Jonathan Jensen, fresh from wrestling with handsets for his son and daughters, has been pondering on the (I suspect, rather large) gulf between Normobs and … well.. us…
– – –
Ewan has blogged about Normobs (“normal mobile phone users”) before. What fascinates me is the gulf between us mobile geeks and the Normobs in terms of what we use our handsets for.
My friends and family all use mobile technology, to varying degrees, but very few of them come close to realising the full potential of the device in their pocket – web browsing, email, GPS, better software, photo sharing and of course social networking. Most of them are happy with calls and texts, a few do a bit of browsing and download some music.
So what’s going on? Are my friends and family visitors from a parallel universe (some definitely are!) or do they represent many of the real mobile users of today? My hunch is the latter.
For all the effort the networks put into marketing the cool stuff you can do on your handset why are so many people not interested? Is all this extra stuff really irrelevant to them or is it just an education challenge? Normobs might, and do, argue that calls and texts are all they need. However they are missing the convenience (a subject I will return to in a future post but in a different context) and value there is in the extra stuff.
Are the networks wasting their time or are they slowly building awareness that will eventually pay dividends for them? I’d like to think it’s the latter but my gut feel is we are a long way from seeing widespread pan generational take-up of all the great stuff current handsets are capable of.
I’ve struggled to get some of my Normobs interested in stuff like Facebook, Twitter and Jaiku on their PCs – forget trying to do it for mobile!
I’m going to keep trying but come on friends and family – you know who you are – help me out here please!
– – –
What’s your experience of getting friends and family to use their handsets beyond simple calls and texts?
Jonathan’s also at Sevendotzero.
Normobs eh? Hahah I like that. It’s pretty hopeless with them. Pretty much everyone I know only cares about how many megapixels the phonecam’s got or how big the phone is or how it looks. -_- And many of them that actually end up buying smartphones don’t even know that apps can be installed in the first place or that they can surf the net, etc. It’s sad.
Skyre’s last blog post..Wannabe Eee PC?
It’s so frustrating. I seem to be the only non-normob I know. Even my relatively tech-savvy brother and sister just don’t get it. My wife’s dabbled, but nothing has grabbed her long enough to hold her attention (a bit of Gmail Mobile, that’s all).
We need to start a campaign!!!!
Indeed! The normobs I know use mobiles to make calls and text. None of them even use the camera because why would they want to do that when they have no idea how to get the photos onto their PC and also that their digital camera is so much better quality. Many of them don’t even know how to send MMS.
Sorry to say it but many of these fancy apps being built, usually by people on this list are only used by…people on this list.
I am hoping to coduct an experiment within which I will get hold of a handset bursting with applications and give it to my Dad(he is the polar opposite of a mobile geek). I predict he will gradually start using the applications available and start to move out of that zone that classifies him as a ‘normob’.
My email is delivered to my phone by imap but I regularly use the Gmail app to read long mails.
Since switching over to Papyrus for my simple calendar needs, I refer to it a couple of times each day.
I’ll look up a route or destination on GoogleMaps maybe half a dozen times a week.
I often use Agile Messenger and/or Jaiku when I’m mobile and think I’ll be within 3G coverage and call a few people back using Skype if it’s likely the conversation will take more than a few minutes.
I use Opera Mini for all my browsing except reading RSS feeds via Mippin or Google Reader (both work better for me in the S60 browser).
And Qik is just there for an occasional bit of fun.
But I’m no geek because I have no interest in understanding how it all works. No need for the latest gizmo. And no chance of ever appearing cool.
I’m just a normob because I want and expect these things to work for me 24/7, wherever I am.
Somehow we need to factor that attitude into the normob definition.
HeavyLight’s last blog post..Whatleydude’s N95 saga: VF comes out shining!
If nomobs don’t use mobile apps, could it be the problem is that the mobile apps aren’t good enough – not that they don’t know enought?
My mother is a prime example. She’s watched me go form Palm to Palm to Treo to Treo to Nokia. She stays about one or two stpes behind me, and about the only mobile app that she wants is a Bible. And not just any Bible, she wants the one that I have that works on a touchscreen and has a easy verse chooser and search facility. Other than that, she doesn’t care.
Unless the application is near-life critical, or something that has definitive proof in making someone’s life easier to manage, then why spend the time fiddling with install schemes, beta software, and backing up devices. Its better to just have something simple that works, and leave the fiddling to those who have more patience, or are more gullible to mobile manufacturers.
Antoine of MMM/Brighthand’s last blog post..The Mobile Christian Lifestyle Explored
The problem – if indeed it is a “problem” is that people are inherently conservative and slow to learn new things that aren’t seen as necessary. Think of VCRs. How many of us ever used more than half the buttons on those machines. How about all the functions on your office phone (for those who still go to offices)? Same thing. And on your old 35mm camera. And on your new digital camera. And your RV remote. And in your car. And so on.
Add to that the fact (yes – FACT) that much of the functionality on modern phones is no more than a solution looking for a problem. Eventually people will get there – but they need to see the advantage of using the functions. It’s got to be easier. For the time being, it’s often easier to use traditional methods than to learn the new methods. Give me a good road atlas over GPS for everyday use. GPS is ideal for the more complicated journey in an unfamiliar area but an A-Z wins hands down for me for everyday local journeys.
The kids today are a different generation – in every sense! They’ll be doing all JJ’s things like second nature. But there will always be people who choose not to adopt, can’t be arsed, are afraid to fail, or are comfortable without.
Now where’s my pocket-Tardis? Must get to that meeting I missed last week in Milan.
We are building something at mjelly towers to deal with this problem – how do people find good mobile apps? – watch this space.