Column's online move moves readers to weigh in
SANDY BANKS
Some lament the change, but others welcome another link to Los Angeles.
I don't know what Aunt Flo thought about my Saturday column, and its not-so-subtle attempt to nudge her toward the ranks of computer literati.
She called on her cellphone that morning -- after she read the column at her kitchen table over breakfast. But she didn't have time to chat; she was running late for her weekly beauty shop appointment.
(Aunt Flo, my friend, not my aunt, is almost 85, but I don't think I've ever seen that woman without her nails manicured and her red hair perfectly coiffed.)
But plenty of other readers did weigh in this weekend, commiserating, offering technical advice . . . and convincing me that this column -- and its community of readers -- can not only survive, but thrive in the move online.
In case you missed our announcement last week, my column will continue to run in the newspaper every Saturday.
On Monday and Tuesday, I'll be online at www.latimes.com/sandybanks. You can save that address to your favorites' list -- or write it on a "sticky note" and post it to the front of your computer, like Veronica Allen did.
Soon, we'll have a way to have the columns sent directly to your inbox, via e-mail.
This online stuff is new to me, too. But I'm having a ball, and learning valuable lessons as well.
If the print version of my column is like chatting over a latte at Starbucks, the online version feels like inviting you into my home for a slice of banana bread. That means we have to tidy up my online abode; look for new tools, features -- and a better photo -- soon on my chunk of the Web.
Still, that won't satisfy everybody . . . particularly those who still find the computer daunting. Folks such as Ruby Malley, who managed to e-mail me this confession: "i don't have much use for computers---you can tell i'm of the older generation. i used your address to get on line but things kept popping out left and right at me while i was reading some of your old columns---very distracting."
It's not surprising that computer use drops with age. But studies show that senior citizens who become adept at using a computer appear to have fewer depressive symptoms than those older adults who aren't technologically connected.
Maybe John McCain ought to have a staffer e-mail senior citizens such as Kate, who has learned to use e-mail to keep in touch with homebound friends and pursue her passion for genealogy. Or Winnie, who began watching soap operas from her native Sri Lanka on YouTube and now has her own Facebook page.
