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Seniors Use Technology Too! Kellogg Retiree on "Facebook"

"Facebook", "My Space" - no doubt you've heard these terms from your children, grandchildren or even on the news, but did you know that online networking is "not just for kids"?

What is an online social network?

An online social network is community of people who share common interests and activities. Members connect and interact via email and instant messaging. Social networking websites like "Facebook" and "My Space" are used by millions of people to connect with friends, family members, former classmates and others.

Kellogg Retiree on "Facebook"

Hearsey Fennell, a Memphis retiree, recently joined Facebook, an online social network. Here's his story:

"My daughter Dr. Kay Brocato was just awarded tenure at Mississippi State University. She said that I needed to request to be her friend. (I told her that I thought I was her friend.)

She has three children (my grandchildren) and I could see their activities at school, Vinny's football pictures, Bailey's freshman year class schedule, and Sicily's kindergarten progress.

No one helped me and I was able to move around in it fairly easy.

I check it almost daily. I like keeping up with the grandchildren mostly.

Shortly after I joined I had 16 friends, neighbors, high school class mates, and church friends that was also pretty neat."

In fact, Kellogg retiree, Hearsey Fennell, Memphis, checks his "Facebook" page almost daily. "I like keeping up with the grandchildren mostly," says Hearsey.

How to join

To sign up with most social networking websites, the only information you are required to provide is your full name, email address, birthday and password. Use the following links to visit My Space.com and Facebook.com.

Once you've joined, you can create your own page or profile by providing as little or as much information as you'd like. Your page allows you to share the latest updates about yourself, pictures or music. You can even set your page as "private," so only people you approve can see your page.

Connecting with others

Once you become a member of a social networking website, you can search the site for anyone you know who may already be a member or let friends know that they can find you online. Anyone wanting to connect with you first has to send an email, called a 'friend request'. Once you approve, they will be added to your Friends list and you can begin messaging each other. Messaging on 'My Space' is simply called 'myspacing', where as on 'Facebook' the informal term is "poke", as in nudging your friend to say 'hi, I left you a message.'

Online social networking has made it very easy for people to interact with the world on their own comfort level. So, if you are looking for a new way to connect with friends and family, you might consider getting giving it a try!