Does death impact perceptions of thought leadership and branding in a Web site?

While Michael Jackson's death undoubtedly increased sales of his music, my
question is if death impacts how people use a Web site that is based on the
deceased person's thought leadership or brand.

One of my master's students worked on the redesign of DrSpock.com and, in
her evaluations, looked at people's knowledge and perception of Dr. Spock. I
recently read that Mr. Rogers, of children's television fame, is making a
comeback on the Web. Obviously in both cases a legacy can live on but the
deceased person is not involved in the Web design or content.

Do you know of other instances? Do you think death impact's people's
perceptions? And do you know if any literature on this topic?

Lisa
-- 
Lisa Gualtieri, Ph.D.

Adjunct Clinical Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
New course on Web Strategies for Health Communication:
http://webstrategiesforhealth.com
Blog on health: http://lisagualtieri.com

Editor-in-Chief, eLearn Magazine, http://eLearnMag.org
Blog on education: http://blog.acm.org/elearn/

Phone: 781-861-7373
Email: [email protected]

    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Tip of the Day: Use the archives to research common questions
     CHI-WEB: www.sigchi.org/web POSTINGS: mailto:[email protected]
              MODERATORS: mailto:[email protected]
       SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES & FAQ:  www.sigchi.org/web/faq.html
    --------------------------------------------------------------