Seniors Site

If you Google the words “email safety”, notice that there are two age groups often warned about it: kids and seniors. It is because the risk of these groups getting abused over emails is quite rampant. Kids are usually curious beings and almost always curiosity clouds better judgment while seniors are usually trusting and, well, curious beings too so the fate they share is pretty much the same as always.
Anyway, I would to share my rule of thumb when using the internet, particularly emails. Number one is, never be too trusting, not even if it’s your friends sending you messages. Why? It is because you can never know for sure if it is really them or if malicious intent is there. You just have to be careful ALL THE TIME. No excuses.
· Never ever share your online information, personal and otherwise. Not even to your husband. Or your kids. My partner and I, we love to share bank info etc with each other. This is because we often forget our own info while we found out that we are each other’s excellent info keeper however, I don’t think that is wise when it comes to online information as it can be passed without you and your partner knowing. Anyway, you can always hit that “forgot my password” link to sort effects of baby memory.
· Online information is always passable, no matter how careful you are. Emails get forwarded, so does your signatures and whatnot. Your nasty email about your neighbor can even find its way to your – horrors – neighbor’s inbox, say 2 months from now so as much as possible, provided only little information about yourself.
· Never open an email from someone you don’t know or wasn’t expecting. Email spammers are talented beings, they know what to write and how best to lure you into opening their emails. Some of the things they wrote there sound true enough to call action so as a good precautionary measure, just don’t open them.
· ..and don’t open attachments as well, or click links on emails. Okay, you accidentally opened a spam mail and there’s this very enticing attachment that comes with it and there’s also this link which is supposed to “redirect” you to a website that will fulfill your wishes. To open or not to open? Of course the answer is DON’T. It is because these are the first steps to getting yourself in trouble. Downloading a malicious attachment or even opening up an affected website are sure fire ways to infect your computer with virus.
· Make it a habit to report. Anything you encounter that got you suspicious should be reported at once. Don’t be shy about it since big, legitimate companies will definitely appreciate it and most of all, you are going to help other people by doing so.

I have been to several social networking sites and I tell you, it ain’t easy to be private in these sites! No matter how you try to keep some things private, they will still end up showing somewhere else. Worse, you don’t even have an idea who saw what and when, you don’t even know who browsed your account info!
Now that Facebook is as popular as ever – even the old lady at the baggage counter has one! – it is critical that I share some of the things you should do on your Facebook account in order to protect your privacy somehow. Every little thing you do counts when it comes to your safety and protection.
· List your friends according to groups. Ever heard of friend list? Don’t worry if not as not everyone is aware of this improvement. You can now list your friends according to group. Basically you have “family”, “friends”, and “professional” and each has their own privacy settings. This way you can set your account to share something in a group and not share to other groups you have. For example, you can post an office rant and not share it with your “professional” group – although I don’t really recommend doing that. Same way as you can “hide” info from a certain group and “show” other groups.
· Remove yourself from searches. This way you’ll prevent stalkers from finding you on Facebook. For your information, Facebook is a highly indexed site which means if your name is typed up on Google, there is a good chance your Facebook account will show on searches. Definitely you’ll come up when someone searches you over on Facebook search box too. By adjusting your settings, you can now remove yourself totally from both searches.
· Prevent tagged photos and videos from showing on your wall. This can get nasty and is quite embarrassing too. I’ve seen people lose their jobs and end relationships just because of a tagged photo or video. Facebook tagging is something you can’t control from the other end but you can definitely avoid its automatic publication on your wall by adjusting your settings.
· Make your albums private. While some of your photos may be safe enough to show the world, you just don’t know where it may end up. To be on the safer side of things, just make your albums visible to your friends and families only.
· Make your most personal information private, like the way it should be. Like your relationship status – I just don’t know why it has to be a really big deal when trying to set a relationship status in Facebook, complete with an icon at that. For me it’s like shouting to the world that “Hey, I’m single, hit me up!” or “Hey, I’m engaged! Jealous?” fortunately, you can now hide stories like this.
· Control posts. Avoid embarrassing and unexpected wall posts from your friends who just won’t grow up! Again, you can set this up to determine who can post on your wall and who cannot. Obviously, only allow people who have common sense to think before posting.
All these can be done on your privacy settings located at upper right hand corner along with “home” and “profile”. It is under “account”.

