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- Who Is Craig and What’s His List?
- How to Find Free Shipping E-tailers
- 5 Top Sites for Last Minute Travel Deals
- How Do Boomers and Seniors Use the Internet?
- Should You Join Facebook Now?
- Six Tips for Taking the Social Networking Plunge
- Better Bookmarking with Delicious
- Five Reasons You Can’t Afford to Dismiss Facebook and Other Social Networks
- Patient Websites Provide Bridge to Family and Friends
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Rent–Don’t Buy–the Special Occasion Dress
Do you have too many wear-once dresses bought for weddings, graduations, bar mitzvahs, charity balls. or Academy Awards? Are men onto something by renting—not buying—duds for a special occasion? That’s the premise for RentTheRunway. Rent the special-occasion dress at a fraction of the purchase price. Wear it once, then send it back.
Pinterest: Pin the Tail on an Image
Does it seem as if overnight the Pinterest pushpin logo and “pin it” tag have appeared on every website? So what is Pinterest and why the phenomenal growth? Pinterest lets you tag or pin any image on the web and organize your images in virtual bulletin boards. It works like browser bookmarks, but each link is an image. You organize images in boards instead of folders.
Categories: Fun!, Social Networking
Tags: bulletin board, pin it, Pinterest, repin, virtual bulletin board, what is pinterest
Tags: bulletin board, pin it, Pinterest, repin, virtual bulletin board, what is pinterest
Why Do Ebooks Cost So Much?
Do ebooks cost too much? The U. S. Department of Justice thinks so. It filed suit against Apple and five publishers charging them with price fixing: colluding to jack up the price of ebooks. Will the suit result in lower ebook prices?
Categories: E-Commerce, eBooks, Saving Money
Tags: Amazon ebooks, Apple bookstore, ebook price-fixing, eBooks, Kindle, Pew ebook study
Tags: Amazon ebooks, Apple bookstore, ebook price-fixing, eBooks, Kindle, Pew ebook study
Hacked! Time to Get Serious About Passwords
Does creating strong passwords for dozens of accounts seem like too much work? Not if you’ve been hacked. At the least, you’re inconvenienced. At the most, your bank account is cleaned out, your identity stolen. Here how to create strong passwords that thwart cyber criminals.
Categories: Safety & Privacy
Tags: cybercrime, hacked, identity theft, password, Privacy, security and privacy
Tags: cybercrime, hacked, identity theft, password, Privacy, security and privacy
Google’s New Privacy Policy: Better Service or Big Brother?
Google’s new privacy policy means that Google will now compile the information it has about you from its 60+ apps–Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Picasa– into one giant profile. Google uses this data to sell targeted ads to sponsors. Are the free apps Google provides worth your compromised privacy?
Categories: Safety & Privacy
Better Bookmarking with Delicious
Have you ever been on vacation and wanted to access a website you’ve bookmarked on your home computer? Are you working on a project and want to share some useful websites with a colleague? Or have you hunted through your bookmark folders searching for a site? You can solve these problems by using Delicious, a social bookmarking site that lets you access your bookmarks from any computer or mobile device.
Categories: Social Networking
Tags: bookmarks, Delicious, Delicious.com, social bookmarking, WebOver50
Tags: bookmarks, Delicious, Delicious.com, social bookmarking, WebOver50
Get 100 Free “Classic” E-Cookbooks
I’m always looking for new recipes, so when I found out about ebook guru Morris Rosenthal’s list of “Free Classic Cookbooks for Kindle” I couldn’t resist. Classic, it turns out, means books that are in the public domain–no longer protected by copyright.
You’ll find books from the 19th and early 20th century with some as old as the 16th Century. Some stand the test of time. “Cassell’s Vegetarian Cookbook” (1875) includes recipes for carrot and lentil soups that seem straight out of today. And the “Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes Cookbook” (1909) includes Chocolate Glace Cake and Chocolate Souffle that would delight any modern chocoholic.
