Why My Mom Likes gChat and Gmail.

gChat and my Mom

My Mom's on gChat!

There are a few things I won’t stand for in my digital life.

1) Letting family members continue to use certain e-mail services (AOL, mostly.)

2) Excessive use of CAPS LOCK (aka shouting – this must be explained to parents)

3) Misuse of Electronics Equipment (i.e. my sister’s run in with her PowerBook that left me in tears. Lets just say it was dirty, missing keys, couldn’t close, dented.)

Consequently, I believe it’s important to “hook up” your fam with the good stuff. My Mom (see photo on life) has been on gmail and gChat since I received my first set of invites, and has been a loyal user of Gmail ever since.

There’s something to be said (a certain sense of pride, so to speak) when your parents have that “coveted” geek domain — it’s like the new zip code everyone should be living in.

Plus, can it get any better than chatting with your parents on gChat? What about showing your parents how animated hearts that start out with standard characters like “<” and “3″ but when put together, the Google magic wand transforms them into a pink-filled shape that we all know and love.

You know it’s good when your Mom asks you if there are any other good emoticons on gChat – like over Thanksgiving when she asked if an animated Turkey is available.

I thought she might be up for Twitter next, but I think she wants a new phone first. I’m going to work on my influencing skills, because I think the internet would be a better place if my mom was a more active contributor of content.

For more crazy things parents say online, you can always read Shit My Dad Says (@shitmydadsays) and Crazy Things Parents Say for additional fun.

<3

Have you signed your parents up for gmail or other services? Do you talk to your parents on gChat, skype, or twitter?

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  • amedmunds
    This is hilarious. I am proud and give you mad props for getting your mom off the ancient AOL empire that is truly a thing of the past.

    Can you DM me your mom's twitter handle? I want to write a post on parents on twitter.. haha <3

    the techyness misses YOU!!! Hopefully we can reconnect when I move back to the east coast in March
  • amedmunds
    I totally agree. They're all about convenience -- and the multitude of tools available doesn't seem to help out with that (it's so easy to get confused!).

    Simplicity is usually a top priority.

    Thanks for the comment!
  • We just set my mom up with Gmail so she could (finally) cancel our unnecessary-since-2003 AOL account. I got her a webcam for Christmas so we can video G-chat - so much easier than Skype, at least for me, as you know through experience haha. This was probably asking for a world of trouble but it will be a good way for her to keep in touch with the three of us. She has Twitter but to the best of my knowledge has only signed in a handful of times. I know she used it once when I stayed at work late and she didn't know where I was. Miss you Miss Techyness :)
  • Nah, my parents still use RoundCube & Thunderbird on the domain I bought years ago. And MSN for chat.
    Parents are a lot more "if it works, why fix it ?" than most people from our generation I believe.
  • I got my whole family converted to gmail (except one holdout who I can't convince to ditch her POP mail from her webhost. At least I convinced her to switch to a gorgeous imac). Nightly video chats and general hilarity have ensued. Seriously though, Gchat has brought my family closer together, because no one but the kids were on AIM. Twitter... they still give me crap for being on twitter.
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