Names, famous and not

The death of President Ford had me pondering how there was a time when only fame and fortune would allow your memory to live on for more than a generation or two. Even during this short span of time it was only family who would keep your memory alive for more than a couple years. The common man was doomed to be forgotten.

I think the Internet is really changing this. Most people show up somewhere on the net whether they want to or not. The combined efforts of family, friends, employers and government agencies will eventually put almost everyone somewhere on the net. Though not exactly what you could call fame, folks will occasionally stumble upon your remnants on the web.

Beyond this are those like myself who actively use email, post pictures, write articles in groups and now even have our own blogs. There is absolutely no need to have any talent. Even literacy is relatively optional. Again fame is still unlikely, but who knows even a moron might inadvertently write something worth quoting by pure chance and find himself being quoted long after his death.

In any event I think this is a great collateral benefit of the web. This huge reservoir of information about even the most obscure of individuals in a searchable format. Though never a genealogy buff I still have wondered about my ancestors on occasion. I am not interested in demographic data about them. I'd like to know who they were. With each passing year the web will provide more of this information to our descendants - I like that idea.