Not the designer’s dilemma more the designer’s challenge

Joseph Coughlin, of MIT AgeLab has an interesting posting on his blog about the challenge facing designers when dealing when older people.

He uses the good example of the mobile phone and argues that you can either create a product that is specifically designed for older people. He uses the LG’s Migo VX1000 as an example of this type of product – paradoxically as can be seen it is designed for children rather than older people.I guess that gives substance to the argument that old age is like childhood?

Alternatively, he argues, you can provide the ability to personalise the ‘normal’ phone (i.e. features to enlarge display font size, functionality). He mentions Vodafone, in collaboration with Toshiba, in this context.

I think that Jo has missed out on a third option. It will not come as a surprise to anybody who reads my blog that this option is connected with apps.

His arguments are based on using the existing technology platform. You either use it to create a bespoke simple version or provide it with the functionality to enable it appear less complex than it really is.

The third way is that you abandon the old technology platform and create a new one. This is what has happened with the smartphone and the use of apps. The technology platform is larger in size and the functionality is a step-change easier to use than the old menu driven phones.

Jo raises an important point that he calls the designer’s dilemma.

The older consumer serves as the designer’s acid test of success or failure in resolving the trade-offs of function, form, fun and usability. The explosion of technological capability makes it difficult to resist more function even if the form it takes makes it unusable. If all functions are designed to fit, they must also be designed for ease of use. Greatly reduced function may result in a more usable device, but at the possible risk of not meeting the aspirations of the older consumer and alienating younger buyers. A product obviously designed for the old becomes an ‘old man’s product.’

That’s as far as it goes. What you should add is that the designer’s challenge is to create products where the building block of functionality is easy to use and can be combined with an unlimited number of other building blocks, at the discretion of the user, to create a personalised device (i.e. The foundation of the product is personalisation) . Welcome to the Apple iPhone app. Dick Stroud

Well done BT – what a brilliant age-neutral phone

A couple of weeks back I had to buy a home phone system for an elderly relative.

I liked the Panasonic system that I had recently purchased for myself, with its bright screen and illuminated keypad and thought I might as well buy another.

By pure accident I looked at the BT Freestyle 750. What a great design. All the usual sort of functionality, that few people use, but it does the core applications really well and has a really sensible keypad and display.

Somebody at BT seems to have got the message about universal design. Well done. Dick Stroud

The iPad isn't meant for software geeks. It's meant for Mum and Dad

This article from Forbes “gets it” about the iPad.

It is hilarious reading the some of the criticism about the the iPad's lack of Flash or at USB port. I have got all of these on my laptop. If I need this stuff I will use my laptop.

As somebody who has seen the light about apps it is plain to me that the iPad will mainly be used in relaxed mode. I will use it to watch the occasional video, read a mag, catch-up with the news, maybe check my e-mail, maybe check something out on the web and use lots and lots of apps.

The iPad is the device for when I turn off the desk light, pour a beer and enter the world of semi-work. Not a total turn-off from working but those activities that are more fun to do away from the keyboard. This is coming from somebody who is still wedded to his Dell.

You can only judge the iPad when you put it into to the setting of where it will be used. A device to work out some fiendishly complex Excel pivot table it is not. Think of it as the most intelligent, enthralling and exciting coffee table book that has ever been written. It will be bought in the millions by the 50-plus.

Don’t bother to try and register ipad4boomers.com – I have the domain. Dick Stroud

PS - just discovered this great article about the iPad in Wired

Words of guidance about the design of mobile apps

Some more words of wisdom from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, this time about the design of mobile apps. As with most of Nielsen’s comments they are most definitely worth the read. Here is what he has to say.

Most mobile applications are used only intermittently, so they must be especially easy during initial use. In particular, upfront registration shouldn't be required before users experience an app's benefits.

His "master guideline" remains the same as in 1986: don't port a UI from an old interface paradigm to a new one. In the past, this meant not slapping a GUI on top of something that was inherently a clunky mainframe flow. Now, it means not adding touch-screen access to a desktop-oriented direct manipulation design — users can't touch as precisely as they can click, so the number of manipulable graphical objects should be much smaller (so that each one can be much bigger). This is particularly valid for older users.

Nielsen’s main conclusion from watching iPhone app users is that they suffered much less misery than users in our mobile website tests. In fact, testing people using iPhone apps produced happier outcomes than testing people attempting to use websites on the same phone.

On mobile devices, applications are easier to use than websites. Browser-based sites would be easier to use if designers started following more mobile usability guidelines.

Why are apps better than sites for mobile? Because the more impoverished the device, the more the design must be optimized for the platform's exact abilities, instead of bowing to a cross-platform common denominator. Wise words. Dick Stroud

Mobile apps for Boomers

A month or so ago I launched a test blog that was dedicated to all things to do with mobile apps and older consumers.

I have made a few tweaks, and still have a few more to make, but this is near to the finished format. So as the domain says apps4boomers. Dick Stroud

Apple iPad for boomers and seniors? Could be!

Having read the press report about the iPad the thought that went through my mind is the title of Laurie Orlov’s latest blog posting

We are not alone – this guy in Australia had similar thoughts

Let’s not forget that Steve Jobs is 55 so maybe his design priorities are now inclining towards the older end of the age spectrum. He is not exactly at the "pipe and slippers" stage but not that far away.

I can think of lots of reasons why the iPad will not work but I would love the job of positioning it to the older market.

Somehow I doubt if older people were high up on the list of targeted sectors but Apple might be in for a shock. Cannot wait to see a demographic breakdown of the sales figures at the end of the first year. Dick Stroud

Do you have an iPhone and want to follow my Blog/YouTube/Twitter postings

Thanks to some great work by the guys at MotherApp I am the proud possessor of my own iPhone app. If you want to view it you MUST have iTunes installed and to use it you need an iPhone or iPod touch.

An exercise in vanity – probably. But I think it shows how simple it is for companies to add value to what they do and make it accessible via a mobile app. Cripes, if I can do it surely any company wanting to engage the 50-plus can do the same.

Final plug for the excellent work done by MotherApp.

