Explaining a new web 2.0 technology such as Facebook to a 40-60 year old would take a little thinking. Older people are not used to technologies such as Facebook, where you can do so much on one platform. Therefore, I would use Orlikowski’s view of technological frames to explain to this older generation the benefits of using Facebook. By using technological frames, which involves the perception of technology in terms of older technologies, I could explicitly show these older people how they could accomplish a majority of their day to day communication tasks by typing in one web address.
If I were to write a how to book about Facebook on this topic, I would focus on the features that would be most useful to them, primarily private messages, wall posts, Facebook chat, pictures and events. I would explain to them the benefits of using each tool in terms of past technologies they may have used or tasks they may have done. Depending on what they want to say and how much time they want to spend, I would recommend either wall posting, inbox messaging or Facebook chatting. I would explain the photo and event applications as a way to share their pictures and invite friends to events all at once, rather than having to individually mail their friends their pictures or call and invite each one of their friends to their events. Given their age, I would suggest that they stick to these 5 Facebook tools to accomplish their goals. If these users have questions or need training I would direct them to Facebook’s help and FAQ section which is pretty explicit and helpful.
The rewards to using Facebook (which is free) relate to Grudin’s discussion on the return of an investment. These new Facebook users could potentially save a lot of time and money by using the website. Instead of having to call all of their friends, which would take a lot more time and cost significantly more money, these users could write on their wall, send them a message, or even Facebook chat with them. Lastly, by using Facebook, these elder users are making staying in touch with all of their friends no matter where they are located so much easier, that in itself is a big return of an investment.
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I liked the money aspect with relation to calling. I never thought of the cost of cell phone minutes, and using Facebook of a means of reducing cellphone costs. I also like how you streamlined Facebook to five key tools in order to allow older people to understand the system more easily. You don't explain how you would do go about explaining how you would take the newer technologies and relate them to the older technologies, but given the length of the post, it would be a tight fit. Good job.
ReplyDeleteIts great that you identified the complexity of Facebook and decided to focus your training on 5 basic Facebook tools. I think this would give you a higher chance of affecting change, based on their previous technological frames. The time in which you present these tools might also turn out to be important, especially given their older age and comfort with how quickly technology progresses. If this is their first switch to the Web 2.0 applications of our day, they might need a bit more time.
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