Old People and the Internet

It is June on Coronado island and it means one thing…lot’s of coupons and limping.

Many of my older friends from Phoenix have made the long 6 hour shlep from the heat in Phoenix to the ‘June Gloom’ of San Diego. To my kids, I am old, but to me, 60 is old … just so you have a frame of reference.

There is lot’s of herding around Breugers Bagel’s in the morning, and Panera Bread at lunch. In the evening, there is pill taking, arguments about who owes who what and talk of grandkids. It is somewhat predictable and I love it. The island goes from a place where I know few, to PHOENIX.

The big talk of the over 60 jewish internet crowd is ‘Restaurant.com’ and I think when the men huddle up alone Jdate. There is nothing like printing out $100 of restaurant coupons for $20 if you are over 60. I have emailed restaurant.com and told them to start a jewish social network called ‘DelBocaVista.com’. No response.

I dropped a BOMB on the group the other day with one word… ‘Groupon’. They all pulled out there pens, papers and motorola Star Tac’s to jot it down. I am surprised that Groupon did not experience server issues.

If I learn to use Foursquare (Congrats to the team and Union Square ) and explain it to the group, it’s game over. I can picture this mob walking into Panera with their new smartphones in hand, fighting for mayorship and flashing their screens at the counter asking for discounts.

Summer 2011.

PS – I think my Pneumonia is passing.

48 comments

  1. Mark Essel says:

    Glad to hear old people have cured your pneumonia, I can imagine no better remedy than fear of the grim reaper :)

    I had no idea about your town transformsations. Migratorial old folks- there’s gotta be more business opportunities there.

  2. Anonymous says:

    ive always wondered how loyalty will impact foursquare.

    i dont need to be mayor of my favorite bar because i already know the bartenders well. im sure my bill is always significantly lower than the current mayor’s. if they need foursquare to get to know me, they are in trouble.

    the same thing happens with the over 60 jewish crowd. they like to develop relationships.

    i dont doubt that foursquare will help make new connections– but what happens once they are made?

    p.s. ironically, i sent foursquare to my mom this morning. shes not over 60, but we will see if she signs up.

  3. Mark Essel says:

    Glad to hear old people have cured your pneumonia, I can imagine no better remedy than fear of the grim reaper :)

    I had no idea about your town transformsations. Migratorial old folks- there's gotta be more business opportunities there.

  5. markbirch says:

    Transitioning 4sqr for the normals (i.e. non-techies) will require something more free lattes at Starbucks for mayors. With $20M in the war chest, they just might be able to get more businesses on board that provide more compelling offers. The core challenge is making the “check-in” something that normal folks would do. This is not an insignificant behavior change, but Facebook showed a glimpse of what is possible with broadcast status updates. Make the offers compelling, and 4sqr rockets, otherwise I would place my bets on Groupon which provides more direct and immediate value to users.

  7. jeremystein says:

    ive always wondered how loyalty will impact foursquare.

    i dont need to be mayor of my favorite bar because i already know the bartenders well. im sure my bill is always significantly lower than the current mayor's. if they need foursquare to get to know me, they are in trouble.

    the same thing happens with the over 60 jewish crowd. they like to develop relationships.

    i dont doubt that foursquare will help make new connections– but what happens once they are made?

    p.s. ironically, i sent foursquare to my mom this morning. shes not over 60, but we will see if she signs up.

  10. reformedbroker says:

    Great post, but my favorite part was the post-script. Glad to hear you're feeling better. Jew.

  11. Mark Birch says:

    Transitioning 4sqr for the normals (i.e. non-techies) will require something more free lattes at Starbucks for mayors. With $20M in the war chest, they just might be able to get more businesses on board that provide more compelling offers. The core challenge is making the “check-in” something that normal folks would do. This is not an insignificant behavior change, but Facebook showed a glimpse of what is possible with broadcast status updates. Make the offers compelling, and 4sqr rockets, otherwise I would place my bets on Groupon which provides more direct and immediate value to users.

  14. Alex Mathews says:

    I think we’re forgetting to look for a blue-hair hardware shift (ie smartphones) before you can add this demographic to the Foursquare craze. My mother is 61 and she admits new devices scare her.

    What do you think passive opt-ins via push notifications would do for mainstream acceptance? For example, you’re at a trending location or one of your faves. Foursquare, running in the background, asks if you’d like to check in.