I promise this is the last mobile app posting for a few days. Honestly. Dick Stroud

57 million iPhones worldwide = lots of 50-plus users

Those of you who can remember the heady days of the dot.com era will know the name of Mary Meeker. She was guru, par excellence, about all things digital. Well she is still at it and has recently directed a study about the Mobile Internet for Morgan Stanley (Dec 15, 2009). She studied the rate of change spurred by the iPhone and all of the technologies and services it has spawned.  Here is just one of her observations.

It took Apple 2 years and 3 months to reach 57 million users, compared to 5 years for Docomo to reach 40M, Netscape 4 years to reach 50M. The trajectory for Apple is very steep at this time. Smartphone, in aggregate, will grow from 288M in 2008 to over 1B units by 2013.

You can read more about this report on the MotherApp blog.

Two months ago, BusinessWeek called it the “App Economy”. Prediction is that there will be 300,000 apps on the Apple App Store in a year.

My friends and colleagues seem amazed that I am so excited about the potential of mobile apps. Hopefully these factlets help explain the reason.

Anybody who thinks this has nothing to do with marketing to the older consumer is crazy! Dick Stroud

Why mobile apps and older people are made for each other

The first days of a New Year, in a new decade, demands a new blog. What better subject to blog about than apps - those bundles of functionality that are fast going to be the norm on our mobile phones?

The combination of smart new mobile hardware and operating systems, 3G, GPS, motion detection, zillions of data feeds, speech and character recognition all tied up in a bow using apps development toolkits makes for the most exciting technology breakthrough since we typed our first http://www.

As usual this new technology is seen as being only appropriate to the young, who are thought to be synonymous with early adopters. I am not so sure. Mobile apps provide companies with massive opportunities to provide benefit (in exchange for money) to highly targeted audiences.

We are not just talking about building ‘profitable’ apps but creating them to be bundled into the very core of other products and services.

In 12 months we will look at the today’s apps as primitive first attempts. For those of you who can remember, they will be like watching a data transmission using a 56k modem and thinking it was fantastic and couldn’t be bettered.

So here we go. The blog is up and going. I would love to hear about any apps or features of smartphones that you think are particularly useful for older people or are intrinsically age-friendly. Enjoy. Dick Stroud

Time to read the tea leaves

It’s that time of year where you cannot open a newspaper without reading predictions for 2010 and rationalisations of 2009. I thought that enough had been written about 2009 but it might be interesting to speculate about the coming 12 months – from the perspective of the things that will be important when marketing to older people.

So what issues will keep the 50-plus marketer awake at night in eager anticipation or dread? My top five – not in any particular order are:

Technology 1. The combination of smart new mobile hardware and operating systems, 3G, GPS, motion detection, zillions of data feeds, speech and character recognition all tied up in a bow using apps development toolkits makes for the most exciting thing since we typed our first http://www. 2010 will be the start of era of 50-plus apps that will create fantastic new marketing opportunities.

Technology 2. Web video is still on a rapid upward trajectory. In 2009 it went from being something of a novelty to a media format that all web sites had to consider using. 2010 will see the use of Web video as an effective format to communicate with older consumers, really come of age (excuse the pun).

Technology 3. Social networking is here to stay but is becoming something of a bore. Back at the beginning of recorded time e-mail was exciting and something worth talking about – not any more, other than to moan about the time it consumes. I reckon that generic social networking sites are going the same way. The higher income 50-plus pretty much mirror the usage patterns of the Web. Sure they will retain their Linkedin and Facebook accounts but so what?

Advertising. For years I have been saying that: “this is the year when advertising becomes more age-neutral.” Why break the habit of a lifetime and say it again. Honestly, I do detect that the message is slowly getting through that advertising creative has to expand outside its Yoof-centric ghetto, if for no other reason than the barrage of news that shows the levels of youth unemployment – boomerang kids, dependence on “bank mum and dad” etc etc. Yoof is having a tough time and has lost its lure for advertisers. This brings us to the number one issue.
The really biggie.

The Recession. The perilous state of the economy in the UK, much of Europe and the US is scary. 2010 is going to be a turning point – unfortunately I am not convinced that it is turning in the right direction. At best it will be dreadful. At worst – you don’t want to know. If you want the gory details then have a read of Robert Peston’s 31st December blog. Peston is the BBC’s head economics journalist.

One thing for sure is that for marketers, willing to think outside the box and have the guts to take chances, there will be lots of opportunities for relieving the 50-plus of their hard earned cash.

Happy New Year. Dick Stroud.

Do 60% of older women really want electronic gadets for Xmas

According to a poll, conducted by Logitech, of 1,500 over 50s women, it appears that 58% want items like iPods, MacBooks and laptops for Xmas. I can find no trace of the research on the Logitech web site so you will have to take their word for it. Of course you don’t know how the questions were asked and what other options were given. Maybe a MacBook sounded a better option than having Xmas lunch with Mr & Mrs Brown. Who can tell?

Anecdotal evidence suggests the overall gist of the conclusion are right but I would be surprised if nearly 60% of older women have a tech gadget at top of their Xmas wish list. Dick Stroud

Intel Reader – this has lots of potential

I am not going to waste the words explaining this device – just look at the video.

If you have $1,500 you can buy yourself one of these Intel Readers. Somehow I doubt if Intel will sell too many, but I doubt if that is the point of the project.

Just imagine this technology embedded in smaller, multi-purpose devices, like mobile phones. It is not beyond the wit of man to see the thing becoming part of your reading glasses. A fascinating development. Dick Stroud

A good insight into the 50-plus’s attitude towards technology

Earlier this year, 60 people gathered for dinner and after-dinner discussions about their attitudes toward, use of and expectations for technology. The lengthy sessions were in four cities: San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago and New York. The participants ranged in age from 50 to 60. The event was sponsored by AARP and Microsoft.

The recordings of those conversations have been sifted and distilled, and the results published in a report called “Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation.”

I have to say that this is not the easiest document to read and to translate into “so what” conclusions.

The bottom line conclusions seem to be that this group were generally enthusiastic about techno gadgets and the use of technology that improves their dealings with the health care industry (e.g. electronic health records) and the ability to interface with their doctor online.

A repeated complaint was that products were cluttered with too many features that they were never likely to use. This is the joy of Apple's iPhone, it is a truly “feature on demand” product.
Worth downloading the report. Dick Stroud

The Watch or the Phone – who will win?

