Webcasts Find Their Way into Funeral Industry
While funerals may seem to be rooted in tradition, the funeral industry is working to stay ahead of the curve on the latest technology trends. Testament to this is an increasing number of funeral homes offering funeral Webcasting.
"Today, digital farewells are an increasingly common part of online culture," states the Boston Globe. "The tradition has been that what's left is a choice quote carved into granite," said David Weinberger, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, to the Globe. "On the Web, that conversation can actually continue."
John Carmon, past president of the National Funeral Directors Association and owner of Carmon Community Funeral Homes, based in Connecticut, says he has been offering funeral Webcasts from his Avon location for about two and a half years. "It seemed like [I was] reading about Web casts everywhere [and] the Avon community is very transient — lots of people have family, literally, all over the world," Carmon says. "It just seemed to make sense — this is a very cosmopolitan community — they embrace the concept completely."
Carmon also explains that he has two sons who served in Iraq, and he wanted to offer a way for members of the armed forces to view funeral services when they could not physically attend.
About 15 percent of the customers at the Avon location choose to have a funeral Webcast, and Carmon says he is discussing adding this feature to his Windsor, Conn., location. He also offers online photo tributes and obituaries.
Carmon charges $165 for Webcasting — the service is available for viewing to those who are invited (i.e. given the password for access) live, and then stays on the Web site for 30 days. He also burns a CD for the family.
He says to start Webcasting was about an $8,000 investment for a Web cam, a technician to edit and produce the Webcasts and a stronger Web host. But the response he gets is more than worth it. "People call us from all over — it really makes them feel like they are a part of everything."
--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org
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