Seniors Site

These things are done now and although there were horror stories associated with it, successful ones outweighs them a ton. Every year, billion of dollars were spent online such that banks the world over have now set up their own banking system online, enabling their members to access their bank accounts online and seek help from there when needed. Indeed, technology has provided an extremely convenient way for most of our purchasing needs, especially for seniors with limited range of motion. Even environmentalists agree, shopping online saves us a lot of things and contributes tremendously to the well being of our environment. Something that was remotely possible then.
However, there are still nagging apprehensions when it comes to online shopping since no regulating body monitors these sites, to think that the nature of the internet is global. Just to be fair, shoppers and sellers are both exposed to a very risky situation when it comes to online shopping. For now, we’ll focus on shoppers since most of my friends are interested with this matter.
It’s true. Many of my senior friends are now entertaining thoughts of shopping online. And, I can see clearly why they would want to shop this way, given crazy weather conditions, risky road circumstances and the amount of energy needed just to go out and get stuff from a store, online shopping seems to be the best shopping choice for seniors. Problem is, how to pay for these things without exposing ourselves to fraudulent transactions. Here are your options:
·    Shop only from reliable stores. This must be the rule of thumb when shopping online. Make sure that you are browsing through a site with “https” on it. This can be seen up there in the web address box. Aside from that, check if you have the little security icon below which is normally a padlock. These things should be on your browser window.
·    SSL certificates are important. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer protocol which ensures secure transactions between you and the server. Your computer usually notifies you when it detects expired SSL certificate or if there’s something wrong about the server’s certificate.
·    Security seals. Their website should have security seals from security providers. One of the most popular signs is VeriSign. To make sure that the website has really earned the seal, click on the seal which should lead you to a verification page of the security provider.
·    Make sure your computer is virus free. Why? Malwares can infect your computer. When it does, it will record your keyboard strokes and send it to a remote server to be used for malicious activities—identity theft included. With that said, even if you shop only from reliable stores, your account info will still be stolen from you.
·    Use debit cards that are not aligned to your bank accounts. There are debit card providers which allow card holders to just put money in that account when needed. It may or may not require you a maintenance fee but at the very least, you don’t risk your entire life savings account.
·    Use online payment services. Like PayPal, they serve as a go-between. You just have to pay fees for their services of course, but they come very handy in situations when you need to purchase from stores that are considered suspicious.

What I really love about computers and the internet is that it makes life so much easier for everybody. I virtually live inside of it, every single day. It’s where I conduct my work, reconnect with my family and friends, shop for my stuff and yes, window shop without having to contend with someone else’s watchful eyes, pay my bills and meet new friends along the way AND take note, I really made some friends off them!
So there’s this one time when I stumbled upon a genealogy site which helps a person find his roots without ever setting a foot out the door. They have these family trees of different sizes and shapes available for you to download, print or just play around. However, they reminded me of my childhood years when making your own family tree was a requirement and hunting for pictures was just so funny! Aside from that, there’s a forum there where you can place inquiries about your long-lost relatives from far away lands and someone will answer you soon, making it a very interactive place for those who are longing for someone to talk to about the hardships of tracing one’s family history. I even found some heart warming stories there such as why they are doing it and how they are faring. Technology indeed made it easier for us to gather information, data, photographs and other stuff which will make our family heritage clearer and nicer for the generations to come! Here are some ways to preserve your family history and hope someday someone further down in your family free will thank you for spending a little of your time doing these things!
·    Photo albums. I still go for the old school type of photo album which you could touch and feel, even though there are a couple of websites out there that allow a member to create his or her personal album. I suggest you take the extra mile by doing both just so you’ll be able to have a backup copy if one of them messes up.
·    Take pictures. Gone are the days when you need to take a roll of film to Wal-Mart and wait for an hour for it to be ready for you. These days, most home printers can handle quality printing needs for photos you have just taken. No need to hassle yourself and waste time. Just point those digital cameras and shoot, then print right after!
·    Always have your camera with you even if there’s no particular reason for doing so. Digital cameras of today are designed to be handy and compact, some even smaller than your palm and sits perfectly inside your pocket. Bring them to family gatherings such as weddings, reunions, and birthdays.
·    Create a family book. You can either have it bound by a professional publishing house or if you are good at photo manipulation or perhaps a software you can use for such activities, you can save it on a CD and make multiple copies for your family members.
·    Join online genealogy groups so that you too can help others find their roots. Who knows, maybe it’s your 3rd, 4th, 5th cousin who will turn up there next!

Yes, you read that one right! Due to aftermath of holiday rush and all, the author has stumbled upon this very interesting article about seniors’ shopping behavior and how they landed the title of being the biggest buying group in the US. Obviously even with recession and limited job opportunities, we, seniors, still hold the buying power.

