I couldn't agree more with your suggestion that the first steps depend on the person. More important, how you explain those first steps depends on the person as well.

We're all inclined to over-stress the technology, as if the number of doors or the size of the car's engine was a determining factor for someone else's trip. People who love tweaking their tools will naturally recommend tweakable tools, even though the other person may never go so far as to add a plug-in to Firefox.

My mother, who just turned 91, has no interest in or real need for a feedreader -- but she regularly visits three blogs: one I created (for my "letters" to my parents), and two run by grandchildren. (I agree with Beth's suggestion, but I don't think Mom could quite cope with Facebook.)