But the real joy of these cookbooks is the window they open on the evolution of cooking, society, and the role of women. If you love reading cookbooks, you’ll find a treasure trove here.
Categories: eBooks, Fun!, Health
Tags: 100 free classic ecookbooks, 16th century cookbooks, 19th century cookbooks, Belgium cookbooks, classic cookbooks, Crisco, early 20th century cookbooks, food cures, food remedies, Free cookbooks, free eCookbooks, Free Kindle cookbooks, Marilynne Rudick, vegetarian cookbooks, vintage cookbooks, WebOver50
Tags: 100 free classic ecookbooks, 16th century cookbooks, 19th century cookbooks, Belgium cookbooks, classic cookbooks, Crisco, early 20th century cookbooks, food cures, food remedies, Free cookbooks, free eCookbooks, Free Kindle cookbooks, Marilynne Rudick, vegetarian cookbooks, vintage cookbooks, WebOver50
What is SOPA and Why Should You Care?
On January 18th, Wikipedia shut down its site for the day and Google blacked out its logo. Hundreds of other websites shut down or posted messages explaining their opposition to SOPA. But what exactly is SOPA? Why are Internet companies opposed to it? And why should you care?
Change.org: Power to the People
After receiving more than 165,000 emails from disgruntled customers in one day, Verizon rescinded its $2.00 a-month-fee to customers who paid their bills online or by phone. Similarly, Bank of America abandoned its $5 a-month-fee for debit cardholders after being inundated by emails from angry customers.
How did these consumer victories happen? In large part the credit goes to Change.org, a website that makes it easy to mobilize people to fight corporate greed or city hall.
December 16th is Free Shipping Day
If you’ve put off buying holiday gifts, your procrastination will be rewarded. More than 2000 merchants are offering free shipping on December 16th. But don’t despair if you miss out on December 16th. This holiday season lots of merchants are competing for your business by offering free shipping. But why pay for shipping anytime? Here’s how to find merchants who offer free shipping–and free return shipping–all year.
Categories: E-Commerce, Saving Money
Tags: Amazon Prime, Best Buy, free return shipping, free shipping, free shipping both ways, free shipping day, J.Jill, L.L. Bean, Nordstroms, Overstock, ShipVantage, Zqppos
Tags: Amazon Prime, Best Buy, free return shipping, free shipping, free shipping both ways, free shipping day, J.Jill, L.L. Bean, Nordstroms, Overstock, ShipVantage, Zqppos
Ten Tips to Make Your Online Shopping Merry and Safe
A growing number of people do their holiday shopping online. Cyber Monday sales were up 22% from last year. But more than online sales are soaring. So is online fraud—bogus websites selling counterfeit goods, and scammers who steal your identity while you hunt for bargains.
Does this mean giving up online shopping this holiday season? No! The vast majority of sales are legitimate and hassle-free. But it does mean taking precautions. Here are ten tips for making your online shopping merry and safe.
Patient Websites Provide Bridge to Family and Friends
For patients facing long-term or life threatening illnesses, keeping friends and family updated on your condition can be time consuming and emotionally draining. Many people set up patient websites to facilitate communications among patient, caregivers and friends. CaringBridge and CarePages provide templates that make patient websites easy-to-set-up and update. And they are free.
Friends can get updates on the patient’s condition by visiting the webpage or signing up to receive updates via email or text. Guests can also leave messages for the patient or family in an online guestbook.
Categories: Blogging, Health, Social Networking
Tags: CarePages, CaringBridge, Lotsa Helping Hands, My LifeLine, patient websites
Tags: CarePages, CaringBridge, Lotsa Helping Hands, My LifeLine, patient websites
Online Learning: Take a Free Course on Anything, Anytime
Did you always want to study classical music, Renaissance art or game theory? Do you wish you’d gone to Harvard? Now you can study just about anything at Harvard, MIT, Oxford, or thousands of other institutions worldwide. Best of all, the courses are online, so you can learn 24/7. Most of these courses are free.
Do I Still Love My Kindle?
Nine months and 21 eBooks later, do I still love my Kindle? Yes and no. On the “yes” side is the ease of traveling with it and the gratification of getting a new book instantly. On the “no” side: my Kindle died on my recent vacation.
But Amazon’s excellent customer service and promises of a coming-soon library lending program, earn my loyalty, if not love.
Categories: eBooks
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Customer Service, eBook reader, eBooks, iPad, Kindle, Kindle customer service, Should I buy a Kindle?
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Customer Service, eBook reader, eBooks, iPad, Kindle, Kindle customer service, Should I buy a Kindle?
Why Offsite Backup Is a “Must”
If your computer has never crashed, you’re living on borrowed time. Protect your irreplaceable data and photos by backing up your data in the cloud–on an offsite server. It’s easy and inexpensive.
Categories: Safety & Privacy
Health Information on the Web: Whom Do You Trust?
There’s a ton of health information on the web. The sheer volume can be overwhelming. Government agencies, health advocacy groups, drug companies, doctors and patients all have websites. It’s a lot of work to sort through and evaluate the glut of information that can be inaccurate, out of date, biased or contradictory. So how do you find information you can trust? Here are some tips to get started.
Zoosk: Fast-Growing App Marries Online Dating to Facebook
Zoosk is a fast-growing online dating site. It marries online dating to social media friending. You can invite your Facebook friends to write testimonials. Is this a good choice for over50s?
Social Media: It’s Bigger Than Both of Us
Are you old enough to remember Milton Berle’s TV comedy show in the early 50s? If you’re too young or don’t remember, the show featured a running gag. Max, Berle’s lovestruck secretary, tries to cajole Berle into marrying her. Don’t fight it, she urges him. “It’s bigger than both of us.”
That’s pretty much how I felt when I watched Erik Qualman‘s video featuring some mindboggling statistics on social media. Love or hate social media, there’s no fighting it. It’s bigger than all of us. Qualman, the author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business, updates his book with periodic videos. The latest update Social Media Revolution 3 features these factoids:
–Social media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the web.
–1 in 5 couples meet online; 1 in 5 divorces are blamed on Facebook.
What is PayPal and Is It Safe?
Have you seen the PayPal logo when you make an online purchase? Maybe you’ve skipped over it because you’re not sure what it is, or whether it’s safe. PayPal is an electronic payment service that lets anyone with an email address securely send and receive online payments.
Categories: E-Commerce
eBooks That Celebrate Fathers
Father’s Day reminds me of the gifts and lesson my father gave me. This year I’m thinking about books about fathers–famous or infamous, unassuming or larger-than-life, present or absent, real or fictional. The literature about fathers is vast. But here’s my take–a handful of books exploring the profound influence of fathers. (These books are available as Amazon Kindle eBooks and in paperback.)
Categories: eBooks
Etsy: An Online Marketplace for Handmade Crafts
The usual flurry of summer wedding invitations reminds me of how much I dislike gift registries. I much prefer to purchase something unique and handmade. But finding the right handcrafted gift for birthdays, holidays, and weddings is hit-or-miss.
Etsy, an online market for handcrafted and vintage gifts, makes buying the unique gift much easier. It’s a portal for hundreds of thousands of artisans in more than 150 countries. So you are sure to find the perfect gift.
6 Time-Saving Tips for Email
Do you have days where it seems that all you’ve done is answer email? Maybe you followed my advice on email (Ten Tools for Pruning Your Inbox, Email’s Five Golden Rules) and it still seems to eat up all your time.
Don’t despair. Here are seven time-saving tips to add to your email-busting toolkit.