Are watches destined to the technology dustbin of history? Is a product that survived the trauma of the clockwork to electronic revolution going to be replaced by the mobile phone?

Let me declare a personal interest. I really like watches. For me there is no better example of the power of branding than the luxury watch. You can go and buy a watch that keeps perfect time and spend less than $5 or you can buy a product, that is no better at time-keeping, for $50,000 (and a lot more).

The branding strategy of Rolex, Cartier, IWC and the other host of weird sounding names is simple – your watch is a statement of you. Classy watch, classy person.

Have you noticed that you don’t see that many young people wearing watches? Since the mobile phone is rarely a nano second out of their attention, why bother. For many the phone is the primary emblem of status so why bother with a watch ?

Of course watches are not going to be gone anytime soon but I reckon they are under threat.

With this argument in mind I was amused to see that Tag Heurer has launched a phone, with a watch function and LG a watch that is also a mobile phone.

It will be interesting to see how things work out. Dick Stroud

Apple iPhone Apps for oldies?

On what I suspect will be the inevitable migration to Apple I have just started using an Apple iPhone. What can I say? It is an amazing device. Beautiful interface, both on the device and the computer, with the marvellous innovation of access to zillions of Apps.

I thought I would have a look around and see what has been written about the iPhone and older users.

Mmm, maybe there is a shed load of stuff out there but the only thing of substance I could find was by Mark Sigal where he discusses why an Apple Tablet, if it is ever launched, would be more useful to Boomers than an iPhone.

The basis of his argument is the iPhone is physically too small for older fingers and eyes. From my personal experience, this is not true, but then my basic law of marketing tells me never to extrapolate the universe of the market from your own experience.

I had a look around to see if there were any Apps for older people. No success.

I feel sure that somebody has really researched this subject, if so, can you tell me where to look.
If indeed none of the 50,000 Apps are aimed at making life easier, amusing, safer, exciting, inclusive ….. for people with physiological ageing issues – like 50% of the population – then it seems to me that there is one hell of market waiting to be attacked. Am I right or am I right?

Sure, many of the Apps are age neutral but are any targeted at older users? Dick Stroud

Technology adoption and age

The Cable & Telecommunications Association has just published some research about the uptake of online services in the US.

It concludes that those 65+ using the Internet use it a lot and in a wide range of ways. I think we pretty much knew this but it is always nice to see a bit more evidence supporting this view.

The report contains a nice image showing the uptake of various types of technology by age group. Again, nothing new but some facts from a different source. Dick Stroud

Simplicity - a new computer for oldies

Full marks to Discount Age, the company that has launched the Simplicity computer. A wise choice of celebrity ensured that this new computer got a lot of radio and television exposure.

This 'simple' computer costs a bit more than your standard PC but for this you get an open source based computer with the Eldy software that hides all of the techno gunk allowing the user to get on with their simple applications of e-mail, browsing, printing etc. You also get a pile of videos showing you to use the thing.

It will be interesting to see how then venture gets on. My bet is that if somebody hasn’t bought a computer by now then this new product will not be enough for them to get out their credit card. Maybe it will be attractive children to buy one for their parent’s Xmas? The declared market for the product is the 50-plus. I don't think so, much more likely to be that group of the 70-plus who have tried to get their heads around using a PC but gave up but who still have a real requirement to be online - probably to keep in contact with their family.

The new computer is interesting, but I was more fascinated by the parent company, that sells a newsletter (£10/year) providing discount opportunities for the over -60s.

There are a lot of people trying to attack this market. Way back in 2007 I talked with Daniel Wilson when he started seniors discounts. It is amazing how this has grown. At one stage he tried to charge for membership but it appears as if this has now been dropped. I think Val Singleton and her friends might discover the problem for all people trying to charge for content – including the 50-plus - is the expectation that content is free. Dick Stroud

Spending on the Xmas holiday season in the US looks grim

If you haven’t subscribed to the Boomer Project newsletter you should.

In the most recent edition it has the results of their research into the spending intentions of Americans for the holiday season.

Not good as you can see (click to enlarge image). As the newsletter says: “We have seen the future and it stinks for retailers, except for the discounters.” Happy Xmas. Dick Stroud

Watch out iPhone HTC is about

I like this new advertising campaign promoting yet another smartphone.

HTC (a Taiwanese manufacturer) has ads running across 20 countries as it makes its first foray into advertising with the tagline: "You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you.”

From the imagery of the ads they appear to be primarily aimed at the young, however, I reckon they will have a resonance with the tech-savvy and tech-interested parts of the older market.

The ad and a presentation about the phone are shown above. It is also worth reading the take on the campaign in Brand Channel. It hadn’t struck me, but apparently there has been some confusion, in the mind of the consumer, between the word “You” and a similar ad campaign for Yahoo. HTC has begun to replace the “O” in “You” with a smartphone.

The reason I reckon it will ring bells the 50-plus is that the product’s pitch is that it complements consumers “just they way they are” (echoes of Bridget Jones), rather than offer a product that will make them a better person: more responsive, better organized, less cluttered etc etc.

A gutsy campaign. Dick Stroud.

The Google Phone marketing campaign

Chuck Nyren has an excellent blog posting about the marketing campaign for the Google mobile phone. It is age neutral but there are a few buts. Dick Stroud

Everywhere I look I find phones for oldies

I open the Spectator (UK magazine with a 50-plus biased readership) and what do I find? The magazine's shop is selling the Doro “Big Button “phone.

A couple of minutes later I come upon the Emporia.

For ages nobody was interested in the half blind, clumsy fingered 50-plus and now everybody wants to get in on the action. Dick Stroud

A rant against technology vendors

I really enjoy reading Laurie Orlov’s blog (Aging in Place Watch). Her most recent posting really made me laugh. It begins.

This is a rant. I am tired of youth-oriented tech vendors with their back-to-school laptops. I am tired of how clumsy and non-intuitive most computing technologies are -- especially home networks.

I am convinced that vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel, and Microsoft must be populated with thirty-somethings who design products for themselves and their inner geek. (Gee, why have a device that can be plugged in and just works? Instead, why don't we just add these 14 configuration steps?). So it has always been thus and so perhaps will always be.

