We mostly got the grandparents on facebook because they kept complaining about not getting photos in the mail anymore. This give them the ability to see the photos of the grandkids and great grandkids in the system that their kids and grandkids actually use.
Of course I'm more than a little nervous about facebook radicalization and scams, but we made sure she does things like not use her real photo and luckily my aunt that lives nearby is very tech-savvy and paranoid. But unfortunately facebook seems to be the best option for helping more isolated elderly people connect with their families.
Preface: this is going to sound like an advertisement, but I promise I'm not connected in any way. I just like the idea.
Have you heard of NanaGram? (https://nanagram.co/). It's a service that regularly mails physical copies of photos to someone you choose, and it's one of the most "of course that should be a product" products that I've seen recently.
It's a winner of an idea, because Facebook lets us work around the real goal of grandparents when they ask us for regular updates; attention. Giving our elderly family members ways of passively observing us defeats their goal of wanting us to talk to them, but a NanaGram is a specific, actionable gift that demonstrates this abstract, "Well they must be thinking of me!" concept that they can then extrapolate however they need.
@otras thanks for sharing. It's an honor to be mentioned on HN like this.
One of the big goals of the product is to increase interaction between loved ones. I wrote about this a bit more at https://nanagram.co/blog/niche-start — we have a feature, which allows you to list names and phone numbers of you and your siblings on a cover photo. I get reports all the time of grandparents who go down the list, dialing each grandkid to talk through the photos with them.
I think our prices are pretty solid and often hear that from customers. For $6.99 per month we mail 5 photos and all you have to do is text or email them to us. We also have an annual plan which brings the price down to just under $6 per month.
The service also really shines when you have multiple senders (siblings, cousins, etc) using it as we curate photos from the group via reminders.
We recently had the 5-photo plan set to $7.99 but unlocked savings on the fulfillment side, passing those on to customers.
Pricing has been a challenge for sure, as on one hand I've always firmly believed the product should be accessible to people from all walks of life, and on the other there is a reality of paying the bills.
I know Google is gets criticism, but if you want to share photos with grandparents, Google Photos is well designed for that purpose and avoids many of Facebook's problems.
Google Photos or a similar photo-only service with sharing features may be better than Facebook if that's your main use and you have concerns about scams and radicalization.
If the grandkids banter all the time on facebook that's the real draw. The photos are just an initial obvious benefit, it's much easier to explain a photo stream than chat threads to someone new to the internet. Facebook does a pretty good job at making interactions feel natural, much as I dislike them.
Of course I'm more than a little nervous about facebook radicalization and scams, but we made sure she does things like not use her real photo and luckily my aunt that lives nearby is very tech-savvy and paranoid. But unfortunately facebook seems to be the best option for helping more isolated elderly people connect with their families.