50+ Women Connect With Other Discerning Women

Smart women know that many heads are better than one.  Just ask the women who frequent Vibrant Nation.  They know that they can ask questions and get answers.  They can get recommendations and save their time for more pressing things like love & sex, travel, technology & internet, work & money. And they know that connecting with other women like themselves is only a click away.  

This is really a "must have" site.   It's here where I:

1. Learned how to design for a "not so big" home

2. Found a primer for women entrepreneurs

3. Read a review about Slumdog Millionaire

4. Pondered how I can have better conversations with my adult son

5. Located 3 sites where I can satisfy my yearn for pretty things without hurting the environment

6. Scored a great recipe for chocolate turtles

7. Could join in a conversation about sex for post-menopausal women

8. Added favorite cooking gadgets to my wish-list

9. Tweaked my wardrobe with new fashion ideas

10. Got recommendations for books to enhance my spiritual life

Vibrant Nation is a rare find.  Like my own website, it is packed with useful information.  

Best Websites of 2008 Continued

Time invites the rest of us to vote for our favorite website among the 50 presented.  Here's my boomer-slanted take on some of the choices:

Free Rice and Web Sudoku are already famous among people-in-the-know. Improve your vocabulary, test your problem-solving skills, feed the hungry, and entertain yourself for hours and hours.

Find the right pet for you in Petfinder.  Auntie Peggy found the cutest Yorkie. Make sure you can pass their 3rd degree so that you're not disappointed.

I'm a nut for genealogy (you mean a stork didn't deliver me?).  So is Cousin Larry, thank goodness, because we have the same relatives on both sides (my dad's sister married my mom's brother--and yes, that's legal).  Geni is your headstart on growing your own family tree.

ProFootballTalk wouldn't be one of my favorites but my son would kill me if I didn't let other fanatics in on his little secret.

Do-it-yourselfer alert:  Look no further than HowCast  for videos and step-by-step instructions (from people like you) relating to arts, media, crafts, environment, health, mind & body, personal care, pets, etc..  I love the sorting system--you can select videos and guides by "Most Viewed," "Most Recent," "Top-Rated" (I liked "How to Get Rid of a Hickey"), "Top Favorites," "Most Emailed," and "Most Discussed."

Is that you I hear crying out there?  You mean you, too, have been dealt the cruel financial setbacks by the economic mess we're in?  Check out Mint.  Here you'll get the tools (free!) to brush up on personal finance, money management, and financial planning.  

Navigating Boomj.com with 78 Million People - Am I the Only One Who's a Bit Lost?

I guess you could say connecting with Boomers is a hobby of mine. When I’m not busy working on my new website, I love discovering new resources on the web and finding new ways to share and connect with others. I hear so much about networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, and just recently became a member of the online community at Boomj.com, a networking site specifically for Boomers.

BOOMj.com recently broke into the top 2,000 most viewed sites, serving more than 78 million baby boomers and adults over 35. In June 2008, they reported 821,680 unique users and over 7 million page views.

It’s no wonder that Boomj.com is the self-proclaimed “#1 destination for Baby Boomers and Generation Jones.” However, after feeling around the site, I have found that the whole experience leaves much to be desired. The site provides a dizzying fusion of social networking, mulitmedia, lifestyle news and ecommerce-driven content. But more than anything it seems to have attracted a community interested in online dating. For me, it really hasn't been much of a place to share ideas and engage in conversation. Also, as savvy as I am with the web, I couldn’t imagine being able to easily navigate all the opportunities offered on the site (videos, travel deals, consumer reviews, and rewards points for the Boomj store).

Maybe I’m just looking for something different. Something real simple: making new connections and building relationships. But I'm not going to give up on Boomj just yet , and I think with a little tinkering, Boomj.com could streamline their user interface and be a good resource for Boomers to network.

What do you think? Are you a member of Boomj or any other online networking community?

A Great Website--And It Isn't Even Mine!

I'm not going to recommend something for you that I wouldn't use myself.

I just found one of the most useful websites (and believe me, I've researched hundreds, maybe thousands). It's FREE, EASY, and packed with valuable information.

Seniorclix is a winner. It suggests online courses; it provides information via directories and a library, and furnishes access to important forms. Take "Planning a Funeral or Memorial Service," for example. 3 pages of large readable print can supply you with a thorough decision-making form, including your choice of music, pallbearers, ushers, etc.

Retrieve national, state, and community directories for nursing facilities, home health care agencies, assisted living facilities, hospice care, geriatric care manager, Alzheimer's care facilities, and community services.

Scour a collection of articles, brochures, and websites which advise you on advance directives, computers, family caregiving, financial issues, finding urgent help, healthcare websites, helpful forms and checklists, independent living, issues near the end of life, legal topic, navigating the health care system, nursing home care, and staying healthy and active.

Arm yourself with free forms such as advance directives, patients rights, caregiver forms, healthy living, hospice care, independent and assisted living, and nursing home care, as well as a checklist for older drivers, a checklist for purchasing private insurance, selecting a private case management professional, evaluation home health care, personal information, medical bill payment records, net worth statement, questions to ask a chore service provider, and a sample living will.