Likewise, if web surfers don't pass on information, weary perhaps from too many messages that threaten all sorts of awfulness if they are not passed to at least ten people in less than ten minutes, or just web-weary in general, then the effect of viral marketing soon fizzles out.

ECONOMIST: Idea

Which only goes to show that your social networking messages are only private if all of your contacts allow them to be.

BBC: Essex cracks down on social media

The Death Manager lets you tell Google what to do with the data from all of your Google accounts, including most intimately, your Gmail messages, if your account goes inactive, presumably because you have gone to the great server farm in the sky.

FORBES: Will You Use Google's Death Manager To Let Loved Ones Read Your Email When You Die?

As the terrible news began to spread, my Facebook feed was filled with messages from people I know telling me they were all right, or asking if someone else had been heard from.

CNN: Our 'greatest day' turns to horror

When my son was sleeping, I was checking the text messages and followed the Instagram updates -- after all, this wasn't really sneaking if my son maintained a public profile.

CNN: The secret life of my sixth grader