Traveling is a popular activity for retirees to have on their bucket list. More and more retirees are making extensive use of the Internet and social media for planning trips and related activities but they can also benefit from these powerful tools during their vacation to get the most out of every journey. While they're away, they can remain in touch with friends and family; by keeping connected, they can even feel more peace of mind staying on vacation for a longer period of time.
Travel is One of the Best Retirement Activities Whether you go traveling as a freestyle adventurer or as a member of a tour group is dependent on your personality, your sense of independence, and your confidence level. There are times when traveling in a tour group is the only way to experience a country and understand its history. If you are not comfortable traveling alone, taking a guided tour is an excellent way to experience a new city and it provides opportunities to meet and get to know fellow travelers as well.
I happen to like traveling, and my preference is to explore without a tour whenever possible. I'm sure this is in part because most of my professional career involved a lot of business travel, where I had to discover new places on my own. My advice to retirees who'd like to be freestyle travelers is to learn to strike out on your own and to interact with new people. . I see many baby boomers traveling in groups of four to eight people; they tend to stick together instead of reaching out to fellow travelers or locals. Meeting and exchanging conversations with people you don't know, especially local citizens, will enhance your understanding of the local customs and will likely lead to creating new lasting friendships.
Whether it is domestic or international travel, experiencing new places and meeting people from the area is an excellent way to stimulate anyone’s thinking process; it's also a terrific way to meet friendly and fascinating people. On a recently completed trip to Central America I netted a number of new acquaintances – one couple from the U.S. and three couples from other countries. An added perk of staying in touch with them is that I won't feel like such a stranger when I visit their cities.
Take More Time to See the World One of the benefits of traveling after retirement versus taking a vacation from work is that you don't necessarily need to restrict the length of time of your stay. Using Internet tools, you can remotely support your personal business using online banking and bill payments. Make use of your ability to stay longer than the average week or two for greater deals on lodging. Increasing the length of your vacation also helps you to get to know the culture and people, something you could not do while you were employed.
In my travels, whether it is domestic or international, I notice that many retirees are traveling in greater numbers as freestyle adventurers. Successful travelers make extensive use of the Internet and social media sites to plan their trips from home. Collaborative social-media sites like TripAdvisers and VRBO (vacation rental by owners) obtain valuable feedback from patrons about an establishment. I like reviewing these sites before going on a trip to gather information from a variety of individuals. There was a time when the only reviews were from disgruntled travelers who would leave negative comments, but more and more people are voluntarily providing balanced and helpful reviews, without having an “axwe to grind.” Look closely for trends in these reviews; for instance, if a lot of different people are saying the same thing about a hotel's accommodations, it's likely that such a critical mass of opinion should carry weight when you make a decision about whether or not to book a room there.
Put the power of the Internet to use during your travel The Internet is widely available regardless of where you travel and devices like tablets and smartphones allow for effective usage of this technology. By and large, many of the establishments offer free Internet access and Wi-Fi links to patrons, so the cost is minimal in most instances. Ten years ago, I traveled extensively in Australia and carried my 12-pound laptop to Internet bars and paid connection charges ranging from $8 to $12 per connection. Many times, I would be at locations with little to no Wi-Fi connection, since it was not as prevalent in use as it is today. I still travel with a laptop because of the need for a larger keyboard and a few applications I use for managing my business but my smartphone has all the functions to communicate and its size and weight is significantly more desirable for travel. Using a tablet or a smartphone is actually all that one needs to keep in touch during most trips. Be wary, however, of using the cell phone connection while away from your home town; roaming charges can be quite high especially on international destinations. I like to disable my cell phone option and just use WI-FI on these devices.
I recently completed a five-week trip to Central America and had free Internet where I stayed, and Wi-Fi was also available in most breakfast and lunch establishments. It is just an indication of how dominant the Internet has become and how excited people are about having access to it. The portability and ease of use of the tablet and smartphone in foreign countries Enhances the travel experience all over the world.
Sharing and communicating on the Internet over the last ten years has also changed significantly. In 2002, Internet usage was more awkward. I used to share pictures with my friends by posting them on a photo-hosting site. I was also required to send out an email to everyone along with my user name and password to let them know I had uploaded new photos. Today, using my smartphone, I can capture the photo and upload it directly to Facebook. Automatically a notification is sent to my friends that I've posted a new batch of photos. I can even use the Facebook app on my smartphone to make a call to my friends or family members via the Internet, thus reducing the need for exorbitant, international long-distance charges.
Retirees are able to enjoy their travel adventures more so now than at any time in the past, and they are able to share their experiences with other retirees. Traveling allows retirees the opportunity to meet new people from other parts of the world and they can keep connected to them through social media. This has become the best time to travel because our ability to network and communicate has never been so sophisticated – and so user-friendly. As you contemplate your next trip, think about how you can utilize technology to make your vacation as fun as possible. Being able to stay in touch with loved ones may be just the ticket – whether you're on the go in London, Paris, or Rome, or lounging on a tropical beach.
Ron Mercier is retired from his corporate career and currently blogs on topics concerning baby boomers and retirees. He is the developer of the Web site: Active Empty Nesters (http://www.activeemptynesters.com), which helps baby boomers and seniors to build local social networks and enjoy activities targeted for the 50+ population. He is also working on the Meetup.com Web site with a 50+ Active Social Group and he's recently developed a crowdsourcing group for retirees at www.retired-minds.com.
