Hobbyworldunited.com fulfils the social networking gap for ‘Silver Surfers’

According to Age Concern once older
people learn how easy it is to access the worldwide web, they “totally fly” and
two out of five said they couldn’t live without it.

‘Silver Surfers’ are growing in
numbers and skills and spending more time and money on the internet, according
to reports from both AXA and Hitwise. This may well be attributed to a number
of initiatives run by organisations such as Age Concern, Ofcom, & Digital
Unite, heavily supported by BT and Microsoft.

In a recent statement by Heather
Hopkins, Research Director from Hitwise UK, it became apparent that the
only site missing from the top ten most popular sites visited by both young and
old, was social networking site, ‘My Space’.

Social networking website www.hobbyworldunited.com aims to fill
that gap.

Managing Director Chris Leighton
explained “Although Hobbyworldunited.com
is predominantly about sharing the passion of your favourite pastime, it is
rapidly becoming the Silver Surfers ‘My Space’. Members have profile pages, a
blog and the facility to display photos of themselves and their families with
pictures of things they have made or collected. This inspires interaction at a
level that the older generation are more comfortable with.”

Hobbyworldunited.com also provides regular news stories, tips and
ideas from professionals and a direct link to many events and hobby holidays.
For those who would like to sell items they have made, but perhaps find it
difficult to do so locally, the Marketplace offers members free advertising to
buy, sell or swap hobby items.

Alongside the popular forums there
is a personal internal messaging system which enables friendships to develop at
their own pace. Nick Pye, Director, explained “We recognised the need for the
over 50’s to form new friendships centred on shared interests.
Hobbyworldunited.com brings together people from all walks of life who might
otherwise be enjoying their hobby only as a solitary past time. Using a
computer and surfing the internet has itself added to their interests and
provided them with a means to enrich their lives through the huge array of
services available.”

The most recent survey by AXA
discovered that 41% of UK pensioners prefer to use the internet than busy
themselves with activities like DIY or gardening and are taking advantage of
the huge savings in both time and money that the internet offers them.

Today, around 56% of over 50’s in
the UK alone have internet access (approx 9 million people), and initiatives like Digital Unite’s ‘Silver
Surfers Day’ are aimed at all those wishing to learn or improve their media literacy
skills, enabling them to take full advantage of the enormous opportunities
available.

Ms Leighton, who is very nearly a ‘Silver
Surfer’ herself continued “We know
that there are many individual hobby websites, but by catering for so many
hobbies, including computing, for
those who are discovering surfing as a hobby, we offer the ‘one-stop’ community
for friendship, information, connections and maybe even romance.”  Concluding that with the grey pound growing
steadily across the globe, Hobbyworldunited.com also offers a niche target
audience for all suppliers to the hobby industry.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Silver Surfers Day, Friday 25th
May for more information visit www.silversurfersday.org

Age Concern www.ageconcern.org.uk

AXA report visit www.axa.co.uk

Hitwise Uk www.hitwise.co.uk

Press release provided by Chris
Leighton

Managing Director

Hobbyworldunited.com Ltd

PO Box 314

Diss

Norfolk

IP21 4WS

0870 330 2940

Chris.leighton@hobbyworldunited.com