For years, it was reported that the older adults’ group, particularly baby boomers, represents the strongest buying generation and this group has the upperhand when it comes to consumer demand, playing almost 50% of it. Must be the reason why most infomercials and adverts we see are specifically targeted to seniors! Close second being the teens’ group.

Companies have reported that older adults are easier to convince when offered a product since they know exactly what they want, unlike younger folks. Let’s not forget that seniors do hold their own bank accounts so they can pretty much buy whatever they want, whenever they want it. Also, these companies found out that it is easier to attract this group than any other generations out there just by giving them their three major reasons to buy:  price versus quality, excellent service and the product should make them feel good about themselves.

So why seniors? Like mentioned earlier, seniors hold their own money hence it’s easier for them to buy things without someone questioning them. Also, with so many adverts directed to them, it’s quite hard to turn a blind eye and not be convinced that indeed these products are good for you. Aside from that, if we take a closer look to our shopping behavior, take for example our last Christmas shopping spree, most probably we would find our shopping bags filled with the things that were not intended for us. Seniors buy for their friends, children and much, much more for their grandchildren! Combine all these purchases and you get a high-powered consumer!

Moreover, never, even for one second, think that not all seniors are capable of loitering around shopping malls or force their way into year-end sale just because it’s physically impossible for them to do so. Well, according to surveys, most seniors, and even those who are just nearing the golden age, do their shopping using the internet, via online stores, without the hassle of physically transporting your body to somewhere unsafe. Flights are booked online, look for product information online, find suppliers online, we even do our market days online and let them deliver it right on our doorsteps!

I would like to put emphasis on the word “elderly” since I don’t think seniors would have any use for basic computer tips. Nonetheless, I have been receiving several requests from elderly groups trying to get me to teach them basic computer usage and how to deal with “first time” confusion and whatnot hence this post.

Fortunate are those who have patient grandkids to teach them how. Some of the older adults I’ve talked to complained of having impatient daughters and sons who easily give up before they even start. I can firmly attest to the fact that most of these elderly people are curious what’s in the worldwide web for them and if given the chance to do so, they would like to join too. They only need someone to hold their hands during those first, crucial months and that’s exactly what I hope this post would do! Here are some basic, handy tips on how to maximize your computer usage:

·    Email messages are not to be trusted especially if you did not expect it to come. The most popular route of phishing scam is via email, usually in form of warning messages about your account, both online and offline ones. When this happens, never click on the provided link, instead go to the site directly and check your account. Never give out passwords no matter how authentic the request looks like.
·    For visually-challenged seniors, there are three ways to instantly enlarge any web page if it’s giving you a hard time reading. One, you can press Control and plus (+) or minus (-) simultaneously. Two, if you have a mouse that has a roller on top of it, press control and roll up and down. Third, you can locate the “view” option at the top of any web page, click on it, select “Zoom” and take a pick between “zoom in” and “zoom out”.
·    Google can also solve mathematical equations for you. It can also convert currencies and simple centimeters to meter, inches or feet. Just remember to use computer lingo each and everytime!
·    Don’t forget to empty your recycle bins once in a while. In a way, it helps in saving accidentally deleted files so you could restore them. The problem is, it requires manually emptying it even if you deliberately deleted a file!
·    Always have a backup copy for everything you do in the computer. It may not have occurred to you yet but backup files are real lifesavers as dependable systems do crash.

Now that you finally gave in to your peer’s constant harassing, you find yourself staring helplessly to your supposedly profile page, not knowing what to do. Honestly, as much as Facebook is fun, it is equally complicated. On average, a person with no Facebook experience whatsoever in the past will spend at least half of the day before he can be left to his own devices. Of course, if you are to observe a child of three, an hour of tinkering would do.

What makes Facebook fun—and complicated—is that it can do more than add friends and post pictures like the old ones do. It can multitask and freakishly enough, it can even suggest friends whom you really know and not just random ones as if it has been stalking you all your life. But, the crowning glory of Facebook, and the most interesting of all, is its live feeds.

Opening a Facebook account is fairly easy. All you need is a valid email address and off you go. Make sure that you are using a VALID email address since Facebook will ask you to confirm via this email address. Now, moving on to the basics..

Since there will be millions upon millions of potential viewers, you might want to consider how much information you are willing to share. When using social networking sites, make sure that your safety and privacy come first. Also, don’t ever post pictures that you might regret seeing in the future since photo theft is very common in Facebook. Keep your private photos, well, private. You don’t need them to be in Facebook anyway. Privacy settings can be adjusted according to levels. It is highly advisable for you to go all “only friends”. This way you won’t risk being viewed by somebody you don’t know.

