Has the 'Voice First' interface trend gone mainstream -- and can it benefit seniors? Some think so. What has initially been driven by Apple platform Siri and the Amazon Echo – and now with Google Home -- is about to become mainstream (or as it is described, 'Voice First’) as the primary way we interact with technology. There is even a possibility soon that both the Echo and Google Home devices could be utilized for voice calling. Here are seven examples of 'Voice First' approaches and experiments for seniors. Soon there will be more that reference Google Home – please comment with your own 'Voice First' example -- these are from the company websites or news stories:
Tech-enabled transportation options for older adults. Who would have thought of such a specialization before Uber and Lyft, but today, even Uber and Lyft have introduced specialized offerings. All are interested in (or have been) expanding beyond their home base or current business. Some are scalable nationwide – or want to be. Is the service appropriate for the older adult population it is intended to serve? Is there a growing opportunity for home care companies to add transportation to their services, especially those home care companies that already have consumer apps? Does this signal a business opportunity for senior housing firms? Information below is from the websites of the firm or related media.
The upshot: older adults are not buying into the trendiest tech. Maybe it is because they can’t afford it, aren’t aware of it, or are unconvinced of its value. Or maybe the unconvinced who could afford to spend the money fear privacy violations or identity theft. Or are burned out at staring at too much information on Facebook or Twitter. Considering their twenty years of life expectancy at age 65, perhaps overcoming technology adoption resistance and gaps should be a greater priority for those who want to help those in the oldest decades live their best lives. Looking at the update from Pew, observe:
Why does tech-enabled home care show potential? Growing life expectancy and shrinking assets limit options of older adults in late life, leaving those who may need care more likely to receive it at home. The biggest constraint for this industry is scarcity of willing workers. Although a greater role for technology is envisioned by many, the highly fragmented home care industry has made incremental progress in achieving it. As the industry matures, standard practices and tech-enablement have begun to take shape. With the coming age wave, venture capitalists have been intrigued and funding has exploded, exceeding $200 million by 2016 year end.
What’s happening with older adults and tech adoption? Not much. Let’s take a look at the AARP 2016 Technology Trends Among Mid-Life and Older Americans. Hint, the report focused most of its analysis on boomers and below. So that leaves the rest of us to look more closely at what they found about older ages, since it seems that this is the most recent set of material on this topic. From Page 10: “Adults age 70+ are the least likely to have adopted any device.” And on Page 12: only 29% of those aged 70+ own a smartphone – and of non-owners in that age group, only 4% plan to buy one in the coming (2017) year.
So you want to launch a boomer/senior, home health tech product or caregiving marketplace, or caregiver advisory service. As your new company get ready to travel into battle later this spring to a plethora of lively pitches, it is time to for you to revisit this guidance. Perhaps some time soon, your new or existing company will officially launch a new product or service, or perhaps a long-awaited, over-described and much-anticipated offering will finally ship. First read the AARP-sponsored Challenging Innovators research report. Then look over this updated checklist that continues to hold true – with a few links that are merely examples:
Is there a difference between health tech and aging tech? A friend told me about a comment from an arrogant investor (that may seem redundant to some). The observation was that ‘aging’ was not important, health is THE topic and subsumes (overrides) aging. Do you buy that? Just ask my daily alerts or search yourself for the term 'aging seniors.' See that the list starts with NCOA and improving the lives of older adults. Okay, now do the same for 'digital health' (investment north of $4 billion in 2016). Other than a few blog posts, there is virtually no intersection. And as for VC focus on the aging demographic?
CES 2017 – an overwhelming 'tech-o-rama' that defies categorization. So do not expect insight here about why, where, or what was intriguing to journalists and geeks, including the Wall Street Journal. There will be no discussion of how Vegas may be different in a year where the show, which attracted 175,000, ended on a Sunday. [Rant on] And the Silver Summit at CES is long gone, first replaced by Lifelong Tech in 2015 and then fully absorbed into the Digital Health Summit last year and this year. And there will be no discussion here about why, oh why, do all of the demonstration videos of nearly everything have to limit the viewer imagination to the young people being shown? [Rant off] Okay, there is no existing aggregator source for tech that could be useful to older adults -- spanning multiple categories -- nor to caregivers who care for them, either professional or family. Note that some media articles grouped items: a) tech related to hearing loss, b) tech to assist people with disabilities, and c) an Accessibility Marketplace. In addition to those offerings, here are five that so far caught my eye -- drawn from various sources:
Tech-enabled home care -- what does the interview research reveal? The report will be posted later this month, but specific insights emerged after speaking with 21 leaders in the home care business and technology segments. The interviews are completed and the report is drafted. Here are six predictions that are drawn directly from that process:
Has the 'Voice First' interface trend gone mainstream -- and can it benefit seniors? Some think so. What has initially been driven by Apple platform Siri and the Amazon Echo – and now with Google Home -- is about to become mainstream (or as it is described, 'Voice First’) as the 
h-enabled transportation options for older adults. Who would have thought of such a specialization before Uber and Lyft, but today, even 
The upshot: older adults are not buying into the trendiest tech. Maybe it is because they can’t afford it, aren’t aware of it, or are unconvinced of its value. Or maybe the unconvinced who could afford to spend the money fear privacy violations or identity theft. Or are burned out at staring at too much information on Facebook or Twitter. Considering their twenty years of life 
Tech-enabling home care is one lens on future of care. Venture capitalists listen carefully for trends fueled by talk in the media. During the past several years, they heard plenty -- about the 
Why does tech-enabled home care show potential? Growing life expectancy and shrinking assets limit options of older adults in late life, leaving those who may need care more likely to receive it at home. The biggest constraint for this industry is scarcity of willing workers. Although a greater role for technology is envisioned by many, the highly fragmented home care industry has made incremental progress in achieving it. As the industry matures, standard practices and tech-enablement have begun to take shape. With the coming age wave, venture capitalists have been intrigued and funding has exploded, exceeding $200 million by 2016 year end. 
What’s happening with older adults and tech adoption? Not much. Let’s take a look at the 
So you want to launch a boomer/senior, home health tech product or caregiving marketplace, or caregiver advisory service. As your new company get ready to travel into battle later this spring to a plethora of
Is there a difference between health tech and aging tech? A friend told me about a comment from an arrogant investor (that may seem redundant to some). The observation was that ‘aging’ was not important, health is THE topic and subsumes (overrides) aging. Do you buy that? Just ask my daily alerts or search yourself for the term '
CES 2017 – an overwhelming 'tech-o-rama' that defies categorization. So do not expect insight here about why, where, or what was 
ch-enabled home care -- what does the interview research reveal? The report will be posted later this month, but specific insights emerged after speaking with 21 leaders in the home care business and technology segments. The interviews are completed and the report is drafted. Here are six predictions that are drawn directly from that process: