Cultural guides

in Swedish

Cemeteries are both a shared cultural heritage and an individual one. They are memorials to lives lived—part of our families’ and friends’ stories as well as glimpses into strangers’ experiences. Names, dates, professions, inscriptions, and the designs speak to their times and wishes, but cemeteries are also places for many different kinds of meetings.

Passing on the Stories about people

The company IDstories—now BiBB Encyclopedia AB—began as early as 2003 in Lund and Malmö, working to make people’s histories easily accessible by mobile phone. We were pioneers in an era before smartphones, and our service partly relied on a patent Johan Schlasberg received in 2000 about bridging the physical and digital worlds.

But how and when do people want to learn about those memorialized in cemeteries?
BiBB has developed what we call a Situational Model to answer this question.

The foundation is your situation—which changes—and what you want to know, plus what someone (an information owner) has made possible.

The BiBB Model: Most people today discover a story through a search engine rather than at the precise physical spot. If the goal is to reach many, a well-developed site that works on phones, tablets, and computers is essential. BiBB has installed more and more QR-decals on site objects, offering both a local “mobile entrance” and a network presence.

IDstories is now part of an encyclopedia 4.0 and media company, and we see it as important to credit the writers, photographers, and provide references for our content.

Other Ways to Learn About People in Cemeteries

• Guided tour: You walk in a group with a knowledgeable guide who tells the stories—usually in Swedish or English—about selected individuals and a bit about the cemetery. You pay about 15-20 Euros, take a few photos, and probably have an enjoyable experience. But soon, you remember little and don’t know where to find more if you’re interested.
• Video: At some graves today you’ll find a QR code leading to a video, usually played via YouTube—often with ads—or a similar service. The main purpose is “consumption” at the site. No sources or references. Expensive to update. No feedback option. Swedish-language in Sweden.
• Audio: In one model, you could (can) call a mobile number and have a story read aloud. Such a service existed in Malmö and elsewhere for some years, but is now gone. Maybe it’s available elsewhere? Expensive to update.

IDstories Makes People’s Histories Easily Accessible

Read more about how new IDstories are created.

Browse about 50 IDstories about historical figures.

The Church of Sweden in Malmö has installed 15 IDsigns (A5-format) at the Old Cemetery at Gustav Adolfs torg, Malmö. Similar IDsigns can also be found at the cemetery in Landskrona and elsewhere.

Our service can be used for any object—runestones in the woods, old windmills, sculptures in public squares, buildings, and more.

As bridges between the real and digital worlds become more common, our relationship to everyday things changes. We come to expect easy access to information. In our vision, many objects offer what we call a “mobile entrance”—an Internet Door.

This image is clickable and leads to the IDstory of manufacturer Gustaf Wolke. The QR code on his IDsign lets interested visitors learn more. All IDstories about historical persons are also available in English.

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Historical persons cirka 50 IDstories
• Om tjänsten IDstories
• Text/photo: Johan Schlasberg, innovator, researcher and writer

Published: 2025.06.21Updated: 2025.09.12

Kategorier 20 Historiska personer 45

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