But with so many boomers who insist on staying put in their homes and who have more disposable income (even accounting for the recession assault on their portfolios) why not make and market home technology for them?

These are not the words of a techno phobic oldie but from a leading industry analyst who worked for Forrester Research. Keep it up Laurie. Dick Stroud

Digidads from Sony

Sony has teamed up with some high profile dads who are avid bloggers and is launching a three-month DigiDad project. Each participant will be loaned Sony products and given different assignments that capture their family experiences using the products. Yawn.

That’s about all Sony is saying of the venture at this stage. This video shows one of the Digidads strutting his stuff.

This got me thinking. How about digigrandparents. Come on Sony, Panasonic… forget this Gen X bunch who are in state of recession angst – goto the guys with the loot – the grandparents. Dick Stroud

Tech advice for living to 100 and enjoying life when you get there

A good item in the Aging in Place Technology Watch blog. This posting references the Evercare 100@100 Survey that takes an anecdotal look at today’s centenarians and provides a snapshot of the lives and lifestyles of those who achieve and surpass the100-year-old milestone.

I must register the domain 50plus50. Dick Stroud

iPod for Oldies

I saw this ad in The Spectator magazine.

This is the UK’s right of centre weekly mag for grumpy oldies of the Attila the Hun persuasion.

What better place to put this ad? I thought it was amusing that the company changed the ad title from the tag line on the Web site - "iPod for Old Boys".

The company (Past Perfect) has a really good looking web site. Not sure about the ad but the product concept looks good. Dick Stroud

The Kindle is a great product for the older consumer

The Aging in Place Technology Watch blog has an interesting post about Amazon’s Kindle.

It quotes the CNET research that found that that 50% of the people usign Kindles are 50-plus and 27% were 60+. This was not the most scientific of surveys but it made me think.

Who would want a light product that could hold numerous books at a font size that was suitable to reader and with an illumination that is user controlled and will next have the ability to convert the text to sound? I wonder. I wonder who that would appeal to?

Unfortunately it looks like us Brits will have to wait until Xmas to get our hands on the device. Dick Stroud

A really excellent blog

I have referenced the Aging in Place Technology Watch blog a couple of times.

It really is an excellent place to learn all about the developments in technology aimed at assisting older people.

Laurie Orlov, the person behind the blog is a tech industry veteran, who clearly knows what she is talking about and who writes in a most engaging way.

If you register on the site you can download the Technology of Aging in Place market overview report. Well worth doing. Dick Stroud

Go Computer Part 2

A few days ago I wrote about the launch of computer aimed at older people. At that stage there was not that much detail available. This blog posting from the excellent Aging in Place Technology Watch blog gives a much more detailed account and review of the product. Dick Stroud

It might make Microsoft try a bit harder

Back in February I was berated by a lady from Microsoft for suggesting the company wasn’t doing very much to help people suffering from the physiological effects of ageing.

I was wrong and I listed some of the things the company was doing to make using computers a little easier. I think the real problem is that few people know about the existence of these features.

The launch of the Go Computer might make MS think a little harder about this issue. The product provides:

• large-letter keyboard
• easy-rolling trackball mouse
• zoom feature that magnifies up to 200%

These are the easy bits that anybody could add to a computer. The thing that might make it really different - beware the devil’s in the detail - is a:

New operating system based on a "GO" screen concept, backed up by immediate phone access to around-the-clock U. S.-based remote service and assistance.
A computer you can’t break, crash or confuse; a computer that won’t lose what’s put into it, and that’s protected from viruses and spam! Welcome to the world of a failure-free and fear-free computer.

Guess we will have to wait and see just how easy the product really is to use. It is not cheap $800 and I would expect a lot of "ease of use" at this price. Dick Stroud

Vendors who should target boomers and seniors

If you are interested in the role of technology for the older person then visiting Laurie Orlov’s Ageing in Place Technology blog is a must.

This posting is typical of the style and content that you find on this blog. Orlov makes the case why tech vendors should get their act together and realise that they are already selling a pile of product to an older consumer and if they diverted a fraction of their Yoof marketing budget they might sell a lot more.

Companies discussed are Adobe, Cisco, iRobot, Sony, AMD, Apple, Dell and Verizon. Dick Stroud

Inaccessible Sky accessible remote control

I recently attended an event where Sky was presented with an award for producing an accessible remote control for its satellite TV service. It was great to see a company that sells to a multi-age market taking accessibility so seriously.

Yesterday I was recounting this story to a neighbour who thought the control sounded just what they needed.

OK, here is your mental exercise for the day. Have a look at the Sky web site and tell me where you can find any details about the device and how it can be ordered.

You have got 5 mins. Clock ticking.

Maybe it was staring me in the face but I couldn’t find any reference to the device. It’s not good enough for a company to tackle one part of the accessibility problem without following it through to all parts of the sales and support channel. Dick Stroud

Accessibility can be a selling feature

A couple of weeks back I gave a presentation at an event that was hosted by Microsoft. During the Q&A period the subject moved to how well/bad consumer electronics companies, including software suppliers, cater for the problems of physiological ageing.

As is my wont I made an all encompassing statement that I thought they didn’t give a damn.

This didn’t go down too well with the people in the room from these companies. Needless to say the Microsoft host was having none of it and promised to send me details of the things that MS is doing. She was as good as her word and sent me the following links.

Developer Centre of accessibility

MS main page about accessibility

Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology—Introduction

The Assistive Technology Research Institute (ATRI) – a source of information about assistive technology and universal design.

I was also recommended to have a read of Abrahams Accessibility blog that is all about the accessibility and usability subject.

Clearly MS has given a lot of thought to this issue. I guess the problem is that not that many people know about them.

This was illustrated the previous week when spent some time at PC World, one the of the UK’s largest retail computer suppliers, with an 80 year old neighbour who wanted to buy a laptop. This lady is very smart and computer literate but has eyesight and dexterity issues.

As we roamed along the rows of laptops a couple of members of staff came to help and I asked if they could change the display settings and activate any other features to improve the accessibility. I didn’t think the store would like fiddling around with the settings otherwise I would have done it myself.

