ElderWeb - North America

ElderWeb's key strategy is connecting users to each other 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through the ElderWeb site. The site is set up as a virtual town called "Elderville". Visitors to the site may take a guided tour of features such as the organisation's newspaper, the Elderville Times-Chronicle, which informs members about ElderWeb activities. Members of ElderWeb automatically become students at Grant MacEwan College and, as such, are entitled to purchase computer software at discounted prices. Yearly fees for ElderWeb membership are CAN$69 for individual memberships and CAN$89 for household memberships. Members may post technology-related questions and problems online; those who have a solution can respond online. Other features of the site include a library, links, discussion groups, lists of featured works by members, and information about training sessions open to elders.

ElderWeb uses face-to-face contact as a strategy to get elders involved in addressing their own technology needs. For example, conferences and "summer camps" are held to train members in various technology-related areas (such as how to use Windows File Explorer, how to include attachments in email messages, and how to complete banking transactions online). In addition, as ElderWeb grows in each physical community, organisers work to assist members in establishing user groups and roving volunteers who visit older people's homes to help solve computer problems.

The ElderBuck Reward Program rewards members for encouraging new members to join ElderWeb. ElderBucks may be used to pay a portion of, or all, yearly membership dues, and are intended to encourage community expansion.

Technology, Ageing.