As to the Grandma tax, I just plain don’t agree. We’re creating the social media platform, and I for one don’t care about mainstream adoption at this point. I’m looking for smart people who realize how important a moment in time we’re in. Broad adoption will come; it doesn’t mean what we’re doing is less important.

One of the messages I find the hardest to get across to my friends in the tech industry – especially those ensconced in the Valley mentally (if not physically) – is that if I can’t explain it to my 70-yr-old father the lawyer what it is, it’s going to be hard to get across to the ‘average Joe’ marketing-wise.

I use him as an example because he’s excruciatingly smart, but rather nonplussed when it comes to ‘the latest gadget, widget, or bleeding-edge technology.’

He’s rather a touchstone for me when it comes to how most people outside the tech industry will react to new ideas.

It does come down to exactly what you say – is it useful? Is that use easy to perceive and appreciate? Can it be learned quickly?
Bingo.

I have an anecdote I sometimes share about working for a CRS company that was so proud they had rolled out a new product in conjunction with a cellphone provider that allowed someone to ‘rebook their air travel reservations by cellphone’ using what turned out to be a total of 22 keystrokes – navigating menus, searching flights, booking new flight…

When sitting in a break room with the C-level execs all congratulating each other, I said “but who will use it?”
Blustering they said “well, for instance – the business executive whose meeting runs over and he might miss his flight… he can rebook it just using his phone!”
I looked at them and said “okay, so now tell me why he will push a zillion buttons and spend 5-10 mins rebooking his flight when he can hit 1 button, speed dial his executive assitant, tell her to rebook his flight and call him back when it’s done in under 10 seconds?”