This blog post is for those seniors who don’t have any idea at all on how to use the computer and would love to learn or if you happen to be a daughter or a son or perhaps a grandkid and would like to get your grannies and grampas learn how to use the computer. If you are living in Seattle, you might want to check out their program sponsored by Department of Information Technology.

Basically, communities and senior centers in Seattle are working hand-in-hand to provide computer training to seniors for free, some may charge a little but certainly not a big deal of money. These people aim to give every senior the opportunity to learn how to use the computer and teach them how to make the internet beneficial for seniors. Here is a list of center locations where seniors are most welcome to train: Seattle Guide to Computer Centers for Seniors.

If you have been reading this blog for quite some time now, you would know that nowadays the internet plays a bigger role in a senior’s life than we ever imagined. Indeed, knowing how to use the computer can benefit a senior. Imagine a senior with limited range of motion or perhaps a senior having a hard time commuting or driving to and fro the department store to buy their essentials? By knowing how to manipulate the computer, a senior now has to just sit down, Google something they need and pick a website to choose goods from, pay online and wait for their goods to be delivered. No need to go out, brave the commuting world, brave the weather, carry the goods home.. – it’s just too risky for them and not even worth their effort!

These training sites also teach seniors how to use electronic mails or emails. This proves to be necessary for seniors since this is the easiest way to communicate with their loved-ones and the cheapest too. Social networking sites may be a little complicated for seniors since there is a lot to learn and most continually change interface that even a pro is having a hard time keeping up, emails are easier to understand and most are straightforward, take for example Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.

Included in these programs is training seniors to learn how to use and navigate the world wide web. Of course, this involves exploring and learning new things. Information alone is enough reason to use the internet plus it connects seniors to other people which is beneficial for their social life.

Lastly, learning few tricks like managing your finances using the web or perhaps paying bills online is also important for seniors who just don’t have time and energy to deal with it physically.

Did you ever, at one point in your life, feel that you have so much to talk about but there was no one to talk it with anymore? Or perhaps felt that somehow, you belong to a different world and you have strong feelings about it however nobody’s listening to your rants? Or maybe, you feel revived just by writing down the things that make you happy, that is, your hobbies and interests? Well, if you are all of the above, then perhaps this is the time to think of blogging.

For your information, there are many seniors out there doing blogs. They may have different reasons for doing so but one thing is certain, blogging is fun and it is certainly doable, you just have to take the first step. Fellow senior bloggers share that blogging somehow makes them feel connected to the world and for some lucky ones, it comes naturally. I say, it must be all that talking to their dogs has become so boring that virtual life got so exciting for them! Just kidding, y’all 

Another perk of blogging is that you can actually earn some money from it. Blog about your business and you are bound to stumble upon an interested customer. Or perhaps pass information of the things you are most updated with and your blog is suddenly eligible for affiliate marketing. Or indeed, make your blog a walking advertisement of something and earn a little from referrals. A friend of mine even won a two-night stay at an awesome resort just because her blog is full of photos from her vacations!

So how do you get started? I am not going to tell you it’s easy because nothing in this world can ever be easy for an aging body like ours. Take out your rust remover and start polishing up your computing skills for starters. Below are some things to remember when putting up a basic blog. Of course, how far you are willing to push it is entirely up to you:

•    Nothing is free so stick to the budget. There are ways to set up a blog without shedding a penny but if you have high hopes for it, be willing enough to shell out some dough to feed it. You will pay for hosting, domain name, blog design, plugins and, in some cases, even traffic to your site.
•    It involves work so be prepared. Blogging is a whole lot of work and you have to be very patient for it to work. The first few weeks of setting up your blog is pure hell, after some time, when you get the groove, you can get a little slower and enjoy the ride.
•    Invest time. Like a child, it needs time and nurturing so you must be willing to give both.
•    Learn to explore and be willing enough to learn new things. Every single day, new ways to improve your blog are being developed. You, as the blogger, must be up-to-date with these things. You just never stop learning and developing.
•    Never lose courage. If you go-peek at some of the most successful blogs, you are most likely to see commenters lining up their comment box, shouting congratulatory words, yours on the other hand is as silent as the house on haunted hill. It’s okay. You’ll get there. Eventually.

You would be amazed how seniors are now getting into online selling. Just consider the number of successful online stores out there that are operated and managed by seniors, particularly those who have just retired and enjoying the perks of retirement.

