Re:7 Cups Of Tea (YC S13) Connects People Who Need Emotional...
by gohrt on Monday August 05, 2013 @04:38PM
(#6162822)
I would bet that you'd have more success signing up elderly people to be listeners (giving them something worthwhile to do when they have limited mobility and their family members are busy with work/school) than to tell them to call your helpline as customer because their grandkids don't call them.
Re:7 Cups Of Tea (YC S13) Connects People Who Need Emotional...
by triplepoint217 on Monday August 05, 2013 @06:37PM
(#6163636)
I agree that trying to sign up elderly listeners would be an excellent idea. You will probably need a pretty strong technical support crew for them, because they in general won't have our comfort level with computers.
My father has been working to keep some older relatives able to use computers, but there are lots of challenges. A couple of points I can offer from his experience: - Tablets are probably easier use, especially if you spent some effort making a specific app. - Reliable always on internet is not necessarily a given. - Even if they have good internet, they may not have a wireless network
Also, one interesting anecdote that I discovered when talking with experts that work with the elderly. They said that often times elderly people will complain about telemarketers, but they'll answer the phone because they are lonely. They'll then end up buying things they don't really want just because they were able to connect with another person.
I also wonder if we can find a way for elderly volunteers to sign up as listeners. They've been through a lot and could help a lot of younger people going through similar struggles. If anyone has any recommendations or contacts at senior organizations, then it'd be great if you could share them with me. Thanks!