Part 1: A recipe search for "peach pie."

How did a failed search for a "peach pie" recipe become the inspiration for GrandmaBetty.com?
In February 1998 the company I worked for moved to a distant location and I lost my job. My sons Marty and Joe bought me a Web-TV to keep me busy and introduce me to the Internet. Not knowing 'Internet from Schminternet', I typed "peach pie" in the search engine and lo and behold, porno sites with girls named "Peaches!"

Then, I entered "seniors" and again, lo and behold, there were "seniors in H.S., seniors in college and lots of local senior centers around the country." Also, on these sites there were 850,000 to over 1 million sites to go thru. There were also dead sites, and nothing was alphabetized to make it easier to access.

I decided then and there that I was going to devote my life to building the best Senior and grandparenting website in the world. The site would be for seniors and grandparents anywhere in the world and the Internet would be our vehicle to communicate as a group and leverage our real world knowledge. A knowledge base greater than that of any other demographic group.

What a fantastic way to turn a failed search into such an amazing resource for senior Websurfers!
I definitely believe, "If you want it done, do it yourself!" For all the above reasons I decided to keep my own lists to make it easy and fun to get quick access to worthwhile sites without having to constantly surf through hundreds and hundreds of sites.

When I had accumulated pages and pages of what I felt were extremely interesting, valuable and worthwhile sites, I asked my son, Marty - who's a technology professional - if he would put it on the Internet.

He agreed and built a program where I could add the sites alphabetically to the categories (which I felt was a very important feature to make it easy to access.)

When you started your site, did you envision the kind of "recipe for success" it was ultimately going to be?
We sent out a press release in September 1998 and it was instantly and amazingly picked up by newspapers and publications worldwide. It was even more amazing to me as emails started pouring in from all over the world with messages of thanks, praise, site suggestions and many, many inquiries.

I answered and still do answer each and every email I receive. I love doing this and it was so rewarding to know that I was helping so many seniors and grandparents. I never give personal advice...I just send them to the sites where they can find the answers.

How many links do you provide on your page now?
I now have well over 1500 sites on GrandmaBetty and every week I continue to add more sites. (Editor's Note: Grandma Betty also personally researches every single link prior to adding it to the site!)

It sounds like senior Websurfers (your subscribers) are a force to be reckoned with!
I feel that Seniors and Grandparents are a major force on the Internet, growing by leaps and bounds as the 'Baby Boomer' generation approaches this demographic.

Seniors and Grandparents have the time and the resources, and are finding the Internet a wonderful way to communicate with family and friends by e-mail, to access important and timely information, and to communicate with each other and meet new friends through chat rooms and message boards.

Continued...