Our founder Clare talks about how we can use Blockchain to take funeral and bucket list planning to the next level...
Recently, I have been talking about cryptocurrency with Connor, my youngest son, about his buying of Ethereum coin, the principles about blockchain as a new technology, how it is thought by some as being the new ‘internet’, or returning the internet to what many think it should be; a decentralised, egalitarian system that is free to use.
We’ve discussed paying our employees with ‘ether’ the Ethereum cryptocurrency and even if we could create a funeral currency to help pay for funerals in the future. The technology makes a lot of sense, particularly if you look at the recent issues of ‘fake news’. The idea that it is built on trust and there is no centralised system feeding us seems pretty obvious.
If that is the case, huunuu is perfect for the blockchain, that may be a step too far or too quickly, what if blockchain isn’t the thing everyone believes it is? It may be far too risky to develop and move all our technology onto a blockchain.
If you are not familiar with blockchain, essentially it is an open source technology that records transactions by means of thousands of computers interacting and recording the changes to the blockchain ledger across multiple locations. This makes it really difficult for anyone to make historic changes to what has gone before as they would have to edit all of the decentralised ledgers that have a record of the transaction before another action is taken.
In huunuu’s case, this would mean that your funeral plan, or indeed any plan you make with us, will be time stamped and essentially tamperproof so whatever your wishes are, people will be able to see them.
Anyway..
The dead don’t care? I’m not dead and I do care, and I care very deeply about donating my organs and any part of me when I am dead. Don’t get me wrong this is not about being morbid or looking to be around forever. I love life and the people around me, so when I’m not here I want others to love life and the people around them. I know that by donating my body, I may be able to give someone a better life. However, if I can’t, learning is the next best thing, helping others learn and in-turn giving life. In this case, I want my body to go to medical science. I know it all sounds very grand, but it is a very real thing I can do.
Or can I? Well as the current law stands, I may be on every donor list going but that doesn’t guarantee a yes. You see, whomever the next of kin may be for me, if they don’t agree then it won’t happen. I can really understand from my own experiences that making decisions at this most shocking part of your life when you have just lost someone, is really hard to do. No matter what the circumstances, decision making for you, them and everyone around you is near on impossible, even if you were expecting them to die. Think how hard and tricky it is planning a family event, such as your wedding, making decisions and keeping everyone in an ‘ok’ place. Well add a whole load of shock, grief and emotion in with that and wow it’s a cauldron of hugely difficult decisions, even if the person you have just lost was terminally ill or ‘had a good life’.
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So, what can I do to make it easier for those around me and yet ensure my wishes are met, if they can be of course! This is where the blockchain comes in, as I mentioned earlier, I have been talking with my youngest son about his buying of Ethereum coin, the principles around the new technology, and whether we could we pay our employees in ‘ether’ the Ethereum cryptocurrency.
As you would expect as founder and CEO of huunuu, I have embarked on a series of crucial conversations with my family and friends. That is why huunuu exists, using technology to get people talking and sharing about the things that really matter to them.
So here’s and excerpt from my conversation between my husband, Mum and I…
ME: So some serious stuff now...first things first..I am an organ donor, if that's not good enough..next is the tissue...then medical science!
ME: If I can't be donated in any way then spend your money!
ME: on...a womb shaped coffin and cremation and one of Pia Interlandies biodegradable body wear :)
STEVE: Hi babe, I'm not a fan of having your body donated to science, my preference is to celebrate your life with a different method
ME: You can still celebrate my life, the best way you can all do that for me is through giving life.
STEVE: But why would you choose to have your body dissected for science?
ME: I'm a giver and a learner, and want to do that for others
MUM: I agree with you, Clare, I wholeheartedly agree with donating one’s body to medical science.
Now I really want to make sure there is no mistake about my wishes! I am lucky that my husband, parents and children are all part of my huunuu conversation and they will feel some familial peer pressure to ensure that my wishes are met, but maybe they need a little more, to really understand just how important this is to me.
How could I do that?
Well lucky me! As founder and CEO of huunuu we can look at ways of utilizing new technologies such as Blockchain to create a trusted source of my wishes.
huunuu donor on Blockchain sounds like a great place to start. It will complement the huunuu platform, we will get to work with the technology and see where other opportunities lie without getting too distracted. We are certainly in the right space and industry to get people talking about their wishes.
