Top Boomer Websites...
Let's Check These Out Together

Are you ready for some serious surfing? PC Magazine has just come out with a list of the top ten web sites for boomers. Actually, "just" is a relative word. It was actually about three weeks ago... I don't know how I missed it.

One of them, the AARP site, is already a "Platinum web site," and another, www.eons.com, is already a "Platinum Link" on our own website, www.platinumyears.net.

So what about the other eight? I have only gotten to check out one of them, BoomerTowne, which is a social networking, news, game, and resource site. It was number one on PC Magazine's list, and that's as far as I've gotten, since it mesmerized me for over two hours with games, jokes, news, articles, etc. In that respect, it is similar to eons.com, but BoomerTowne's menu choices and its "Main Street" layout seem easier. And BoomerTowne has something eons doesn't have.

For as long as you're navigating around BoomerTowne, you're earning points which, unlike other point-earning sites, can actually earn worthwhile prizes (many sites just allow points that earn entries into sweepstakes and such). Almost everything you do there earns points, even clicking on a link, rating a joke or submitting a question. In a couple of hours last night, I earned about 500 points. Now it takes 12,500 points to earn a $25 gift card, so don't expect instant riches :-) I figure that point total is worth about a buck, but the games are fun, many of the articles and links are interesting, and they even have some recognizable experts to whom you can submit questions. For example, their financial expert is Terry Savage, nationally syndicated Chicago Sun-Times personal finance columnist and a regular commentator on CNN, CNBC, PBS and NBC.

So BoomerTowne gets a thumbs up here, and I'll be checking out the rest as a project for this week. So by the end of the week, we should have a significantly heftier list of "Platinum Links." And if you want to join the fun and weigh in with your favorites, here's the link to the PC Magazine article. But you'd better allocate a couple of hours when you do. Judging by BoomerTowne, these sites are hard to pry yourself away from. :-) Bob

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