Elderly Online Practicum

Today I was getting frustrated because the websites I have been going to are slow. In my last post about a week and a half or so ago I found a new website called snabbo.com and thought it was interesting because it was like a facebook for seniors. It was very web 2.o and allowed seniors to get in touch with people from their past. Last time I joined a couple of groups and friended one woman to see if i could set up some more consistent communication that I didn't get from senior.com. What I found today was that none of the groups had new updates and I never got a response from my almost new friend. I think part of the problem is that seniors according to an article I read like to use the internet to stay in touch more than meet new people, so being someone they never met before maybe uncomfortable for them. So today I tried friending some uw grads in hopes that I will have a better connection to them and they will want to talk. I also joined another group where I told them my favorite Beatle was John Lennon, hopefully sparking some conversation.

After that I went back to senior.com. There was a little more conversation because that website has been around longer but still little activity. I learned through posts that the elderly need more members that go online more often if they will have a social experience like on facebook. One person said
"im with you Gram, I keep looking in about once or twice a week, and here's hoping there will be enough activity soon to entice me in every day! "

If this doesn't happen the social websites that are trying to form for seniors will either shut down or just turn into a service website that tries to get seniors to buy products or give them information. I even noticed that businesses like on facebook are making accounts and trying to talk to seniors and get them to buy their products. Here is a post from Medicare Specialist

"I am a single dad and I am using eHarmony.com and match.com, and you can search for local sites in your area. I have found that I have met friends on those sites more than a life long partner. Since you work from home and have Internet experience you may want to try to meet some people via the Internet. Find a local chat room and see who you meet, but please be careful, there are some strange people out there as well. After you have communicated for awhile and try to get them to use yahoo so you can use a video cam to see if they say who they are, that will help. Do not give out your number, try and get theirs and make sure you check with your phone carrier and have your number show up as unknown. You will be amazed with eHarmony.com as they have a very good way of matching people of like kind. It costs around $30 per month. I hope this helps you. Also if you have Arthritis or Diabetes, I have some very new and exciting products that help alleviate most pain. If you have medicare and Medicaid there is no cost to you. If you have medicare and a supplement, still no cost. If you only have medicare or Medicaid then your co-payment is $10 per product and we will spread that out over as many months you may need. Please contact me so I can email you some more info and I have attached some info with pictures. Call me so we can get the products ordered for you. Hope to hear from you, Mark Grant 281-825-978"

In this post it sounds to me like this person is pushing products at the end and giving his info so he can finish a transaction. The beginning of the post also pushes dating websites with a monthly fee and he adds things like he is a dad and be careful online to gain the trust of the customer. As a user of senior.com i felt offended that this person was pushing products when I and most people on this website are looking to talk to somebody. I will keep looking for a good senior forum but until then I will keep making posts to get more people to talk.