Categories: E-Mail & Messaging
A Six Pack of Useful and Fun Websites for Women
Googling websites for women turns up 161 million hits. There are websites for moms, grandmothers, stepmothers, single mothers, working women, stay-at-home women, single women, senior women, boomer women, straight women, gay women, entrepreneurs and job seekers. There are websites devoted to fitness, finance, fashion, and feminism. You name it and there’s a website devoted to it.
So, what are the best websites for women? Here are six that stand out from the pack. They all feature interesting, useful, and well-written content. Their organization and design are user-friendly. They are content-driven, not sales driven.
7 Time-Saving Tips for Using Google Search
You’ve probably used the web to find movie times, check the status of a flight, or convert currency. But chances are you’ve been doing it “the long way,” going to a specific website.
You can do all that and more, quickly and easily, by entering appropriate commands into the Google search box. Try these seven time-saving tips.
Categories: Research
Google Translate: Can Computers Replace Human Translators?
A friend’s daughter studying in Costa Rica wrote a daily blog post about her experience. She wrote the posts in Spanish. Since her parents weren’t fluent in Spanish, they used Google Translate to convert her posts to English. How good a job did it do?
How to Clean Out Your Email Inbox in Under 5 Minutes–and Why You Should
If you are an email hoarder, store all of your old messages in your inbox, it’s just a matter of time before your inbox implodes, wiping out everything. The simple solution is archiving old mail.
Categories: E-Mail & Messaging
5 Painless—Even Fun—Ways to Save the Planet
Despite the urgency of saving the planet, recycling and reusing can feel like flossing, something you know you should do, but it’s not much fun. Take heart. The web offers a treasure trove of resources that make saving the planet more chic than chore. And you can even save money doing it.
8 Tips for Using Email Safely
Over50s seem to worry a lot about privacy breaches on Facebook. But the latest announcement from EpsilonData Management that its email system was hacked makes me wonder if I should worry more about the safety of email and less about Facebook. Epsilon’s breach means spammers and con artists may have access to tens of millions of email addresses.
What can you do to safeguard your email? Here are 8 tips for using email safely.
How to Use Twitter to Find a Job
When I mention Twitter to over 50 friends,I frequently hear “I don’t get it. Why would I care what someone had for lunch?” Now five years old, Twitter has become one of the best tools for finding jobs.
How to Easily Share Your Travel Photos with Friends
You can share your photos with friends via e-mail. But a better way is to upload and share photos on Facebook, or a photo sharing site such as Picasa.
Need Help: Who Ya Gonna Call? TeachParentsTech
Do you use your kids or grandkids as your Help Desk? Google staffers were so frequently presented with how-to tech list when they visited their parent, they created a website TeachParentsTech.org. It provides under two-minute videos to explain common computer and web tasks.
5 Top Sites for Last Minute Travel Deals
It’s true that the early bird often gets the best travel deals. But sometimes you need a quick get-away. Happily there are often rewards for last-minute travelers.Travel suppliers would rather get less money for a hotel room, than no money for an empty room. Check out these last-minute travel sites that offer hefty discounts.
Celebrate Read an eBook Week with Free eBooks
March 6th is the beginning of “Read an eBook Week.; Celebrate by downloading and reading a free eBook. Here’s where to find them.
Online Dating: Is It for You?
Online dating offers time-strapped over50s an efficient and practical way to meet new people. Online dating maximizes chances of finding a relationship in a relatively safe way, while also having fun!
Here’s how to get started.
What I Love About My Kindle–And Some Things I Don’t
I love books–the feel, the heft, the act of turning pages. The idea of curling up with a good eBook seemed unappealing. But my book-loving friends who’d gone electronic were converts. And with Amazon now selling more eBooks than paperbacks, there’s no denying the inevitable. So, in December, I bought a Kindle. Do I love it? For the most part, yes.