It is a no-brainer actually, online selling indeed fits seniors to a tee. Why not? Online selling allow seniors to be able to control their working hours, work from home, and most especially earn some while doing so.

However, some senior online sellers think that the only way to sell online is through a fully functional ecommerce website. This thought alone may discourage a senior from getting into the bandwagon considering the technical skills needed to run an ecommerce website not to mention the amount of money it needs in order to be up and running. Senior sellers need not be afraid as there are many ways other than an ecommerce website to sell your stuff – some don’t even cost a dime to start!

* Auction sites. Surely you have heard of one, perhaps even participated in one. If not, then think “Ebay” and you’re on the right track. There are still many out there and most of them don’t require registration fee to join. If you are just testing the waters then opt to go for a simple text ad which usually won’t cost you anything other than basic fees, if applies.
* Online marketplaces. If Ebay is synonymous to online auction site, then Amazon gets this one. Again, there are many out there however, Amazon is the most recommended especially for newbies since they have millions of members – who are potentially buyers – and they provide awesome support to new sellers.
* Targeted marketplaces. I firmly believe that the pioneer for targeted marketplaces is Etsy. For those of you who are not familiar with the website, Etsy is a place for artists to buy and sell their products. Etsy supports handmade products like jewelries, clothing and keepsakes.
* Online classified ads. To date, the most popular is Craiglist. Walmart has their own classified ads too and I believe they offer this service for free. Online classified ads are like traditional newspaper-classified ads only they can be found online and much easier to scan.
* Social Networking Sites. Most social networking sites do not encourage businesses from using their sites to sell their stuff but let’s face it, it is the easiest way to get attention and they have the best and widest audiences. You just have to find a way to get attention while following the site’s rules and regulations regarding selling stuff.

Nowadays, if you would like to stay connected with your loved-ones, you must learn how to use the computer, particularly social networking sites. It may scare you at first, even discourage you as I admit, it can get a little confusing out there, unfortunately this seems like the only way to keep tabs on your family and friends especially with your grandkids!
To my horror, I caught my granddaughter the other day, a thirteen year old, chatting on Facebook. The very cautious me started seeing red warning signs that eventhough the kid was only chatting with her bestfriend, I find it bothersome for her to be so exposed like that.
I do know that the internet world is so vast, it’s quite hard to be private and while popular social networking sites practice safety measures and I do believe they monitor their websites with an eye like a hawk, your safety boils down to your own good judgment and how educated you are in using social media sites.
Seniors should be aware that social networking sites are littered with people you don’t really like dealing with. These are your standard-issue scammers, stalkers, spammers, and what-have-you’s. Above all, viruses frequent these sites – even Facebook gets attacks from time to time!
To be able to protect yourself from these bad people, you need to have a safety plan when using social networking sites. Protection will help you enjoy your social networking experience more. Below are some tips on how to stay safe when using social networking sites:

* Don’t click links especially if it bears suspicious content. I observed that most scam links have weird texts in them such as “Hi <name>” or “this is hilarious”. Look for signs that that the link and texts accompanying it are “generalized” or applicable to every John and Jane when you take off your name out of the link. If you are really curious, message back your friend and ask what was it that she sent over. If he or she answers, observe if it’s really your friend talking. When in doubt, don’t open.
* Protect your password. Better yet, protect your email address AND password. I strongly suggest that you keep separate email addresses for your personal use and for your social networking activities. Furthermore, as much as possible, keep your password a nonreflection of your person. In other words, do not use birthdays, anniversaries, grandkid’s name, your dog’s name etc as your password. If you find it hard to remember, then have variations by using capital letters and numbers.
* Don’t add people you don’t know into your network. I find it really annoying to be “invited” by someone who I can’t, for the life of me, remember. Apparently there are “joy-inviters”, people who will attempt to invite you just to expand their network. Scammers will try to approach you the same way and if you are not too careful, you’ll end up exposing yourself to people you barely know.
* As much as possible, bookmark your sites. This way you won’t have to Google-search it anymore. Logging in from your bookmarks will help eliminate the possibility of your entering your access info on a fake site.

Well, it doesn’t really have to be an income generating business for seniors to take advantage of these awesome online tools; it can also be a venture, or a cause you’ve been trying to raise awareness of or perhaps a project you’re working on such as an extensive family tree or simply a way to connect with your loved-ones. Whatever it is, it is still good to know some online tools recommended for seniors to use since these tools are really easy to use and understand – you don’t even have to be a tech-savvy to use them!

