

Easier E-Mail for the Older Generation - rjurney
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/easier-e-mail-for-the-older-generation/

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ruchi
pawpaw mail was discussed on HN <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=554958>

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rjurney
Which probably led to the googlage which resulted in the NYT getting in touch.

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jimboyoungblood
You're kidding, right?

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rjurney
No. Not kidding. It upped pawpawmail's google rank on the topic. Hacker news,
blog and twitter coverage can matter.

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jimboyoungblood
Sure such things can matter, but in this case I think it's more likely that
someone pitched the story to NYT and they liked it for whatever reason.

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edw519
"After many calls, her father reported that it took him three days to close a
window and that he still didn’t know how to make an @ symbol appear on the
screen."

"Ms. Bryant thought it was even more of a lost cause when her mother asked for
her fax number so she could send an e-mail message and then spelled out d-o-t
in an e-mail address."

We laugh at this, but easily forget, "How are they supposed to know?" If
someone has trouble with technology, it probably has much less to do with
their age or circumstances than with our ability to satisfy their needs.

I've often thought there are gold mines out there for those of us who can
simplify while providing the same value. OP posts a great example of this.

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epall
Even better: <http://www.mycelery.com/>

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dugmartin
I can't imagine what the support load for this must be like.

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rjurney
Actually, it has built-in support such that the younger relatives of the older
person help them with any confusing tasks. Thats the whole point!