Not one of the staff knew what to do. I like the staff in the store, they are helpful and considerate but clearly have had no training on what to do to if confronted by and older person. Looking around the store I reckon that a quarter of the customers were 65+. Dick Stroud

Tom and I see it the same way

There is a lot being published about consumer electronics in the wake of the show in Las Vegas. Any market analyst worth their salt will have a report about the market.

A couple of the gurus have discovered something that I suspect most people reading this blog have known for years. For example:

Increasingly savvy baby boomers--who are 100 million strong in the U.S. and control billions in disposable income--could be the target for tech marketers during the next few years, according to a joint study by TNS Compete and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). So says MediaPost

According to Forrester Research, U.S. adults 64 and older who bought technology in a recent three-month period spent an average $365 on consumer electronics products and $429 on computer hardware and peripherals. And Forrester points out that Americans 55 to 64 are more active in online finance, shopping and entertainment than those under 55.

This revelation has obviously got under the skin of the great man himself – Tom Peters. This is a quote from his blog

I repeat in this Blog for the Umpteenth Time: The Mother of All Markets for

Approximately Everything for the next quarter-century is the deeply underappreciated, insanely underserved Boomer-Geezer clan of 100 million or so in the U.S. alone. (Then add the Super-silver EU and Super-silver Japan, and the story grows even more important.)

"Silver Summit"?
This market is not about "silver initiatives."
This market is the market—the rest is details.

He is so right. That is just what I have been saying. Cripes, how arrogant. Thanks to Tom Troland for telling me about the Peter’s post. Dick Stroud

Research about digital Europe

A couple of big meaty research reports were published last week about all things digital.

EIAA Mediascope Europe 2008 tells you all you want to know about why people are using digital stuff. It is particularly useful if you want to know what 25-34 year olds are doing online. The 35+ are grouped into ‘other’.

Ofcom’s report is much more thorough and covers countries outside Europe.

I think both reports fall into that category of: “they look interesting, just the sort of thing I should keep.” In 12 months time when you decide to tidy-up your files they find their way into the recycle bin unread. Dick Stroud

"Out of the Box" Xmas cheer for Baby Boomers

When I first read this headline I wondered what area of ‘cheer’ this product would create. My lewd mind took me in a different direction to what is being offered.

Support.com is providing the perfect Xmas gift for my many friends who see me as their free technical help desk. You can now buy a gift token that your technically challenged friends and family can use to purchase remote tech support. As the press release says: “Take the Hassle out of High-Tech Gifts by Giving the Gift of Remote Tech Support”.

If the service was available in the UK I would be a customer. Dick Stroud

A new lifestyle group - The middle-aged simplifier

This item appears on the Harvard Business Review forum web site. The author, Professor John Quelch, is a mighty distinguished academic. I think he is onto something with his contention that a result of the economic gloom will be a change in priorities (for some) from purchasing stuff to seeking and buying experiences.

Luxury household goods manufactures beware!

Quelch reckons that people displaying this lifestyle choice have four characteristics.

• They perceive that they have more stuff than they need.
• They want to collect experiences, not possessions.
• Stuff embarrasses them.
• Their wealth is so assured that it no longer requires conspicuous display.

Against a background of austerity for the masses it might be cool to have a decluttered lifestyle.

This is a quote from the article

These are the consumers who are now trading in their sport-utility vehicles. They include the empty-nester baby-boomers, less confident than before, who are tired of heating unused spaces in cavernous mansions, now preferring smaller houses with architectural character and intimate spaces, more charm and less maintenance.

Their families are scattered, unable to share conveniently the family holiday home and often unwilling to inherit the burden of something they will never use. The new economy has made it even easier for consumers to get rid of their stuff. The high-tech equivalents of the yard sale, electronic auction sites, bring Simplifiers together with those who are yet to catch the habit.

I know people like this. I hear these sorts of views from focus groups. I think they have always existed but are increasing in numbers.

How big the group is I don’t know but its existence is undeniable. Dick Stroud

The Genetic Early Adopters

Most of the time, people predicting the future provide simplistic extrapolations of today’s trends.

I reckon this development is truly amazing and could genuinely lead to whole new industries within a decade.

This month Knome (based in Cambridge, MA) handed out the first of its precious products: an engraved silver box housing a USB drive. On the drive, protected by encryption software, was the sequence of the recipient's entire genome, a proprietary analysis of his genetic risks for disease, and software for browsing the data.

Anybody with $350,000 to spare and an adventurous spirit can now have his or her own genome sequenced.

Knome has not yet disclosed the number of people who have signed up for its service but it aims to sequence 20 genomes this year.

This article in Technology Review is really worth reading since it provides a lot more insights into personal genome sequencing developments.

But just consider this. If it costs $350,000 today, what is it likely to cost in 5 or 10 years time? Most certainly it will be a sum that is well within the spending range of most people. Also, think of the volume of new software developments these developments will stimulate and hence the increased range of uses of the raw data.

There you are – a trip to the local drug store for your personalised medicine all thanks to the USB stick equivalent that is dangling on your key ring. Think this is a fantasy? Have a read of this. Dick Stroud

For all unpaid help desk employees

If you are one of those people (like me) who provides friends and family with a free PC help desk service then this will interest you – especially if your friends are 55+.

HiWired, a US remote support company, is offering the 55+ a 20% discount on their services. This is all part of “Grandparent’s Day” but is clearly a simple way of targeting an older demographic.

I am amazed that there have not been more companies providing this type of service to all age groups. I guess the problem is the cost of the service. When my friends can get me for nothing why pay a company a fee? Dick Stroud

Selling electronics to the 50-plus

50connect is one of the longest standing “50-plus” UK web sites. Its media blurb says it has 58,000 registered users and receives zillions of unique visitors and page impressions.

What interested me was to receive this e-mail trying to sell me a flat screen TV with a built-in PVR. I find this really encouraging that somebody has at long last realised that the 50-plus buy a lot of TVs and you might as well sell to them. Dick Stroud

Selling 'heritage' products

A large chunk of the UK album market in 2008 has been claimed by deeply unfashionable 'heritage' artists who still ring the bells of the 50 and 60 plus audience. Characters like Marty Wilde (69) and Joe Brown (67), and the late Billy Fury, have all had record releases. The Temptations were back in the Top 10 in March and the Searchers narrowly missed making it.

All of those titles were released by Universal Music TV, part of Universal.

The term “50 quid man” has been around for ages and is generally perceived as a music-monthly-reading fortysomething, making repeated impulse purchases to replace his old David Bowie vinyl with CDs or even download equivalents.

The consumers of this real oldie music are very different and thought to be much older, with lots of dosh and rather out of the habit of spending it on music.

This article in the Times tells the tale of how this forgotten group of consumers has been persuaded back into music buying habits with lots of lessons for other “heritage” products. Dick Stroud

The disaster that is BT’s customer support

I have always been pro-BT. I have never had any problems with my broadband connection and although I occasionally have issues with my WiFi services (OpenZone) these are always quickly resolved. Who could ask for more?

Several of my chums have had problems and have been forced into the grips of BT’s “Customer Care”. I think both have now recovered, but they keep recalling: “I thought I was losing the will to live” and “I am now much better for taking the Prozac”. I had always assumed that they exaggerated and were partly to blame. How wrong I was. How wrong I was.

As I started my quest to sort out the problem it quickly became apparent that it was going to be a long and depressing task. I had to get something positive from the experience so decided to analyse BT’s performance from a marketing / customer care perspective. In particular, what BT must do to improve things for its older customers?

For readers who want to know the nature of the problem, see the description at the end of this blog post – the problem is not the issue, but rather BT’s amazingly inept way of trying to solve it.

Don’t worry I am not going to give a blow by blow account – just the relevant stuff.

Once I realised I had a problem I did the usual thing - researched it using BT's web site and Google and sent an e-mail detailing the issue to the BT Broadband Technical Support team. Things were looking good. I received a rapid automatic response, logging the problem and providing links that might help resolve the problem. So far so good.

Less than 50 mins latter I get a ‘personalised’ response.

I am sorry to know that you are not getting the kind of connectivity that you expect from the broadband. I totally understand how important it is for you to have a stable and speedier broadband connection. I will assist you to the best of my ability to resolve your issue.
I would like to inform you that, I am sorry to know that you are not getting the kind of connectivity that you expect from the broadband. I totally understand how important it is for our customers to have a stable and speedier broadband connection.
These duplicated sentences are then followed by the 101 guide to troubleshooting a broadband connection.

No mention of the very specific questions I had asked. Not very impressed.

I reply saying that I have done all of these basic steps and will they please answer my specific question.

My e-mail is returned saying that BT does not accept e-mails with attachments. But all I done was to reply to their e-mail! The idiots were sending e-mails in html format that appeared to contain an attached that was then rejected when the customer responded.

Two more e-mail exchanges – no attempt to answer my question. And then the phone rings and a gentleman from India says he is phoning to help solve my problem. Well that is what I thought he said. After a 5 mins of a call, during which I must have asked they poor guy to repeat the last sentence at least 10 times it was clear we were getting nowhere.

We have 2-3 more calls and 4-5 more e-mails. All that is happening is the guy is going through a simple fault checklist, all of which I have already done. Enough is enough. I ask to speak to one of their technical people. After spending lots of time on hold we agree a time when the technical expert will call.

True to their word the call comes. A highly educated Indian lady then goes through the same 101 guide again and refuses point blank to answer my questions. From the discussion it is clear that she really doesn’t understand what I am talking about. After 15 mins of frustrating dialogue I suggest we call it a day. She then sweetly says: “is there any other problem I can help you with today”. End of call. Stiff Scotch - no water. Blood pressure gauge shows that all is not well. Decide to stop.

So what did BT do wrong – other the obvious of annoying me so much that I spent the time creating this post:

1. The process ignored the customer and only permitted them to respond to the pre-determined questions that were flashing on the screen in front of the call centre operative.

2. The process was amateurish. The quality of the text in the e-mails lacked any sense of understanding of the customer’s position and was often misleading/ambiguous. E-mails were generated in a format that was then rejected when the customer responded.

3. Lack of training of the operatives in how to speak on the phone to people who might have hearing issues – I would guess 50% of customers would experience problems hearing what was being said.

4. The text in the ‘help’ is laden with jargon and is ambigous

5. I would guess that the operatives were given little training in understanding BT’s product, which explains their total reliance on the pr-prepared scripts.

6. There was no process for escalating the call, when it was clear that the operative could not provide a satisfactory answer.

7. Perhaps it was just me, but I sensed the whole process was geared to find a possible problem that could be blamed on the customer. In my case, after the long talk with the technical expert her best advice was that I go and purchased a new cable.

How is possible for BT to create such a nightmare of a customer care operation? Well my suspicion is that in a booming market, that is not renowned for providing its customers with good care, BT has minimised the cost of the process and calculates that it is more profitable to lose customers than to increase the cost of care. What that says about BT and the value it places upon the value of its brand I leave for you to judge.

Technical note.
The problem I have (still not resolved) is that the IP profile for my broadband account has been reduced to 135 kbps – it should be between 4- 5 Mb. The result is my transmission speed is greatly reduced. I suspect that this was due to a major fault on the line but the same low IP profile remains in place even after the fault has been resolved. Hence when the line is tested it shows it to be working OK.

Would anybody from BT like to comment upon this mess? Dick Stroud

Phones and Internet advertising

Two things caught my eye this morning in the deluge of over-night e-mails.

The value of internet advertising in the UK will overtake that of TV adverts by 2009, says the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Now this organisation has a vested interest in talking-up the value of Internet advertising but if this is even close to be the truth it is an amazing shift in the way companies are spending their advertising bucks. The BBC is reporting the news item. Even more important that companies understand the way that older people respond to online advertising. Very, very few do.

The other thing is to do with mobile phones.

A company called Clarity (part of Plantronics) is launching a phone aimed at the hard of hearing and gadget-adverse older person. The trouble with these ‘simple’ phones is that they all look so horrible. Surely you can make a simple and attractive phone. Maybe not. Dick Stroud

Rip van Winkle awakes!!

Deloitte Touche published an annual report giving its predictions about Technology, Media and Telecommunications. This year one of its predictions is titled: “Gray is good”. How do they come up with these names?

