Blog
Never too old...
Tue 3 Aug 2010
There are big changes going on in publishing at the moment - and, like it or not, e-books, e-learning and social networking via the Internet are here to stay.
I've blogged about the power of social networking before, and this week I read another inspiring story about the impact of social networking sites.
Ivy Bean died recently at the age of 104. At the age of 101, she had moved to a residential care home, and an IT company helped her and other residents to get online. She soon gained the maximum number of friends possible on Facebook, and then switched to Twitter, where she had more than 50,000 followers. She posted over 1,000 tweets, with updates ranging from the very ordinary, to the very funny, to heart warming.
Her social networking skills (via Twitter) enabled her to develop a rapport with Peter Andre (she was a fan!) and he was so taken by their friendship that he telephoned and visited her. She also met Gordon and Sarah Brown earlier this year.
As the 'Other lives' article in The Guardian says, she 'proved that old age need not necessarily mean fading quietly away'. In my opinion, she was also a shining example of the potential of networking from a distance.
You can read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/30/ivy-bean-obituary
Have a good week,
Tracey
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