Rocking Out Beyond the Grave

The old saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.” Turns out, as far as your iPod, Blackberry or Gameboy are concerned, that’s not entirely true. Funeral directors in the US are reporting more and more cases where the deceased or relatives are requesting that an individual be buried with some kind of mobile gadget, usually an Apple product, but Blackberrys and Gameboys as well.

Reports have surfaced of phones left turned on and powered up so that friends could get in touch with them in the afterlife; of iPods playing music to the deceased during the funeral; and of phones set with a specific ringtone that are called while the casket is being lowered into the ground, the music fading out as the loved one is buried.

As The Inquirer points out, this might be a helpful trend: if anyone were accidentally buried alive, they’d be able to call for help. It’s also a good way to prevent song theft; the record companies might start insisting that digital downloads be buried with the one who purchased them, forcing others to go and buy more music. In all seriousness, this trend points to the increasingly significant role that music and personal media devices play in our culture, and is reminiscent of how the Pharaohs of Egypt were buried with their treasures.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.