from cover of The God Interviews by Natalie d’Arbeloff

Natalie d’Arbeloff, artist, cartoonist, author of the amazing The God Interviews and blogger with alter-ego Blaugustine continues to inspire me with her colourful career and many talents, her humour and her energy. Recently she won a prize to be a guest editor for the Guardian newspaper’s Women’s section.

Here’s the first fabulous article she wrote: Where are all the older female geeks. As Natalie invites older women to take up blogging, I’m thrilled and honoured to be one of the listed bloggers; thank you, Natalie!

This week must be a very good one for older women bloggers, as I’ve also been mentioned by Virginia DeBolt at the BlogHer conference blog, thank you!

I’m looking forward to checking out the new blogs I’ve been introduced to by virtue of being in their company in this way, via these connections that are made and woven like a giant web. Like Natalie and Virginia and many bloggers, I am an ambassador of blogging, raving about its benefits and pleasures to everyone. Even after over four years of blogging, I’ve never thought of myself as a geek. Blogging software is enabling and easy after the initial learning curve if you are reasonably competent on a computer, plus I believe that a MAC is easier. I’m fortunate in having a couple of ‘geeky’ family members help me in getting started and with any rare problems that occur that I cannot handle.

If you are a new visitor here thanks to Natalie, the Guardian and Virginia, welcome! If you want to know more about why I blog, you may be interested in reading this interview. For a quick look at some of my art work, please visit the gallery (top left bar). Comments are always welcome and appreciated and I try to respond to each.

Finally, on the subject of older bloggers and issues of aging, I wish to point out Ronni Bennett’s excellent and well-researched blog Time Goes By. Today I learn that she is now contributing occasional articles to the Wall Street Journal on the same subject!

UPDATE June 15th: Thanks to Erika’s comment below, I’m eagerly checking out Came of Age Before Computers, a blog by Nancy Strider, an older female new media artist and geek! To quote her byline:

This website looks at some issues faced by “COABC’s”. These are elders, often our parents, who find themselves isolated on the other side of the digital divide because they came of age before computers. Nancy Strider examines the impact on daily life that results from lack of skills, access – or interest – in electronic tools like computers, email, and cell phones. She also makes positive suggestions for using the internet itself to facilitate a more lively engagement in the face-to-face world.

In contrast, I look at our granddaughters, 7 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old, who are already computer literate!