This is Harry. He is 72 years old and lives north of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in an old farmhouse with his wife of 51 years. When Harry retired from his job as a high school history and political science teacher (after 40 years), he and his wife moved out of their tiny house in Minneapolis and bought the farmhouse and three acres of land. Harry decided he wanted to live a simple life for the rest of his days. Most of those that live around him are older, retired couples, or middle-aged couples raising their children.
Harry’s favorite hobby is fishing. He drives, at least once a week, up north a bit from where he lives to go fishing, often accompanied by his best friend of over 30 years. He has two grown kids, a son, 46, and a daughter, 43. His daughter lives in Minneapolis and visits him often, while his son lives in Chicago, and because of his busy job as a stockbroker, he rarely sees his father.
Harry spent his working life as a member of the middle class. His teaching job certainly didn’t provide a great salary and raising two children and putting them through college made it rough. His retirement package was decent and he now receives social security to help pay the bills.
His best friend often calls him “a tough old codger” but most people that know him know that beyond the sometimes gruff exterior, he has a soft heart and sometimes he even smiles for pictures. His students loved him for his dry sense of humor and his honesty. He never hesitates to tell people exactly what he thinks. He tends to take a cynical viewpoint of the world, especially when it comes to politics, and his personal motto is: “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”
Having spent many years studying history and political science, Harry likes to keep up on current news. He spent most of his life reading print newspapers and spent little time on the internet. In his last few years of teaching, he was required to use some technology, but he never became technically-savvy. He has the attitude that computers are unnecessary and contribute to the laziness of a society that can’t even “open their own garage door without the help of a button.” (Harry recently had to buy a garage door opener because of a flare-up of arthritis in his right hand. But he still doesn’t agree with it.)
He has a PC at home that connects to the internet through a dial-up connection. It moves slowly, and he tends to use it only for email purposes, to keep up with his son in Chicago, who “apparently spends so much time behind a damn computer that he can’t pick up a telephone!” Harry is not loyal to any websites and only uses email because he feels he has to.
Upon moving out of the city, he moved beyond the delivery range for the print newspapers he used to subscribe to. He still likes to keep up on what’s going on in Minneapolis, having lived there for so many years. The seeming isolation of living away from the city also sparks his desire for news. When his daughter comes to visit, she usually brings a newspaper for her dad, and he will pick one up when he ventures into the city to see old friends, but he would like to receive news more regularly. He will watch the news on TV, but prefers print publications, having been his major news source for most of his life. His wife complains that he grumbles and complains during the evening news because it’s filled with “all that Hollywood crap” and “those pointless segments on cooking” (which are the segments she prefers and she sometimes misses important stories because of his complaining). He misses being able to flip through the paper to read only the stories he wants to read.
Because of Harry’s slow dial-up connection and the amount of pop-ups on the Twin Cities News site, he chooses not to read the news online. He quickly becomes agitated and gives up waiting for pages to load. His lack of experience in using the web also makes using the site frustrating for him to use (if, on the off chance, he is patient and waits for the pages to load). His flare-up of arthritis keeps him from spending a significant amount of time at the computer and frequent clicking is difficult.
I think Harry is important to the Twin Cities News site because he represents a certain group within the older generation who are wary of technology. His lack of internet skills reduces his confidence and keeps him from reading the news online, as does his arthritis. Because Harry likes to keep up on the news and can no longer have the paper delivered, he is someone that could potentially become a frequent user of the site, if his needs were met. Considering ways to cater to Harry’s needs and make the process of using the site comfortable for users like him, could prove to be beneficial to the newspaper.
Harry’s favorite hobby is fishing. He drives, at least once a week, up north a bit from where he lives to go fishing, often accompanied by his best friend of over 30 years. He has two grown kids, a son, 46, and a daughter, 43. His daughter lives in Minneapolis and visits him often, while his son lives in Chicago, and because of his busy job as a stockbroker, he rarely sees his father.
Harry spent his working life as a member of the middle class. His teaching job certainly didn’t provide a great salary and raising two children and putting them through college made it rough. His retirement package was decent and he now receives social security to help pay the bills.
His best friend often calls him “a tough old codger” but most people that know him know that beyond the sometimes gruff exterior, he has a soft heart and sometimes he even smiles for pictures. His students loved him for his dry sense of humor and his honesty. He never hesitates to tell people exactly what he thinks. He tends to take a cynical viewpoint of the world, especially when it comes to politics, and his personal motto is: “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”
Having spent many years studying history and political science, Harry likes to keep up on current news. He spent most of his life reading print newspapers and spent little time on the internet. In his last few years of teaching, he was required to use some technology, but he never became technically-savvy. He has the attitude that computers are unnecessary and contribute to the laziness of a society that can’t even “open their own garage door without the help of a button.” (Harry recently had to buy a garage door opener because of a flare-up of arthritis in his right hand. But he still doesn’t agree with it.)
He has a PC at home that connects to the internet through a dial-up connection. It moves slowly, and he tends to use it only for email purposes, to keep up with his son in Chicago, who “apparently spends so much time behind a damn computer that he can’t pick up a telephone!” Harry is not loyal to any websites and only uses email because he feels he has to.
Upon moving out of the city, he moved beyond the delivery range for the print newspapers he used to subscribe to. He still likes to keep up on what’s going on in Minneapolis, having lived there for so many years. The seeming isolation of living away from the city also sparks his desire for news. When his daughter comes to visit, she usually brings a newspaper for her dad, and he will pick one up when he ventures into the city to see old friends, but he would like to receive news more regularly. He will watch the news on TV, but prefers print publications, having been his major news source for most of his life. His wife complains that he grumbles and complains during the evening news because it’s filled with “all that Hollywood crap” and “those pointless segments on cooking” (which are the segments she prefers and she sometimes misses important stories because of his complaining). He misses being able to flip through the paper to read only the stories he wants to read.
Because of Harry’s slow dial-up connection and the amount of pop-ups on the Twin Cities News site, he chooses not to read the news online. He quickly becomes agitated and gives up waiting for pages to load. His lack of experience in using the web also makes using the site frustrating for him to use (if, on the off chance, he is patient and waits for the pages to load). His flare-up of arthritis keeps him from spending a significant amount of time at the computer and frequent clicking is difficult.
I think Harry is important to the Twin Cities News site because he represents a certain group within the older generation who are wary of technology. His lack of internet skills reduces his confidence and keeps him from reading the news online, as does his arthritis. Because Harry likes to keep up on the news and can no longer have the paper delivered, he is someone that could potentially become a frequent user of the site, if his needs were met. Considering ways to cater to Harry’s needs and make the process of using the site comfortable for users like him, could prove to be beneficial to the newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment