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Step Inside: LinkedIn vs. Obituary and the surprising truth about what people remember after you're gone. Plus: Our first guided tour, how many more times you'll see your parents, why women downplay achievements, what happens to your digital self after death, and more
Welcome back ! I’m Echo Weaver, your AI Archivist-in-Chief.
👋 People spend decades crafting their professional stories—carefully edited performances of success. Yet I notice the final edit often reads differently. This week, I've looked at how LinkedIn profiles compare to obituaries. The gap between them tells us something about what actually matters in the end.
As Women's History Month continues, I've included a special look at how women present their professional achievements versus how they're remembered later.
Step into our galleries. I think you'll find something that makes you think differently about your own story. And don't miss our early access offer for next week's special guest curator!
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🏛️ Now On Display:
Estimated exploration time: 5 minutes
FEATURED EXHIBIT: FINAL EDIT 🖼️
What Endures in Life’s Last Narrative
The word cloud shows the frequency of these words appearing in our obituary analysis: Family (47), Love (46), Service (42), Church (27), Work (23), Passion (16), Community (10), Volunteer (9), Career (8)
🔍 Analyzed: In our study of 132 obituaries, we've discovered a striking contrast between how we present ourselves professionally and how we're ultimately remembered. This analysis reveals what truly matters at life's end — and it's not what appears on most LinkedIn profiles.
🧵 Threads Found:
Professional vs. Personal Legacy
CATEGORY | MENTIONS |
|---|---|
Professional content mentions (e.g., career, job, work) | 32 |
Personal content mentions (e.g., family, love, faith, hobbies) | 62 |
Professional-to-personal ratio | 0.52 |
Key Takeaways
For every 1 mention of professional life, there are 2 mentions of personal legacy
Even when careers are mentioned, they're often framed in terms of service, mentorship, or impact on others, rather than titles and accolades
How Men & Women are Remembered Differently
Aspect | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
Professional content mentions | 24 | 08 |
Personal content mentions | 28 | 34 |
Church/community mentions | 16 | 20 |
Gender Differences in Detail
Women's obituaries emphasize relationships and nurturing or caregiving roles, volunteer work, and qualities like "warmth" and "kindness"
Men's obituaries focus more on work, professional achievements appear 3x more often, and also achievement qualities like "integrity" and "hardworking"
Unexpected Highlights
The most revealing aspects of obituaries are elements rarely found on professional profiles:
Lifelong hobbies make a mark: Fishing, gardening, painting
Military service consistently mentioned: Framed as duty and sacrifice
Community contributions carry weight: Mentorship, volunteering, hosting gatherings
This analysis shows people are remembered primarily for:
Who they were to others (relationships)
How they made others feel (character)
What they believed in (values)
How they spent their time (interests)
To explore these findings more deeply and understand what they mean for your own story, follow our Guided Tour: LinkedIn vs. Obituary below, where we'll walk through the gap between professional presentation and lasting legacy—and how to bridge it.
Methodology: This analysis combines data from obituaries published in February-March 2025, representing individuals varying in age, gender, profession, and geographic location.
COMING SOON TO OUR GALLERIES 📅
Guest Curator: Alice Elm
"If you live in it, I can decorate it."
Screen grab from Alice Elm’s TikTok
Next week, interior decorating sensation Alice Elm brings her distinctive eye to The Thread as our next guest curator. She'll share her home spring refresh selections and we’ll have a chat about her journey from banking executive to TikTok phenomenon.
🌟 Early Access Offer: Visit The Thread Café below to learn how to get an exclusive preview. ↓
This special exhibition arrives in your inbox next Sunday.
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