Posted by Florence Henderson at 2:16 PM on October 23 , 2009
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Not long ago, a friend taught me how to send and receive e-mail using my cell phone. Suddenly, I was able to exchange news and photos with my kids and grandkids while I was on the road. I felt empowered and grateful. Then a light bulb went off: Wouldn't it be wonderful if other people who didn't grow up with all this technology had someone patient and knowledgeable to help them, too? And The FloH Club was born.
Many of my friends are online, and we keep in touch through e-mail. But I know not everyone has experience with this useful way of communicating. (My own children had begged me for years to learn how to do it.) E-mail, short for electronic mail, is a method of exchanging messages created on a computer. Unlike a paper letter, an e-mail can be delivered virtually instantaneously!
When composing an e-mail, the basic parts are the e-mail address, subject line, and message. That's it! The e-mail address is where the e-mail will be sent, similar to a street address. E-mail addresses are in the form user@domain, such as info@flohclub.com. The subject line is a title for the e-mail. And the message is, well, the message! It's the information you want to share. You can even include digital photos with your e-mail.
When handling incoming e-mail, you should exercise a reasonable amount of caution. Spam is unwanted junk e-mail, usually trying to sell you something. Do not open or reply to spam, even if it contains your name. Simply delete it. Open e-mail attachments only from trustworthy sources, as some files carry viruses that can harm your computer. Of course, you should always keep your system's virus protection up to date.
The FloH Club can help you start using e-mail or give you a refresher. I find that once people get some confidence on the computer, such as with e-mail, they are more likely to try new things!
Talk to you again soon.
Peter Radsliff wrote on 10/26/09 9:24 PM
Dear Ms. Henderson:
It's funny how we all talk about "people who didn't grow up with all this technology." I actually think of my Dad's generation as the original "early adopters" of technology. Think about it: the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, the Interstate highway system, international travel, space travel, setting foot on the moon. They have seen it all, and learned to use quite a bit. But when it came to computers, many people were left out because they weren't forced to keep up because of their jobs.
I've written a bit about this on my blog (visit blog dot presto dot com). I couldn't agree more with your premise that email is very important for families. Full disclosure, my company makes a computerless email solution for the 58% of Americans over 65 years old who don't go online. I think many FloH club members would love Presto for their parents or non-computer using friends.
Thanks for starting the FloH Club. It's a service that is sorely needed.