Google's Cardboard versus Facebook's Oculus Rift. Relevant to older consumers. You bet.

Back in April I wrote a blog post What older people think of Oculus Rift - the reaction might surprise you

A year before I first encountered the device and thought that it was a game changer.

Things have moved on an a lot since then - money is pouring into all things 'virtual reality' (VR).

Google, not surprisingly, is tackling the issue from multiple directions. I love the Cardboard Box venture. Not sure what looks the dafter, the Rift or the box.

Read all about this subject in this excellent article in Technology Review.

I can just see some of my fellow pundits saying  - what the hell has this to do with older people. Well chums, it has a lot. Of course, the first few product iterations will be ungainly, difficult to use and for the early adopters but just wait. 

This technology is going mainstream and it offers older people a level of remote engagement that we cannot even dream about. Their ability to 'be places' and engage doesn't need to stop as their mobility declines. Think of it as Twitter on steroids.

Any of you start-up funds out there, who focus on the older demographic, without a VR strategy should get one and get it fast. Dick Stroud