Having made that observation, I must also say that there are still many older and retired citizens who are not yet convinced that access to the Internet is the answer to mankind's quest for success, prosperity, and contentment. If you own a vintage computer, or no computer at all, and you're reading this article in the print version of WWWiz, you may be asking yourself, "Do I really want to get involved with all of this? After all, I've only recently mastered the ATM and the VCR." My answer to you: Read on and see what you're missing.
Most of you, of course, are already plugged in and probably browsing the online version of WWWiz on the World Wide Web. If you are as addicted to globe trotting (virtual and otherwise) as I am, I would like to share with you my latest travel finds, using the simple search words "senior" and "travel" on the world's most popular search engine, Infoseek. [Note: Infoseek's Web site draws over 25,000,000 hits per day, making it the second largest site on the entire Internet. See cover story by Don Hamilton in the March issue of WWWiz.]
The first impression as Infoseek loads is a simple, straightforward title graphic with the usual buttons for new stuff, news, fast facts, and the always-present sweepstakes. When, after a few seconds, the search results appear, there is also an advertisement—a real-world feature we are going to have to live with, I suppose. Next comes the happy report: my search words have yielded 100 of the best-ranked listings and enough information to fill a small book. To be fair, not all of these sites will turn out to be home pages dedicated to seniors or even travel. One of the first ten, for example, is from a "senior" student at the University of Pennsylvania welcoming "travelers" to her "own warm little corner of the Internet." Cute.
Among the true travel sites in the first ten listings, two stand out as having useful information for older travelers. Senior World Tours promises "active year 'round travel for mature adults," including "walking, hiking, biking, snowmobiling, van touring, and whitewater rafting...to destinations in the U.S. and around the world." In contrast to that somewhat "physical" menu, a second site called Travelmate describes a unique service for "singles, seniors, and physically challenged" travelers. "The idea behind Travelmate," states the Arizona-based home page, "is to introduce people to others who may, or may not, be physically challenged, and are looking for compatible travel companions to share journeys across the U.S. or to the four corners of the earth!"
Some home pages located using the keywords "senior travel" go much further than just providing resources for mature travelers. A Colorado-based site, for example, is one of a growing number of community home pages designed to keep the citizens of one specific city or region tuned in to what's happening in their area. This extensive site includes information centers for the arts, business, education, employment, entertainment, and environmental issues, and that's only the beginning. A continuing index of services provides information on state and local government, health and housing resources, bus routes, road reports and even weather forecasts. The highlight of this remarkable Web site, however, is its award-winning Boulder Community Network: Seniors' Center. The index of this page reveals every possible informational source for seniors, including, of course, Travel; it was here that I discovered the grandmother of all travel/study programs: Elderhostel.
The Elderhostel home page is a good model for all Web pages. It is attractive (but not so graphic-intensive as to be slow), it is well organized, and, most important, it's full of useful information. A button-driven infobar at the bottom of the page takes one quickly to its key features: information about the various study/travel programs, access to quarterly catalogs, a resident search engine for scanning the offerings, a "links" page (under construction) which will eventually send browsers to Elderhostel-related sites worldwide, and finally, a handy email form. Travelers fifty-five and older (younger spouses okay), who want to tour with knowledgeable leaders, and combine learning and recreation at a modest cost, need look no further than Elderhostel.
Considering these and other online services available to older citizens, can there be any doubt that the portion of the pie designating seniors on the Internet will continue to grow? I predict that in five years, that slice will more than double in size. When Americans from the slide-rule generation begin to recognize the obvious benefits of dialing into digital databases loaded with electronic goodies and services especially for them, when they are no longer intimidated by acronyms like "http," it's inevitable that they will put down the stereotype, "too old to learn," and pick up the tools of the information age designed for planning leisure years that are both pleasurable and productive.
* American Association of Retired Persons