What’s the Daily Deal? Groupon and Livingsocial Offer Deep Discounts
What happens when you marry e-commerce and social networking, then add the age-old advertising tag: limited time only? The result is deal of the day. Here’s how it works. You sign up at the deal website, and everyday you get a special offer via e-mail for a deeply discounted product or service customized for your location. The catch is you can only purchase the deal that day. But typically, you have up to a year to use the deal you purchased.
How Do Boomers and Seniors Use the Internet?
If you’re like most over50s, you are a heavy user of e-mail, search engines and government websites. You go to the web to get news, health and travel information, and to shop. If you use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s likely you’ve signed up in the past year, part of the rising tide of networked boomers and seniors. Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010. Find out what recent research by Pew Internet and American Life Project and AARP say about how over50s use the Internet.
It’s a Wonderful (Digital) Life
Have your holiday traditions changed? Do you now e-mail your cards or post your holiday message on Facebook or YouTube? No doubt the web and social media have changed the way we celebrate and send our season’s greetings. Here are my favorite four digital ways to celebrate the holidays.
Techie Gifts for Non Geeks
It’s getting harder and harder and harder to find unique gifts for family members and friends. Here are some unique techie gifts that are sure to please the over–and some under– 50s.
WikiLeaks: Is Anything Private?
Is WikiLeaks founder a terrorist or folk hero? Regardless, he has done us two favors: disclosed information U.S. citizens have a right to know, and exposed astounding weaknesses in our computer security. Equally disturbing: If top secret security can be so easily breached, what chance do we have of safeguarding our own privacy and identity?
Categories: Safety & Privacy
Fear of Facebook? Use NING to Create Your Own Social Network
Do privacy concerns keep you from using Facebook? NING is a simple and safe social networking alternative. Using their design templates, you can create your own social network in minutes.
The Social Network: Why Over50s Should See the Facebook Movie
The Social Network, the movie that tells the story of the founding of Facebook, won’t change your mind about Facebook. But its compelling characters and universal themes will appeal to Over50s who love great storytelling.
Who Is Craig and What’s His List?
Craigslist is the world’s largest online classified ad service. Use it to find a job or sell an item. It’s appeal–mostly free and ads are posted to a specific geographic area (currently 700 locations and more than 70 countries). Sellers as well as scam artists flock to Craigslist. Learn how to use it, and how to avoid being scammed.
How to Find Free Shipping E-tailers
Hate paying shipping and handling fees on online orders? Here’s how to find e-tailers that ship for free.
Using Facebook Safely: What Advice Should You Give Your Kids?
Your kids may think there’s nothing wrong with posting pictures of boobs and booze on their Facebook page. But decision-makers—college admissions staff and potential employers—may disagree. Long after the party, inappropriate photos and content could turn up in a Google search. What advice can you give your kids about safe social networking?
Categories: Facebook, Safety & Privacy, Social Networking
Tags: Facebook, Privacy, privacy settings, safe social networking, Social Networking
Tags: Facebook, Privacy, privacy settings, safe social networking, Social Networking
Are Your Spices Older Than Your Kids?
Have your spices lost their luster? Find out how old they are by taking McCormick’s Spice Check Challenge. Warning: If the McCormick spice is in a tin or made in Baltimore, it’s at least 15 years old!
Categories: Fun!
E-Mail’s Five Golden Rules
Managing your e-mail would be easier if your friends and colleagues followed these five simple e-mail rules.
Categories: E-Mail & Messaging
In Praise of the Lowly “Listserv”
Despite the growth of newer social media platforms such as Facebook and Linkedin, e-mail discussion groups continue to thrive. That’s because they are simple to set up and join. And they use a tool you know and love–e-mail.
Ten Tools for Pruning Your Inbox
E-mail is like kudzu—turn your back and it takes over. Both kudzu and e-mail require constant maintenance and ruthless pruning with sharp tools. Here are some strategies I’ve adopted to prune my e-mail.