* Google Apps. If you are housing 50 staff or less, and you need customized email addresses to look professional but don’t have enough funds for a fully functional IT department, then Google Apps is for you. You can also reserve a domain name to use if you still don’t have one by now for a small fee. Google Apps comes with Gmail account, Gdocs and calendar, all synchronized with your staff. Not much difference actually from your standard-issue Gmail however, you won’t see that @gmail.com anymore which tends to turn some clients off. Also if you go for Google Apps for Business, you get Google video and Google groups alongside other very useful features. Get Google Apps here.

* Dropbox. Tired of spring-cleaning your storage ever so often? Or perhaps you don’t have enough space in your computer to save all your important documents? Or maybe, just maybe, you are looking for a way to just make a file, save it and it will show on your staff’s folders and computers without you having to send them over? Dropbox can do all of this, not to mention sharing large files which undoubtedly your email service won’t be able to handle. Get your dropbox here.

* OpenOffice.   OpenOffice works very much like Microsoft Office but without the hefty price tag that comes with it. So if you are looking to install such thing to several computers but don’t have the budget to do so, this is a great alternative for you. Get your OpenOffice here.

* Mailchimp. While Mailchimp cannot be installed into your computer and runs solely online, it is worth mentioning here as it can be your greatest pal in promoting your product, business or cause. If you must know, Mailchimp is a bulk email service which means you can send out newsletters and email updates just by signing up with an email address. It is so simple to use that even a newbie senior won’t have a hard time sending out “pro” looking emails. Get a Mailchimp account here.

* Skype. I will assume that you are familiar with Skype as I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t right now and if you tell me you are not aware of what Skype can do for you then you’ll be the first on my list. Skype is great – not only can it send instant messages to your staff but you can start a conference chats in there. Also, their screensharing feature proves to be really valuable if you are operating far from each other. Download Skype for your computer here.

I won’t even dare say that seniors are computer illiterate and wouldn’t know the difference between a computer mouse and a house rat because that will definitely contradict the study that shows boomers to be the fastest growing group in terms of new Facebook users. Interesting right? Well, I am not surprised as I have 3 fellow bloggers well on their 60s and about 50% of my class in middle school are my Facebook friends, about half of that number is actively engaged in Twitter and some can even be found dabbling on other online activities. My ancient neighbor-friend even plays online games against his grandchildren! That alone will tell you that seniors are indeed catching up, if not one step ahead.
True, most of these seniors require help getting their way around online but you have to give it to them too; contrary to popular notion, they are not resistant to learning. For “still-hesitant seniors”, do take note that you are not doing it just because it’s the “in” thing to do but you have to learn it in order for you to stay connected—and staying connected is quite important. Quite frankly, this is how the world works now, you just have to go with the flow.
Here are some of the easiest ways to connect online:
•    Facebook. Why not? Everybody knows Facebook—even the dog next door has one and if you add them today you’ll probably be lucky enough to know when he’s pooping or where he’s heading to poop. If the dog can feed you information about their personal life through Facebook—even those you don’t really want to know—then why can’t you?
•    Twitter. The beauty of Twitter is its simplicity which suits older people to a T. Aside from that, it has a very wide audience which will help seniors find their friends easier than any other social networking sites. I would like to think of Twitter as a “mini press release” site since you can find the freshest news from your favorite celebrity down to your favorite news station.
•    Emails. I’m a big fan of letters. I can still remember back when I was a kid, I used to sit on the porch waiting for the mailman to arrive and deliver my grandma’s letter for me. I would know the days when to expect it and my grandma never failed, not even once. When emails came, I was a tad disappointed but overtime I have learned to like them—although I still prefer the handwritten-in-paper kind.
•    Skype. Skype became popular because of its ability to combine two major communication means into one place, along with 101 fun things to do with Skype at a lesser price, some none at all! You can now throw away your home phone, along with that video phone because Skype can do these things for you without the cost. Chat with your friends anytime you want, talk with your kids all you want, call an emergency conference with your business associates anywhere you want (since you can install Skype on your smartphones too) –possibilities are limitless.

Who says seniors need to go out there, to a place called jungle, with wild animals fiercely competing for a coveted position, just to get a job? Do you still have what it takes to land a job considering the fact that you might injure yourself in doing so? Kudos to those who still have it in them—the fighting spirit, but for those seniors who have already thrown their hands up in despair, why not try finding a job online?

