<p>My mother-in-law just got her first computer (at 79!) and is learning about the joys of the internet. Does anyone know of any great boards, blogs, etc. like CC for the older set? I know there is a wide age range here, which is nice, but I think she would enjoy one specifically for retirees. She is socially conservative but open-minded (Democrat), is interested in health issues (exercise, Parkinson’s), family issues, books… Sometimes she is house-bound because of the weather, so if she had a social network online, like this one, I think she would feel less isolated. Thanks for any suggestions.</p>
<p>Does she like to cook? Garden? Sew? Do crafts? If so, there are some discussion forums on gardenweb that might interest her. There are forums for off-topic discussions as well.</p>
<p>[Cooking</a> - GardenWeb](<a href=“Cooking - GardenWeb”>Cooking - GardenWeb)</p>
<p>[GardenWeb</a> - The Internet’s Garden Community](<a href=“http://www.gardenweb.com%5DGardenWeb”>http://www.gardenweb.com)</p>
<p>One idea is to get her on Facebook and get your family to join and pull her into their network.</p>
<p>I and my giant family, mostly cousins scattered across the globe, joined together in the same month (thanks to one enterprising and encouraging family member). And our 78 yo old aunt got on too. We started uploading pictures from our respective albums, sharing stories and our aunt has had a fabulous time looking at the photos, posting her own (with the help of her daughter), and writing lots of commentary about each one for all of us to read (she’s the only one who can fill in the family gaps and tell us the details of our pictures). </p>
<p>For those who don’t use facebook, you can upload a picture, identify who is in it, and the persons in it receives notification of the photo. Likewise, you can share them readily with those in your network. It’s extremely user friendly- your MIL will have no problem if she’s already navigating the net.</p>
<p>I never saw the point of Facebook but now that we’re on as a family, it’s been such an amazing thing, connecting many of us for the first time in 30 years. And its been most special for our 78 year old aunt.</p>
<p>That sounds great starbright. Your family seems very nice.</p>
<p>Taste of Home magazine’s website has a nice community message board, filled with people like her.</p>
<p>[Recipe</a> Community - Sharing Online Recipes | Taste of Home Recipes](<a href=“Taste of Home: Find Recipes, Appetizers, Desserts, Holiday Recipes & Healthy Cooking Tips”>http://community.tasteofhome.com/)</p>
<p>The link makes it look like it’s just recipes, but it’s much more than that, especially their Kitchen Chat forum.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Facebook sounds like a great idea. I will suggest it at Thanksgiving dinner. My MIL is not into crafts or gardening in the least, unfortunately. I was hoping that there might be a community like this one (especially the cafe), an open-ended discussion of anything and everything, like the office water cooler, except for people her age. I will look into the Kitchen Chat forum, thanks!</p>