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Written on 3rd October 2008
2 COMMENTS 
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
“Who dies in two years and doesn’t have a Tribute on Respectance.nl, didn’t have a lot of friends”, says Respectance founder Richard Derks in a press release issued today. He sure knows how to get attention, as you simply can’t ignore a statement like this. Let me explain you the situation here.
Richard Derks
Respectance.com is a social tribute network that offers people the opportunity to honor the lives of their deceased loved ones. That sounds more stylish than the no-friends argument and honestly, the site also ousts the loving family sentiment (with flowers, pictures of grandma – while she’s still alive, and clouds – a metaphor for eternity) instead of the “don’t die without friends”-one.
Anyhow, the reason Derks has sent out a press release is because he has launched a Dutch version of Respectance. It’s their first step in conquering Europe. Why Holland, you might ask – since it only has 16 million citizens. Well, it’s Derks’ home country.
Respectance’s launch in Europe is going to highlight some interesting cultural differences. Derks already told me about one when I interviewed him in November 2007:
“Even though we have no marketing activity going on outside the US, 55 percent of the visitors are foreign. Especially in Latin America and Scandinavia, Respectance is really popular. This reveals some pretty interesting cultural differences. For instance, a Norwegian web site for parents who lost their child, advised its visitors to visit Respectance. My American employees were shocked by the pictures of babies, and asked me to remove them. Naturally, I didn’t do that, since our slogan is ’share your memories’. Everybody is allowed to do so”.
Grandma is still alive now, but when she’s dead, I’ll make a tribute on Respectance.com
Written on 24th January 2008
1 COMMENT
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Madeleine Moon is a Labour MP in small town in South Wales in the U.K.. In a year’s time, seven young people around her town committed suicide. Seven really disturbing incidents, so no wonder that Moon is looking for a proper explanation and someone to blame. Well, she has found one: children are spending too much time online.
The victims were all very active on social networking sites, and which teenager isn’t? Moon doesn’t like that. “What people need is not to go into a virtual world of the Internet to deal with emotional problems,” she told Reuters. “They need to stay very much in this real world and talk to real people.”
There we go again! Another person who doesn’t think of the digital world as real. Aren’t these kids talking to real people then? I bet there are a lot of depressed children that actually see the Internet as the ONLY way to meet people. They are the kind of people who used to just sit in their room and do nothing. Now there’s the Internet, where they can talk with people and find support.
Moon should embrace that but al she can do is complain about it. And there’s more about the Internet that she doesn’t really care for: memorial sites where people leave messages and pictures for dead friends. According to the MP, these sites are ‘romanticizing death’.
We asked Richard Derks, co-founder of memorial site Respectance.com, what he thinks of this remarkable opinion. “No doubt we’re in a time of breaking down taboos. Especially when it comes to emotions: people are now opening themselves up online like never before. Some British MPs, apparently, notwithstanding – but even the Queen of England now days does her Christmas speech via YouTube! We’ve passed the no-going-back point. It’s the age of emo-social media. Society is defining new traditions now – and, frankly, I think not a moment too soon.”
It’s time to open your eyes Mrs. Moon, you can better use the Internet, instead of fighting it.
Written on 5th December 2007
12 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Respectance.com is a social tribute network that offers people the opportunity to honor the lives of their deceased loved ones. Its founders, Todd Wilkinson and Richard Derks, are calling themselves emo-social pioneers. After a fancy diner at Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten’s house in downtown Amsterdam, I had the chance to ask Richard Derks some questions about this new term.
“Emo stands for emotion. We believe that social networks need more emotion in order to gain relevance. In our network that is remembering your loved ones”, Derks explains. He and Wilkinson came up with the idea after the death of Wilkinsons’ mother. Friends and family told him stories he had never heard before, making him realize that he didn’t know his mother that well. Inspired by this event, Derks and Wilkinson started thinking of a way to share memories with others. The result was Respectance.
Derks: “We’ve aimed at the American market, since we consider Americans most ready for emo-social media”. (more…)
Written on 27th July 2007
1 COMMENT
Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of The Next Web Conference. Twitter: @patrick
Respectance just raised 1,5 million euros from Solid Ventures and Big Bang Ventures. Respectance did a showcase at The Next Web 2007 and left a very good impression with the audience and not surprisingly, delegates of Solid Ventures and Big Bang Ventures where in that same audience as well.
It seems like something nice sprouted out of that presentation.
Respectance is a social tribute network to honor the deceased.
TV4B did an interview with Richard Derks of Respectance during The Next Web Conference. check it out. (more…)
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