  15. Alex Mathews says:

    I think we're forgetting to look for a blue-hair hardware shift (ie smartphones) before you can add this demographic to the Foursquare craze. My mother is 61 and she admits new devices scare her.

    What do you think passive opt-ins via push notifications would do for mainstream acceptance? For example, you're at a trending location or one of your faves. Foursquare, running in the background, asks if you'd like to check in.

  21. Anonymous says:

    It is fascinating how different groups interact with new and old technology – will be even more interesting to see how folks continue to interact with Foursquare. PS – I love all your reply comments to your commenters :) always a treat.

  22. EricFriedman says:

    It is fascinating how different groups interact with new and old technology – will be even more interesting to see how folks continue to interact with Foursquare. PS – I love all your reply comments to your commenters :) always a treat.

  24. Harry DeMott says:

    Glad you are feeling better. Your post pretty much sums up the great divide in society. Sure there has always been a generational and cultural divide in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the technological divide is probably as wide as it has ever been . Used to be that people knew how to fix cars or they didn’t. Maybe at one point people didn’t know how to program the clock on the VCR. But tech has zoomed ahead – and many people have just not caught up. That’s the great opportunity for all of these companies – to bridge that divide – or to go international and catch all the countries that have such younger demographics.

  25. Harry DeMott says:

    Glad you are feeling better. Your post pretty much sums up the great divide in society. Sure there has always been a generational and cultural divide in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the technological divide is probably as wide as it has ever been . Used to be that people knew how to fix cars or they didn't. Maybe at one point people didn't know how to program the clock on the VCR. But tech has zoomed ahead – and many people have just not caught up. That's the great opportunity for all of these companies – to bridge that divide – or to go international and catch all the countries that have such younger demographics.

  29. Anonymous says:

    Howard, I am 55, and I do not think I am old, nor do I consider age a limit. I know peoplw who are vibrant and self-starting entrepreneurs who are in their 80s and they could care less how old or young anyone is. This is not a bland criticism, but if you begin to start putting a limit on creativity becasue of a number, you may not be old, but you may be thinking “old”. You are one of the smartest guys I know. If you limit yourself because of age, particularly since you and others (hopefully me too) will likely live to be over 100, you are now tossing away 40% of your life. I never want to stop working or contributing to something. In this economy particularly, we have 50- 60- and 70-something folks who are dead broke, and 20- 30- and 40-somethings who think (wrongly in my opinion) that their lives will be reduced to burger-flipping. Part of the weakness in this econony is the inherent weakness of perspective.
    Being above ground and breathing means there is always a chance. One of my relaitives started the largest restaurant supply business in the state at 65 because he was bored (and that was in 1975). He had no internet, no PDA, no cellphone, no social media network. All he had was an idea.

    Ideas know no era and need no technology. All they need is the will to see them through. Don’t put a number on age and never put limits on energy. That is what is killing the USA today.

    Someone will have to shovel dirt on my ass before I will quit trying to find another way to make an income and build something. Just sayin’

  30. IRON100 says:

    Howard, I am 55, and I do not think I am old, nor do I consider age a limit. I know peoplw who are vibrant and self-starting entrepreneurs who are in their 80s and they could care less how old or young anyone is. This is not a bland criticism, but if you begin to start putting a limit on creativity becasue of a number, you may not be old, but you may be thinking “old”. You are one of the smartest guys I know. If you limit yourself because of age, particularly since you and others (hopefully me too) will likely live to be over 100, you are now tossing away 40% of your life. I never want to stop working or contributing to something. In this economy particularly, we have 50- 60- and 70-something folks who are dead broke, and 20- 30- and 40-somethings who think (wrongly in my opinion) that their lives will be reduced to burger-flipping. Part of the weakness in this econony is the inherent weakness of perspective.
    Being above ground and breathing means there is always a chance. One of my relaitives started the largest restaurant supply business in the state at 65 because he was bored (and that was in 1975). He had no internet, no PDA, no cellphone, no social media network. All he had was an idea.

    Ideas know no era and need no technology. All they need is the will to see them through. Don't put a number on age and never put limits on energy. That is what is killing the USA today.

    Someone will have to shovel dirt on my ass before I will quit trying to find another way to make an income and build something. Just sayin'

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