First it was user-generated content.  Then porn.  Then large media and entertainment companies joined the game.  Next came lawyers, physicians and hospitals.  And now funeral homes have joined the web video phenomenon…seemingly completing the circle of life.

Yes, now instead of traveling to the funeral service of a deceased, you can watch it via live, streaming video.

At first, this just doesn’t sound “right”.  However, at least for the moment, I’ll give kudos to the funeral industry.  Why?  Because they are not trying to profit from streaming live funeral services.  Rather, they are providing it as a means for people to “attend” a service who quite literally cannot be there in person.

For example, troops in Iraq who have family members that pass away.  They obvioulsy can’t travel home for the service (trust me on this one, I’m a former Marine, and unless it’s the death of an immediate family member, i.e. mother, father, brother, sister…you won’t be granted leave).  But now these troops can at least watch the service…either live or recorded…over the Internet.

Another thing the funeral industry is getting right, as it pertains to streaming funeral services, is the privacy issue.  These video streams are not available to the public…they are only accessible through password protected sites…and family members choose who does and does not receive access.

As streaming funeral services become more socially accepted, this will also lead to entirely new businesses who supply the technology to funeral homes.  At the moment, Internet service providers are the main suppliers of this equipment and technology.

But since the funeral industry is such big business (in America at least), expect a steady stream of competition to develop in this market.

Who would have though web video would find it’s way here.