Presto is the name of our company plus its series of services and solutions that help families members communicate more easily with their less digitally connected members. But over the last few years, Presto features have evolved and now provide many more solutions for families that are helping their parents and grandparents age more safely and comfortably in their own homes. I’m often asked about Presto solutions and wanted to provide an entry in this blog that would help you discover the world of Presto.

   

Presto Mail computerless email – Our first solution enables entire extended families to communicate digitally with their family members who don’t use, or who struggle with, computers. This solution automatically prints email messages, digital photos and PDF documents in high resolution and full-color through a specially designed printer from HP called a Printing Mailbox that is connected to a standard telephone line. An approved-senders list eliminates spam or junk mail but most importantly, no one needs to learn anything new. Family members just send mail to a senior loved one’s new Presto email address like they would any other family member. The senior loved one just listens for the tone from the Printing Mailbox that tells them “You’ve got mail!” They just pick up, read and enjoy the automatically printed pages. Presto Mail has a ton of other value-added benefits for keeping families connected, visit: http://www.presto.com.

   

PrestoConnect for aging-in-place – Many Presto subscribers wrote to tell us how they were using Presto to help take care of their aging parents. We were floored to hear how some people were taking digital photos of their parent’s daily regimen of prescription medications, and then turning that into a PDF document that acted as a pill taking aid that they emailed to their parent daily. Stories like those prompted us to create the PrestoConnect account management website. Each Presto Mail subscriber (usually an adult child of a senior who uses the Printing Mailbox) is given free and secure access to this site. PrestoConnect has features that make helping care for a loved one much easier. Not only can you ensure the Printing Mailbox is connecting as it should, you can check its ink level and ensure it has not run out of paper. You can also monitor who is sending mail, how frequently, and even “nudge” them to do so more often. But most importantly, Presto account managers can forward-schedule messages, reminders and to-do lists for delivery on a day and time of their choosing. This allows them to automate medication reminders, or doctor visit reminders, pre-schedule birthday greetings or create recurring to-do lists. PrestoConnect makes it easier to juggle the responsibilities of your own life while helping someone else with theirs. PrestoConnect is free with a Presto Mail subscription, visit: http://bit.ly/prestoconnect.

   

Presto DailySmile – Another thing we noticed at Presto was that even though all of our kids have email accounts, they rarely use them for daily communication preferring instead text messaging and Facebook posts. This worried us a lot because even though Presto works great in bringing generations together who are separated by a digital divide, it won’t work if one of those generations doesn’t use email. So we decided to fix that by creating a completely new service that focuses on things kids love to do: share photos of their lives via computer and cell phone.      One of the things we learned when designing Presto Mail was to not force the sender or receiver to have to learn anything new. So we designed DailySmile the same way: Presto users just get photos of their family delivered automatically as usual, and senders just need to tag which photos they want to share in Facebook, which is the “normal” behavior for them when sharing photos. To round things out, the DailySmile service also allows mass-uploads directly from a computer plus it allows automatic delivery on any, or every, day of the week. Senders find it super easy to select a bunch of photos all at once, and receivers get them one at a time when scheduled. Everybody’s happy, and once more the digital divide is narrower than ever. Search Facebook apps for “Presto DailySmile” or visit: http://www.prestodailysmile.com.

   

Presto Newsstand – Since the launch of Presto in 2006, Presto account managers have had the ability to send subscriptions of free content to their senior Presto Mail recipients to supplement their family email messages. Presto provides a quantity of free content from major publishers including Wolfgang Puck recipes, Andy Rooney’s column, The Daily Crossword and other puzzles and articles. Since launch, we have constantly had requests for more and more different types of content; from NASCAR standings to Yankees scores to Bible verses…you name it. But content is very expensive for a company like Presto to purchase and then give away for free. And delivery by printer is not conducive to volume publishing like in magazines and newspapers…which are mostly full of ads anyway. So we set our sights on fixing this by working with some of the largest publishers in the world to make it possible for a family member to give a “bite size” selection of published content—just what they know will be read and enjoyed. Doing this allows the receiver to get what they want, and the giver to only pay for what is consumed. This is a radically new concept in the publishing world, not unlike that of digital music stores where you buy one song at a time.    

     For example, someone’s grandmother is nuts over crossword puzzles but only get the one in her daily newspaper. Her granddaughter can go to Presto Newsstand and buy her an entire year’s subscription to the Joseph Crossword Puzzle for only $9.99 which provides a puzzle a day Mon. through Sat. that gets more difficult each day of the week. Or, an adult son fondly remembers his Dad reading him Flash Gordon as a child, so he buys his Dad a daily delivery of that vintage comic strip, delivered via Presto every day for a year.     

     The content in the Presto Newsstand ranges from comic strips to a condensed version of the New York Times; from puzzles & games to special interest articles on finance, health and news. This is a brand new service accessible by all approved senders of Presto users and will be available the first week of December 2010; visit: http://www.prestonewsstand.com.

   

Presto is dedicated to providing a transformational experience for its subscribers. One that helps families use today’s technology to stay closer together not become further apart. I’ve had so many people write to me telling me how Presto has changed their lives. We make it really easy to try Presto in your own family for little to no risk. Considering how important it is to keep seniors social and connected to the goings-on in the broader family, I hope that people give Presto a try with all their senior family members who either don’t use a computer, or who struggle with getting value from the one that they have.

Peter Radsliff, CEO,

Presto Services Inc.

P.S. If you are reading this in Dec. 2010 and want a chance to learn more or ask me questions live, please attend one of my upcoming webinars: [click here]