Last night I have conducted a little seminar on the topic of using the Internet. While no age restriction was placed in the ad, every participant was at least 55 years old. Some were clearly of a retired age.
I have never worked with a group of seniors before, and my assumption was automatically this: they know nothing about the Web and I will have to take it really slow and carefully. What I didn’t realize is that I am in for a big surprise.
I think I learned more about the Internet than I taught my wonderful group of participants. We had more of a fun discussion rather than a class. Some asked questions, others answered, and I watched in amazement just how much these people already know about the Internet.
There are some interesting facts I learned out during our 2-hour seminar about people 55 and above, and I would like to share them with you:
1. They have very inquiring minds, and are curious about every detail of the Internet
2. They love to socialize and share their knowledge with others
3. They use the Internet mostly for pleasure, information and reading news
4. They visit any local events on the subject of the Internet
5. They ask a lot of questions before buying or joining a service
6. They are greatly concerned with credit card fraud on the Internet
After the seminar was over, everyone stayed for another unplanned 30 minutes to chat and get to know each other. They had asked more questions, and offered even more answers 🙂
This experience reminds me once again not to assume much about people you are trying to make your customers. Talk to them first, ask them questions and listen. You might be very surprised at what you’ll learn.
Milana Nastetskaya is a full time web developer and the author of the “65 Instant Web Design Answers”. http://www.instantwebanswers.com
