What better time to tell your family that they're about to lose the house thanks to your gambling debt than after the loan sharks have caught up with you and sent you to sleep with the fishes?

We're pretty sure that's not exactly what the folks behind YouDeparted had in mind when they created an "electronic safe deposit box." But that's what we'd use it for. That or leaving lots of MP3s telling everyone what we really think of them.

What the service is supposed to do is provide you with 5GB of encrypted storage space for $9.95 a year. When you're no longer able to read Download Squad, loved ones that you've selected will be able to access your information, including emails, letters, or other files. It's a way to share your final thoughts and/or wishes with your family.

It seems like there's a growing death-related industry growing online. The other day we profiled another company, Respectance, a social networking site that lets users create online memorials for lost loved ones. Perhaps this is a sign that the internet isn't just the domain of 12-24 year olds anymore.

Any way you look at it, the site's name is either an inappropriate attempt to sound like YouTube, or just a creepy way of reminding people that they're all going to die one day. In the past tense. You departed. As in you're not here any more. But you're still reading this. Spooky.

[via TechCrunch]

If there's one thing you can be sure of when you read user profiles on most social networking sites, it's that they were written for people who are still alive. Respectance takes that mold and breaks it in half, by offering social networking for those who can no longer update their own profiles.

The site lets you create an online tribute to lost loved ones by creating a profile, writing a description, and inviting others to share their memories. You can also submit photos and videos to remember your lost friend or relative by.

If it sounds a little hokey, remember that most rituals that take place after the lose of a loved one are to help the living more than the departed. That said, we hope that the respectful tone of most of the profiles isn't subverted at some point by internet trolls.

It looks like Respectance is here to stay, for a while at least. The company has raised $1.5 million in funding.

[via StartupSquad]