I am a fierce advocate of work-at-home jobs for seniors. Why? Because I believe this is the most suitable job for an aging body like mine. You work on your free time, you can choose the type of work you want to work on and find another if and when you get bored with it, you make new friends, you can work from virtually anywhere in the world—even bringing it with you while vacationing, you can work part-time now and fulltime tomorrow, you manage your workload and top of everything else, you get paid good no matter what your level of expertise is. It’s all there—enjoy your retirement and still have extra money to spend.

However, online job hunting can be tricky primarily because it is not commonly done. I find that for seniors, online job hunting would be their last resort. They rather have themselves applying for a job in WalMart than exploring the many possibilities of work-at-home jobs. Few brave seniors admit that it is the complexity of computers that repel them from using it in the first place. Before you start on anything else, bear in mind that you should not be overwhelmed by the computer as it will only do what you ask it to do. Below are some simple online job hunting tips you may apply on your newfound endeavor:

•    Start with your strongest point. This should be your strongest skill—do take note of the word skill since most jobs found online don’t require diplomas and degrees, just skills. Are you good in writing articles? Or perhaps you have a knack for organizing stuff into spreadsheets and documents. Or maybe you have basic knowledge of social media networks? This is the only way you can enter the online job arena sure-footed.
•    Do a resume makeover. When looking for online jobs, make sure your resume fits perfectly. Online jobs don’t require you to be a multi-talented individual, in fact, your expertise is more important than you being able to do 101 things in a day. Sell your strongest point and you’ll be fine.
•    Be active and interact well. The only way you can sell yourself out there is to actually be out there. Join social networking sites, forums, discussions, in other words, be “in the know”.
•    Blog about your work. You may not be selling like hot pancakes now but soon you’ll be. Meanwhile, you can entertain yourself by blogging about your work or building a website where people can read about you and contact you if interested.
•    Join job marketplaces. These websites will allow you to post your resume for jobs and apply for jobs you are interested in—for a fee, of course.

Don’t get me wrong, this old lady loves computing life to death! My computer’s the first thing I greet in the morning and it happens to be the only thing that sends me off to bed every night! I won’t even know where I’ll be without my computer or at the very least, a gadget to connect me to the rest of the world a.k.a the internet. When I’m home doing my usual chores, it’s my desktop computer; when traveling, it’s my laptop; when on the move, it’s the smartphone. Guilty as charged, my digital life has indeed taken over me and I’d be lost without it.

Facebook, Twitter, forums, emails.. name it, I’m absolutely on it however, in my attempt to “automate” my life with these tools, I found out that I actually lose half a day just to keep these accounts active. Not a really productive way to live your life right? Plus, with a senior like me whose brain is easily confused especially with all those fine prints, it is important that we maintain some semblance of order or we lose our sanity. So take it from me, you need a good time management plan, the ability to organize and the will to resist the temptation of checking your accounts every other minute.

To clear away the clutter that has become your digital life, here are some simple and very doable ways to do so. Best of all, you’ll be able to get most out of your digital life:

•    Switch to web-based email service such as Gmail or if you don’t want to lose that dignified look of a domain-based email address, have it diverted to a web-based one. This way you’ll have backup copies of your emails if and when your computer crashes. Moreover, web-based email services are easier to use than a domain-based one.
•    Use filters and folders to keep your inbox clean. It’s hard enough that you have to scroll down—and further down–just to find an email sent to you 5 days ago, especially if you’re subscribed to a hundred mailing lists, what more if the email thread has branched out from one recipient to another then back to you? By using folders and filters, you’ll be able to break your inbox down to categories and deal with it from there. Call it micromanaging with style.
•    Set aside a time for it. As for me, I have installed a handy timer so I can monitor how long I have been in a site or if I’m already wasting too much time checking, reading and commenting on everyone’s Facebook posts. This way you’ll be able to stick with your time plan and finish your tasks on time.
•    Log out and be off. This one is harder than you think. Do you think you can really get your mind off those threads you’ve been following and focus all your attention to your work instead? Of course no, but you have to do it anyway.
•    Get your lists in order. Notice how social networks have adapted the concept of lists? It’s an attempt to centralize your computing life and also a way to prevent a person for creating multiple accounts. As for you, lists are a way to organize your people and interact with them the way you should be.