Comments on: The Most Tiresome Cliche in Technology Today

By: Coty

Coty — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:23:50 +0000

A belated comment on this (great post, BTW), but I was reminded of this today when I noticed that Jon Udell used the tag auntmillie for a del.icio.us link to a story about the complexities of configuring and securing a WLAN. Perhaps Jon has an actual Aunt Millie. I don’t know. I do know that there are plenty of young men who cannot configure a secure WLAN.

By: tech decentral » Mashup Makers for People

tech decentral » Mashup Makers for People — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:04:59 +0000

[…] I’m not totally comfortable with the phrase end-user programming or with that moniker “nonprogrammer” that I just used. Let’s not talk about mashups for mom. Please. Any of those ways of dividing up people into broad categories obscures both our commonalities and our differences. […]

By: Cote'

Cote' — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:20:55 +0000

In an instance of serendipity, I found another formulation of this rule (perhaps not spelled out abstractly): the CEO should be able to use it. Yow!

By: Steven D. Krause’s Official Blog » Blog Archive » A blog reading round-up

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:03:19 +0000

[…] Via Anne 2.0, I like this post, “The Most Tiresome Cliché in Technology Today,” which is “Make it easy enough for my mom to use.” To quote briefly: “I doubt any of my three kids will ever say that. They might say ‘make it easy enough for my dad to use’ because in our house it’s dad who’s the more technologically clueless.” […]

By: leisa reichelt

leisa reichelt — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:57:52 +0000

Anne, I’m with you on this one. I come across these kind of references all the time and not only is it incredibly patronising, it is also remarkably often utterly misleading.

Here’s a related post you might find interesting:

I’ve seen a few examples where this kind of patronising assumption about womens use and interest in technology has resulted in some potentially embarrassing and expensive design and product development decisions.

And yet… I have to admit. I do occasionally use *my* mum as a design reference point. But that’s not because she’s my mum… it’s because she’s the best example I have of an incredibly nervous adopter of technology who just happens to be my mum.

By: Tim Peter

Tim Peter — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 03:04:29 +0000

Anne,

Your point is well taken.
I almost always agree with you completely.

Here’s the thing, though. Have you ever met my mom? She’s 70 and needs help setting her alarm clock. Seriously. Can I get a waiver on this one?

By: Amyloo

Amyloo — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:06:50 +0000

This gets me, too. Anne. I’ll occasionally do fly-by comments on blogs I otherwise don’t comment on, just to suggest alternatives to Your Mom, like Uncle Charlie.

And on the anecdotal evidence front, I’ve had to explain RSS to both my sons, 18 and 22, who make claims to geekdom.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:49:58 +0000

Speaking as a female elder geek, I say thanks for helping raise the awareness of more people in the industry.