Categories: E-Mail & Messaging
Five Reasons You Can’t Afford to Dismiss Facebook and Other Social Networks
There are valid reasons for not using social networks. But don’t dismiss them out-of-hand. Here are five reasons you can’t afford to dismiss social networking.
Categories: Blogging, Facebook, Social Networking
Tags: blogs, Facebook, Social networks, Twitter, WebOver50
Tags: blogs, Facebook, Social networks, Twitter, WebOver50
Half-Price Ticket Service Gets a Goldstar
The online ticket broker, Goldstar, offers half-price ticket to event in 13 cities. Subscribe to a weekly e-mail customized by ZIP code for a listing of all discounted events.
Categories: E-Commerce, E-Mail & Messaging, Fun!, Saving Money
Tags: discount tickets, Goldstar, half-price tickets
Tags: discount tickets, Goldstar, half-price tickets
Blogging Basics for Newbies
Blogs are websites that encourage interactivity by allowing readers to post comments. They are easy–and free–to start. That’s why there are millions of blogs covering just about any topic or point of view.
Categories: Blogging
Tags: blog basics, blog catalogs, blog readers, blog software, Blogging, blogs, RSS
Tags: blog basics, blog catalogs, blog readers, blog software, Blogging, blogs, RSS
Six Tips for Taking the Social Networking Plunge
Ready to take the social networking plunge? These six tips will help you dive gracefully.
Categories: Facebook, Fun!, Safety & Privacy, Social Networking
Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Privacy, Social Networking
Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Privacy, Social Networking
I Twitter, Therefore I Am
Twitter posts (called tweets) answer this question: What are you doing? Twitter limits answers to 140 characters. Twitter’s power is that it is instant and mobile. You can send and receive a tweet on just about any device—your computer or cellphone.
Categories: Blogging, E-Mail & Messaging, Social Networking
Tags: Social Networking, tweets, Twitter
Tags: Social Networking, tweets, Twitter
LinkedIn: Strictly Business
LinkedIn, the largest business networking site, use the three degrees of separation concept to build business networks to find jobs, build businesses, and start new businesses. The link to trustworthy friends and business contacts assures a degree of credibility.
Wikipedia is Big, But Is It Accurate?
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute. The more popular an article, the more likely it is to be accurate, since the large number of eyeballs policing it ensures that errors are quickly fixed.
Categories: Research, Social Networking
Tags: encyclopedia, online encyclopedia, Research, wiki, Wikipedia
Tags: encyclopedia, online encyclopedia, Research, wiki, Wikipedia
Social Networking: The Basics
There are thousands of online social networks–from the “big box” Facebook and MySpace–to niche networks for business, travel, love–just about any topic or cause. All social networks are rooted in common tools. Once you’re up to speed, you are ready for wherever cyberspace takes you.
Categories: Facebook, Fun!, Safety & Privacy, Social Networking
Tags: Classmates, Facebook, Flixster, friending, LinkedIn, Match.com, MySpace, Ning, Privacy, Profiles, Social Networking, Webjam, Yahoo! Personals
Tags: Classmates, Facebook, Flixster, friending, LinkedIn, Match.com, MySpace, Ning, Privacy, Profiles, Social Networking, Webjam, Yahoo! Personals
Great Explanations: Technology in Plain English
Writing about web technology in plain English is hard work. But Common Craft manages to do it in three-minute videos that are not only clear, but fun. Topics include blogs, RSS, social networking and cloud computing.
Categories: Blogging, eLearning, Fun!, Social Networking, Video
Tags: blogs, Common Craft, RSS, Social Networking, technology explanations, technology videos
Tags: blogs, Common Craft, RSS, Social Networking, technology explanations, technology videos
Google Alerts: Get Updates on Any Topic
Google Alerts sent via e-mail are a great way to stay current on any topic.
YouTube for How To’s: Just-In-Time Learning
My favorite YouTube app is just-in-time elearning. You can learn how to do just about anything in under 10 minutes. You can do it 24/7. And it’s free.
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