The report doesn’t say anything that readers of this blog will not already know, but it is interesting to see that a large consultancy has finally woken up to the potential of adapting and selling technology to older people.

This article from Canada is also worth reading about the persistent youth-centric nature of the mobile phone industry. Dick Stroud

Another daft assumption dismissed

A report, commissioned by JISC and the British Library, counters the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ (as the report calls them) – young people born or brought up in the Internet age – are the most adept at using the web.

The research shows that although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.

It is a bit like saying that because an 18 year-old knows how to use an ipod means they are technology competent. All it means is that they know where to plug in the earphones and how to make the thing work. Not exactly a comprehensive measure of technology excellence.

Most young people I know, probably rightly, take the attitude I don’t care how it works as long as it does. Where older people often appear technology slow is that they keep asking questions like: “why is it called desktop” and “how does a web site know that I have visited it before” and “why is called a cookie”.

As a matter of fact: “why is it called a cookie” – “do wikis have cookies” – “when does a multiple access blog become a wiki”? Dick Stroud

Media consumption in the US

Here is an interesting factlet. By 2010, adults 35 and older will spend nearly $3.5 trillion a year. Of that the 45-plus are forecast to spend over $2.6 trillion (Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Wolf Resource Group).

Another factlet. People aged 25 to 54 spend the most time at work or at home on the Internet a week (7.3 hours). That's more than young adults aged 18 to 34 (5.1 hours) or teens 12 to 17 years old (3.4 hours). (Turner Broadcast System chief research officer, Jack Wakshlag, citing Nielsen Media Research data). So much for the young being the “Internet Generation”.

Final factlet. 42% of YouTube users are 35 to 54 years old and that 19% are over 55. The 12-17 year olds make up only 20% of YouTube users.

These an a lot more interesting things about age, technology and media can be found in this article from Broadcasting Newsroom. Dick Stroud

A mobile phone with a difference

I didn’t write about this mobile phone when it was launched in Japan back in March 2007.Can't think why.

DoCoMo’s F883i is designed for people who mainly want to use their phone for talking(code for being older). Here are some of the interesting features:

Automatic adjustment of the voice and ringtone volume based on surrounding noise levels

'Slow Voice' slows down the other person's voice speed

'Read Aloud' reads out the name of the caller

'Simple Mail Generation' offers templates for quick replies to e-mails

If that is not all the phone comes with a Pedometer. Other than this last feature I reckon this sounds great. I want one. Dick Stroud

Sony’s consumer technology ads

I know the astronaut ad has been around for some time and it has been on my ‘to do list’ to write about. Well here it is along with Sony’s most recent Bravia ad.
I reckon this would make a great exam question: “Compare and contrast Sony’s advertising creative for two consumer technology products”.

Clearly, the astronaut creative has a simple message assumption about age, fitness and technology. I wonder what was in the minds of the Bravia creative team when they thought about the animation ad and how it would play with older people, who must make-up a significant group of their target customers.

From the research I did with OMD I guess that this add would have a positive impact on less than 20% of the 50-plus. Fortunately these are the ones most likely to buy the product. Dick Stroud

Tech companies start to follow the money

Not often do you get CNET talking about technology and the 50-plus. The host of tech companies exhibiting at the recent AARP national conference prompted the publication into action.

Here are a few of the factlets/quotes that caught my eye.

"Nintendo changed our company strategy about two years ago to try to go after what we considered an expanding audience. We'll of course still market to (people) under the age of 25, but as an industry it's getting stagnant. So we set off with the DS and Wii to go after expanding from the age of 25 up to 70" (Senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Nintendo)

Nintendo has partnered with building firm Dell Webb to have its systems incorporated into the club houses and lounges in their over-50 communities. It's also partnered with Norwegian Cruise Lines to make Nintendo available on flat-screen TVs in the ship lounges. Now that really is interesting.

Google was present at the AARP convention, registering visitors for Gmail accounts and demonstrating how they can be customized. Microsoft was also present, giving demonstrations of Vista – poor sods. The company was also demonstrating its Xbox 360. "If you gave a new Xbox to your grandmother and grandfather and gave them the manual, they could have it set up in 10 minutes. Why do they need a DVD player and CD player and TiVo when (they've) got everything here?" (Lead software development test engineer on Microsoft's Xbox team).

At long last it seems that the youth obsessed marketing of tech companies is waking up to the reality of the ageing population. Dick Stroud

Redefining a product class to a new class of consumers

I bet you will never guess what these people have in common.

Every now and then you encounter a company that really tries and redefines how its class of product is seen in the market. If you are selling something that somebody would prefer not to buy – more importantly to own up to buying – then you might as well go for broke in the way you portray the product.

The product class of “Hearing aids” just doesn’t have an appealing ring to it, does it? How about Personal Communications Assistant (PGA) – much better.

I have already blogged about the Audéo PGA but having just visited the site I thought it was worth some more comment.

I think it is great. Not necessarily the web design, although that aint bad, but for the sheer – sorry but I can’t think of a better word – balls of the copy and imagery.

It starts with this great phrase: “hearing is inversely proportional to your life experience” and builds on this throughout the site. If you have lived life to the full you are probably a bit hard of hearing.

Yep, the three people in the image are all examples of Audeo customers. I really do wish this company well. Dick Stroud

Don’t know your SCART from a SACD?

The UK’s Office of Communications has just published a report: “Ease of use issues with domestic electronic communications equipment”.

This is a must read for anybody involved in domestic consumer electronics. In the report’s own words.

The audit found that consumers encounter ease of use issues at every stage of interaction with communications equipment. They may not understand what marketing terminology means and therefore be unsure about what to purchase. They may not feel confident about how to connect and set up devices, or fear “breaking” complex equipment if an error message appears or the device stops working normally. All of these, and more, are usability issues.

Needless to say, the report highlights the particular problems encountered by older people and the industry's total lack of concern and willingness to do anything about it. Dick Stroud

Firms snub 'mobile for elderly

According to the BBC, UK stores are refusing to stock a mobile handset aimed at the elderly because it "fails to fit their customer target", says the phone's distributor.

Charities for the elderly have accused the mobile industry of ageism.

