The Funny Problems of Using Yahoo! Messenger

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 03 Nov 2009

When Google announced that some people do not know what a browser is, we did not laugh. We just raised an eyebrow in disbelief. But then we watched the video and saw that most of the people Google interviewed mistook the web browser for a search engine. The browser dilemma is behind us now. The how to use Yahoo! Messenger dilemma is not.

Senior Product Manager with Yahoo! Messenger has brought a funny short movie to our attention. Entitled The Yellow Smiley Face (Fata Galbena), and directed by Constantin Popescu, it is a movie about a couple of 50+ year old parents that try to use Yahoo! Messenger to talk with their son (who moved to the US of A).

Here is the movie’s synopsis:
“A gentle comedy for the technophobes among us, The Yellow Smiley Face revolves around Mia and Florin Popescu, both over 50 and both a little scared of the technological changes going on around them. To them, the computer is nothing more than furniture until the chance to communicate with their son, Alex, who lives in the USA. They unravel this new territory using the instructions Alex has sent them in a letter. A piece of over-read paper is their map to the world of the complicating world of Yahoo Messenger.”

I watched the movie and found it terribly amusing. The simple truth of the matter is that learning to use a piece of software can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve never used a computer before. Mia and Florin Popescu fall in this category; they’ve never used Yahoo! Messenger and they rarely if ever used a computer before (proof is the fact that Mia doesn’t even know how to start the darn thing). But they persevere and in the end they get to talk with their son. The amusement is in how they go from booting up the computer to actually talking to their son.

“Watching the couple took me back to when I taught my own parents and grandparents. A powerful reminder that at some point in the past, I too had to learn how to use this machine that hums at my feet day and night. What’s most charming about the film is the big payoff – Mia and Florin’s faces and excited chatter when they finally do connect with Alex and see him on-screen. A nice illustration of how all this complicated technology can ultimately help us make real connection,” commented Sarah Bacon.

You can watch The Yellow Smiley Face (Fata Galbena) movie here.

If you would like to get Yahoo! Messenger, a download location is available here.
If you do not know how to install Yahoo! Messenger, a detailed tutorial is available here.
Check out the How To section here on FindMySoft. You will find several other articles about Yahoo! Messenger.


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