How Do I Share This With My Friends?

So you had a chance to take a look at our new blog and you want to share it with your friends....

Great! Let's get started with some fundamentals! Think of it as the A-B-C's of internet browsing.
A) Your browser is the program you use to access the internet.

If you're using an Apple computer, then you are likely using Safari. There is a really good article on the Wellesley College Computing site on tips for getting started with Safari.

If you're using a PC (a non-Apple computer), you are probably using either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Again, the Wellesley College Computing site did a much better job than I would explaining how to get started with IE or Firefox.

B) The Website Address you are viewing can be found in tthe toolbar of the browser. The what of the hmmmmmmmm? The toolbar of the browser (see A above).

In the address bar, you can type the website address you wish to visit. Website addresses generally start with "http://" but most newer browsers will allow you to just type in everything that comes after. For instance, if you want to visit our blog, you can just type in "techtips4nana.blogspot.com". You will also hear people refer to the website address as a URL.

C) Browser Buttons allow you to easily use the browser to go back to previous pages you visited, stop the current page from loading, start back on your home page, record your favorite sites, etc.

Now that you have the basics down, let's figure out how to share the blog postings with your friends, here are three options:

1) Show them on your computer. If you add this site to your list of favorites, you can call up TechTips4Nana with just a couple of clicks.

2) Tell them the URL (address) of the blog: TechTips4Nana.blogspot.com

3)Click on the email icon at the bottom of each posting to send links to individual postings. Let's say you think Pat would love this introduction to browsing, you could simply click on the button that looks like an email, fill out the form, and she'll get an email telling her how to visit the blog. Simple right?

Tip of the Day:

Did you ever hear someone say "go to dub dub dub dot blah blah blah dot com"? The word "dub" is short for the letter W and "dot" is a way to describe the periods in a web address. Next time you are on a website that starts with "www", try typing in it's address without the "www". (For instance, Washington Mutual has a website at http://www.wamu.com/. Try typing "wamu.com" into the browser address bar, hit enter and see what happens.)

Hey Nana! Let's Get Started!

So, we were talking last night about blogs and, while I know you're interested, I could tell you didn't really understand why one might use blogs for something other than cyberstalking. (Cyberstalking, in case you don't know, is the use of the internet to stalk someone. According to wikipedia, it's a way to harass someone; I just mean keeping track of the goings on of friends and family without necessarily talking/emailing/seeing them.) So here goes. . .

Every once in a while, if I think you might be interested in something I'm doing online or with technology, I will document it here. This blog* will keep track of what I've done in reverse chronological order so you will see the most recent posting first. And, in future postings, I will show you how to use some of the navigational tools on this and any blog you find online.

I hope you find this fun and interesting Mom! And, if you ever stumble across something you want some help using or finding, let me know!

*Did you know that the word "blog" is short for the term Web Log?

Tip of the Day:

You want a quick and easy way to find the definition of a term? (Hint: Your HUGE unabridged dictionary may not be the right answer.) Simply type in the word "define" before the word you're looking for in your favorite search engine.

The first result in your search will be a definition! Here's some more information on search shortcuts:

Yahoo! Search Shortcuts (my favorite)

Google Search Features