"We are in discussion with a number of retailers, but particularly when it comes to the mobile networks, they find it hard to see where this kind of device fits within their brand," said the MD of the UK distributor.

"Currently they're very much driven by the youth market or the business sector because that's where they make their revenue. It's difficult to see where a product like this would fit within their portfolio," he added.

O2 (a large mobile network provider) denies any accusation that it is discriminating against older people.

"That is absurd. We already offer a handset (Jet handset) that is ideally suited to older people. We don't directly market it at them because that would be a bit patronising," said an O2 spokeswoman.

As a good consultant I sit somewhere in the middle on this issue. The phone is supposedly targeted at the 50-plus. From the look of the thing (not the most atheistic device I have ever seen) it is really designed for the 70-plus. Also, it is expensive.

O2’s claim that the Jet handset is – “ideally suited to older people” – is plain daft. All of the reviews I have read about the phone stress it is for the ‘businessman’. O2 needs to employ some new copy writers if it thinking this list of ‘top features’ are going to set the hearts of older people racing:

- Exceptionally long battery life
- Quick keys for features such as Bluetooth
- 65k colour screen
- Bluetooth & Quadband
- Includes docking station, in-car charger & protective skin

Bottom line is this. The phone is probably ideal to the technologically averse 70-plus. Is this a worthwhile market sector – probably? If O2 has got any sense it will be the good citizen and either stock the thing or refer enquiries to another supplier and stop suggesting that the Jet phone is an alternative. It could even think creatively about cross subsidizing the phone by offering a deal to get the older person’s children onto the O2 network. Dick Stroud

Any colour – including black

What is it? Read on.

Phonak's new Audeo Personal Communication Assistant (PCA) is set to change the perception of hearing instruments forever. Developed to address the enormous potential of a virtually untapped market of first-time users, it comes with all the appeal of a must-have accessory.

That’s right it is a hearing aid. Don’t you just love this copy.

The baby-boomers may be healthier, fitter and younger-looking than any generation before them, but they still experience mild to moderate hearing loss that goes with middle age. Most of them, however, are reluctant to get help. Extremely sensitive to the stigma of hearing instruments, they reject traditional models as an obvious sign of age and infirmity. Audéo is set to dispel those prejudices with an innovative blend of cutting-edge engineering and award-winning design that will give them effortless listening, even in the most difficult environments.

A simple marketing approach. Turn a product that is reluctantly purchased into a must have tetchy device. Terrific idea and full marks for trying this approach. Will it work – not so sure? Dick Stroud

Woops….not to worry it will be OK for weary eyes and clumsy thums

Palm has unveiled its new handheld device, called Foleo, which is a companion to it Treo smartphone that enables users to edit documents and send email on a full-size keyboard and large screen.

At some stage the device might work with competing devices (e.g. BlackBerry and the iPhone from Apple)

The reviews have been less than complimentary. The best anybody could say about it was: “don’t underestimate the value of a full-size keyboard and relatively large screen to the Baby Boomer age”. Sounds like the kiss of death to me. Dick Stroud

Why 45?

The UK’s Office of Communications (OFCOM) has a reputation as a great (as in prolific) producer of reports. This week another bit of research hit the streets. This time about the UK’s Communications Market at a Regions level.

Anything you want to know about regional distribution of radio, TV, Internet and mobile usage you will find it on the OFCOM web site.

The diagram is taken from the section about the telecoms market.

What a staggering waste of money and time. Why in the name of ***** do they produce this idiotic age analysis (under and over 45 years old). What is it supposed to tell us? Why 45?

Somebody in OFCOM has decided that the best proof that their vast sum of state funding that the organisation consumes, is serving the national good, is to produce lots of reports. Sadly, they are probably right. Dick Stroud

Goodbye to triple typing?

Sometimes clunky old technologies hang around much longer than the problems they originally solved. The 12-button alphanumeric telephone keypad is a prime example.

Nobody with more than two brain cells would come up with the design as a way of entering text messages. The fact that zillions of messages are created each day is a testimony to either human ingenuity or stupidity – I am not sure which one it is.

"If it were a new invention, people would think that it was a very poor idea," says David Levy, an inventor and former ergonomic designer at Apple. Levy thinks that people are so fed up with triple typing that they're finally ready for a new keypad design, one that places each letter in alphabetical order, without adding a space-consuming QWERTY keyboard.

Levy's idea is for a new keyboard is called Fastap, which has raised letter keys in the corners between the numeric keys.

I have to say it doesn’t look that much easier to use than what we have.

So far, two mobile operators--Alltel in the United States, and Telus in Canada--have introduced Fastap phones, both made in South Korea by electronics giant LG.

At least somebody is thinking about trying to improve the dead-end technology that we currently are forced to use. Dick Stroud

Nothing like a simple phone

The other evening I spoke at an event organised by a group called Women in Mobile Data.

As you can imagine the focus of my talk was about the role of mobile data applications and the 50-plus. You can download the presentation from my web site.

During the session I said that the mobile phone must be the single device that combines all of the physiological problems that people suffer as they age (eyesight, dexterity, cognitive and understanding of the latest technical jargon).

I was amused to open the Spectator magazine – audience predominately 50-plus - to see this ad for a Samsung phone/PDA. Now that really does look complicated. Dick Stroud

Now that is what I call a mobile phone

On show at the Cebit hi-tech fair, the phone will go on sale around the world in May.

It has useful features like a built-in emergency, a loud speaker tuned for those who are either partially sighted or use a hearing aid, a big screen and buttons.

Created by Austrian firm Emporia the phone has been specifically developed for the older generation who find existing handsets too fiddly and complicated to use.

There are more details on the BBC web site. Dick Stroud

AARP – how the world has changed

I received one of the AARP’s numerous e-mail newsletters and the first article I see is about mobile fitness electronics.

I didn’t know that Nike and Apple have teamed up to offer a wireless transmitter you insert into your Nike running shoe which syncs with your iPod nano to announce your distance, pace and elapsed time.

Nor did I know that you can program the music to increase your pace. The transmitter can also sync up with the NikePlus website so you can see the results of your workout and monitor your progress.

It suddenly struck me that I was reading this on the AARP web site and reminded me of a new Veer image of the 50-plus. More my style. Dick Stroud