 'Digital Afterlife'
NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross radio
2011-01-10
Chances are good that you have hundreds, maybe thousands of e-mails stored on remote servers or in your computer. You might have a Facebook page, or a Tumblr or Twitter account. And you might have countless photos in a Flickr album. All that information amounts to a digital profile of sorts, which raises an interesting question: What happens to that online material when we die?
That depends on how you prepare beforehand, says John Romano. Romano and a colleague, Evan Carroll, edit The Digital Beyond, a website that helps users plan what happens to their online content after their death. Romano and Carroll both join Dave Davies for a discussion about online digital legacies.
Cyberspace When You’re Dead
The New York Times print
2011-01-09
Suppose that just after you finish reading this article, you keel over, dead. Perhaps you’re ready for such an eventuality, in that you have prepared a will or made some sort of arrangement for the fate of the worldly goods you leave behind: financial assets, personal effects, belongings likely to have sentimental value to others and artifacts of your life like photographs, journals, letters. Even if you haven’t made such arrangements, all of this will get sorted one way or another, maybe in line with what you would have wanted, and maybe not.
What Happens to Your Digital Data After You Die?
Popular Science print
2011-06-01
We're just starting to figure this one out. The companies that keep our data on remote servers have inconsistent, confusing or nonexistent policies for what happens after a customer passes away. As a result, many "digital estate" services are popping up that can help you plan ahead.
The first step in managing your digital afterlife is to name a digital executor--someone who inherits control over your online information--in your will, along with a regular executor. But don't list passwords there; wills become public documents after death and available to would-be thieves, explains Evan Carroll, co-founder of the digital-existence clearinghouse The Digital Beyond.
Death & Tech: Grieving In The 21st Century
Kojo Nnamdi Show - WAMU radio
2014-09-30
The widespread use of technology and social media is raising new questions about their role in mourning loved ones and about the disposition of our digital accounts after we die. News of celebrity deaths travels fast on social media, but is it insensitive to share the news of a loved one's passing that way? And should we be leaving explicit instructions for our survivors about our online accounts? Kojo considers questions at the intersection technology and mortality.
A new mourning: grief in the digital age
Irish Times print
2014-10-03
Has social media brought the community back into bereavement or is there a morbid preoccupation with the online profiles of the deceased?
Event Appearances
Keynote: Estate Planning for Digital Assets
Fintegra National Sales Conference Minneapolis, MN
2014-10-10
Estate Planning for Digital Assets
Tri-State Trust Conference Fargo, ND
2014-04-29
Dead Man Posting: Post-Mortem Tales of the Disembodied Virtual Self (Panelist)
Dig South Charleston, SC
2014-04-11
Your Digital Afterlife
Circle of Red Raleigh, NC
2014-03-19
Fringe Design: Tackling Disability and Death
SXSW Interactive Austin, TX
2014-03-09
Your Digital Afterlife: What Happens To Your Digital Memories After You Die?
RootsTech Salt Lake City, UT
2014-02-08
Estate Planning for Digital Assets
Iowa Trust Association Annual Conference Ankeny, IA
2013-10-03
Behind the Bullseye: Fireside Chat with Target CMO Jeff Jones (Moderator)
Triangle American Marketing Association Raleigh, NC
2013-05-23
Estate Planning for Digital Assets
MOKAN Trust Conference Kansas City, KA
2013-05-09
Estate Planning for Digital Assets
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Annual Conference Las Vegas, NV
2013-05-10
Law and Society: Current Advances in the Digital Afterlife
Personal Digital Archiving College Park, MD
2013-02-22
Mobile Happens
Triangle American Marketing Association Raleigh, NC
2012-10-18
Mobile Happens
Knoxville American Marketing Association Knoxville, TN
2011-11-14
Mobile Happens
Baltimore American Marketing Association Baltimore, MD
2013-02-27
Digital Immortals: Preserving Life Beyond Death
SXSW Interactive Austin, TX
2012-03-11
You’re Dead, Your Data Isn’t: What Happens Now?
SXSW Interactive Austin, TX
2011-03-14
Preserving Personal Legacy in the Digital Age (Keynote)
Michigan Archival Association Annual Conference Beaver Island, MI
2011-06-24
Preserving Personal Legacy in the Digital Age (Keynote)
Federal Library & Information Center Committee Forum, Library of Congress Washington, DC
2011-05-17
Sample Talks
Estate Planning for Electronic Assets
Blogs, Facebook, E-mail, PayPal—You work with digital property everyday, yet when considering a client’s assets, you might not see the financial value these digital properties have. Almost without realizing it, we have shifted to a digital culture where many social and financial transactions happen online. In this session we will discuss the complexities of these new digital assets and how to plan and manage them for your clients.
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Author Appearance
- Corporate Training
