Back in 2001, Marc Prensky coined the term Digital Immigrants in his article, called “Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives” which was published by NCB University Press (Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001).

The test: Did you grow up using cell phones, email, chat, blogging and social media?

Yes: You are a Digital Native.
No: You are a Digital Immigrant (like me).

Another test: Do you send around email jokes about ‘remember when’ topics?

Yes: You are a Digital Immigrant.
No: You are a Digital Native.

Another test: Do you use your cell phone more for texting than talking?

Yes: You are a Digital Native.
No: You are a Digital Immigrant.

If you are a SUCCESSFUL Digital Immigrant, you probably:

• enjoy learning new things
• readily ask for help
• ask younger people for help
• are willing to try things to find out how they work
• like to do online research
• know how to tell if an online store:
  • is secure
  • has coupons out there for you to mine
  • offering you the best deal
• leave comments on other people’s websites as you see fit
• know how to use the Share widget that is all over the internet
• have a Facebook and/or Twitter account

If you are a MARGINALLY SUCCESSFUL Digital Immigrant, you probably:

• are quite good at what you do off line
• enjoy email immensely
• can surf the internet, but couldn’t start a free blog if your life depended upon it
• can buy things online, but don’t fully trust when they ask for your credit card
• don’t dare use PayPal or online banking
• would benefit from asking for help more often, especially from people who are still in high school or college

Guess what? It doesn’t have to be so hard!

I’m compiling some tips for Immigrant Natives who:

• want to get started with a web site
• don’t want to blow a bunch of money, due to lack of familiarity with the lingo or concepts