Search for your friends by doing an advance search. Upon finding them, hit the “Add as Friend” button and wait for their confirmation. You can also browse through your friend’s list for other people of interest. Furthermore, it is not unusual to receive a friend request from someone you don’t know since many online marketers are trying to penetrate Facebook via this route with no apparent success. If this happens to you, just hit the reject button, he won’t find out that you did anyway. If he persists then your last resort would be to block this person from having any connection with you.

Wall posts are those you write in the “what’s on your mind?” box. Be extra careful when posting in this little box since the whole Facebook community will be able to read it. Keep it simple and don’t communicate with someone using this option, instead send them a direct mail or write on their “walls”. Walls are what you see when you hit the profile button. That is your wall.

The first page you will see upon logging in is the live feeds. In this page, you’ll see your friends’ activities such as when they befriended someone or just won the poker game. When you opt to publish an activity, it will also appear on the live feeds, along with many others. Video posting, pictures and even editing your profiles goes straight in that page, notifying your friends of your movements. Speaking of your live feeds, it’s okay to comment on someone else’s activity if you wish to. In an event when a person is already cluttering your live feeds with too many annoying posts, hover your mouse just far opposite of your friend’s name until the “hide” button appears then choose what exactly it is that you want to hide.

Communicating in Facebook is the easiest of all. You can do the wall post from your own to all or directly to your friend’s wall. You can also send direct mails which will land straight to their inboxes and won’t be published to the live feeds or you can chat with them real time. Chatting with your friends in Facebook does not require rocket science, just find the “chat” box below, hit on that and check who’s online. If you don’t feel like chatting right now, choose offline.

It is okay to experience a couple of hit and miss posts. You can remove them from your wall anyway. It can be a bore during your first few days but as your friends increase in number and your live feeds roll like crazy, you will soon find yourself checking your account every hour of the day! Happy Facebooking!

It seems like everybody has been tweeting and it’s not about birds! One short trip to your favorite hairdresser and you’ll surely encounter the words “tweet”, “tweeting” and “twitter”; worse, you’ll have someone asking you of your Twitter ID! If you are not familiar with this free social networking/micro-blogging service that has been taking the world by storm, then it’s easy to get yourself embarrassed by the situation at hand for the Twitter community has their own “special” language to get by.

The way you use Twitter is very different from the traditional social networking sites we’ve grown so used to. Of course, it still requires a photo of you so you’ll be recognizable to your friends, in case they are hunting you down. Aside from that, you supply basic information about yourself in Twitter’s profile page, just enough to make new friends since it’s a very open community and new relationships are bound to form. You can also change your Twitter background, if you happen to be very experimental with your pages. What sets it apart is that the services seemed too limiting when in fact, it has one hundred and one ways of use for interested parties. Also, Twitter has been kind enough to allow different applications to access their sites making it so convenient to use even your two-year old grandchild can do it! It can also be linked to almost all social networking sites so tweeting will never be a problem.

Before we shake our tail feathers and just to give seniors who would like to dabble with Twitter an idea, it’s not always love-at-first-sight for Twitter. Some users go AWOL for quite sometime right after signing up only to revive the account months later. The usual problem is lack of friends. You see, if you don’t have someone to talk to in Twitter neither do you make friends that easily, it tends to be a tad boring there. Here are some basic Twitter tips to jumpstart your own little community:

·    Active participation is the key to a Twitter success. Survey shows that the most followed profiles in Twitter are those of opinionated people even if they are a little off the edge. Unless you prefer to stalk people, it is best if you already have an existing community there to join i.e your friends, family etc.
·    Your bio can be built overtime but most importantly is that you need to fill it up with something right after signing up. How else would your neighbor know it’s you if you don’t make yourself known? For safety reasons, do practice basic precautionary measures like never giving away your personal details. Like stated earlier, Twitter is an open place where everybody can view your profile—even to somebody you barely know.
·    Granted, Twitter is not a home for your lovely photo collection and users are given a limit of 140 characters for each tweet hence the importance of links. This community is most interested in clicking i.e following links to wherever it leads so give them that instead. Share your loot, and you’ll be loved. By the way, don’t just share, use URL shorteners.
·    Marketers find Twitter to be very useful. In fact, it was said that most conversions or sales come from the Twitter community. Due to this, more and more online marketing efforts are thrown at this side of town by the minute leaving a little breathing room for ordinary people like us. You can either scream “keep off the grass” or use them to your advantage. It’s your call.
·    RT means retweet. It’s okay to grab someone else’s tweet just as long as you give credit where it’s due.

Basically, that’s it. In time, you’ll eventually learn to walk the walk and talk the talk. Meanwhile, test your tweeting powers and bug your friends all day long!