By Margaret Wong
One of the most popular uses of the Internet today is the creation
of web portals. Most companies like, Yahoo! and MSN, target teen to
adult users who are more likely to be web savvy. Specialized sites
such as ESPN targets sports fans and the like. All of them have one
thing in common, a goal to create the ultimate portal, personalized
to the every need of its user. The one common problem most of these
portals have is its dependence on their users' proficiency. www.senior.com
suffers the same problem, especially since its target is a new emerging
group of computer users: senior citizens.
Web portals are meant to be customizable to the different needs of
its users. www.senior.com has
some of these qualities, and it does have its main audience in mind.
Senior citizens are only recently becoming an online community. What
comes with a new community is a new learning curve and support for
senior citizens' computing is not that easy to find. A site that is
meant to be a portal for senior citizens should at least provide the
necessary tools for them to successfully navigate the World Wide Web.
Although there is a small section called "Tech Tips" that
acts somewhat similar to a small frequently asked questions section,
it can really be further developed into tutorials that make it fun
and exciting for senior citizens to want to learn the different tools
available to them.
On www.senior.com, the feature
that makes it apparent that it is targeting the senior citizens is
the articles and advertisements it presents. Great planning has gone
into the design of this site, (it has easy navigation; it has articles
that would greatly interest senior citizens; it has e-mail and also
homepage building tools; and it is pleasing to the eye) so much so
that after going through the site I wished there were portals targeting
my age bracket providing as much as they did here for senior citizens.
Though at first glance it seemed to be no more than just a web version
of senior citizens' magazine, it does provide a sufficient amount
of resources and entertainment for its users.
What all this amounts to is a possible change in social norms, though
it might be awhile before this occurs. As portals, such as
www.senior.com, surface and aid senior citizens onto the online
community they will partake in much more than just online shopping.
Knowledge is power and as senior citizens are empowered with Web knowledge
they will equally have their voice heard through this very public
domain. And just like everyone else, they'll face the same problems
but at least they will have the tools to do something about it if
they choose to.