We hear many times “I won’t get on this site because I am concerned about security issues” or “I’m concerned about privacy on the internet” or “I’m afraid that someone will steal my identity or my information”. NOTHING on the internet is private. The fact that you are on the internet makes you public! But there are ways to minimize your risk of being hacked or have your identity compromised so read on.
Surfing the internet, joining social networking groups or shopping online is no more dangerous than joining your friends for dinner or shopping in a local store. Just as you would with your wallet or your credit card, you just have to be smart and take precautions when providing others with your personal information.
According to the Javelin Strategy and Research Center, “low-tech methods are still the most popular for identity thieves. Stolen wallets and physical documents accounted for 43% of all identity theft, while online methods accounted for only 11%”. So, stolen credit cards, stolen wallets, “lost or compromised” records by financial institutions, medical organizations, employers, and a lack of understanding by individuals (throwing away sensitive information without shredding) are the cause of most identity theft – not most internet activities.
Internet ID theft is on the rise, so how do you stay safe on the internet? There are three main ways thieves try to steal personal information on the internet. Let’s define each method and then discuss how you can protect yourself from identity theft on the internet.
1. Phishing (fishing) – Uses lures such as pop-ups and bogus emails to get you to provide personal information
2. Pharming (farming) – Involves pirating of an official website, like your banks web site and redirecting its traffic to a bogus site – not much an individual can control
3. Spam and Spyware – We all get spam, unwanted emails from sources we don’t know. Spyware is technology that secretly gathers information such as user ID’s and passwords for bank accounts
Here is some practical advice to protect you on the internet:
1. Be sure and have installed on your computer a commercial (purchased) or reputable anti-spam blocker.
2. Legitimate companies do not send emails asking for account information. Do NOT follow links in these types of emails or reply to them.
3. If you receive an email notifying you that there is a problem with one of your accounts and if you are concerned, then you should pick up the phone and call customer service of the account in question.
4. If for some reason you can’t call – do not click on the link provided – type the official URL of the site into your web browser. Do not cut and paste from the email because the link provided may be to an unauthorized site.
5. Do not respond to pop-ups or emails requesting personal information.
6. Delete, without opening, emails claiming to be from a bank or financial institution that you don’t do business with.
7. Do not email personal or financial information. Faxing or telephoning this type of information is more secure.
Additional steps for tighter security:
1. Secondary email address – At some point you will give out your email address when you purchase something online, sign up for services or join a membership site. Consider opening a second email address just for these reasons and using your main email address for your friends, family and trusted contacts. Then, if Spam does start to build up, if won’t be on your main account. If the Spam becomes too great you can close your secondary account and open another. It’s simple and on several sites it’s free (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.).
2. Check Privacy Policies – Look for a privacy policy on sites where you have to input your email address. Most times sites will tell you what their policy is on using your email address – whether it is shared, sold, marketed or not. If there isn’t a privacy policy or you don’t like their policy, leave the site.
3. Unknown sources of email – Do not open Spam or email from unknown sources – delete it.
4. Attachments – Do not open attachments from someone you don’t know. Attachments, even from trusted sources, should first be scanned for viruses before opening. Many times people we trust unknowingly will send an attachment that is infected with a virus.
5. Turn off Read Receipts – This will prevent confirmation back to the spammer that your email is legit.
6. Don’t click on links in an email – ESPECIALLY the “Unsubscribe” link found in most Spam emails. If you do, you are confirming that your address is genuine and will generate more Spam.
The internet is such a powerful, informative, fun, and time-saving tool it would be a shame to shy away because of fears of security issues. Following these tips do not guarantee your information will never be compromised, but is a huge step in being aware and protecting yourself against such actions.
How to make a WordPress Website is something a lot of folks are asking these days. I know for myself, I learn best by watching and yes, rewatching video tutorials. If that is true for you too, here is the next in the series of videos.
A lot of us are investigating our options to live retirement on our own terms. One of the ways available to all of us is to start a website where we get to showcase our expertise. As Baby Boomers, we all know that each and every one of us has our own expertise, after all , we have had a bit of time to work on them.
Starting a website may seem a little intimidating, especially if we don't have a lot of technology experience. The good news is that contrary to common beief, it is possible to teach old dogs new tricks. ]As for me, learning the new tricks has been a blast!
A lot of us are investigating our options to live retirement on our own terms. One of the ways available to all of us is to start a website where we get to showcase our expertise. As Baby Boomers, we all know that each and every one of us has our own expertise, after all , we have had a bit of time to work on them.
Starting a website may seem a little intimidating, especially if we don't have a lot oftechnology experience. The good news is that contrary to common beief, it is possible to teach old dogs new tricks. As for me, learning the new tricks has been a blast!
In the olden days, websites required webmasters who created loads of code to make the sites look the way they do. Now, when you see a page full of code, it is enough to make you throw in the towel and convince yourself that it is too expensive or technical.
That was then, but it is no longer the case. WordPress is the game changer. Today, you can build a website, and you don't have to be an HTML expert. I recorded this video to talk about getting started with WordPress.
Please ask any questions or share tips you have learned.
]As for me, learning the new tricks has been a blast!
Julie Powers (83)
Ron Mercier (25)
Pamela D. Wilson (18)
Amanda Barnes (16)
