Will Baby Boomers Drive Profitability in the Social Networking Sphere?
OK, for starters I’ll admit right up front I am a “boomer.” I am also, like a lot of boomers, the parent of a teenager. I’ve watched with amusement from the sidelines as the social networking space has evolved from such things as the “WorldsAway” joint venture between CompuServe and Fujitsu I worked on back when my teen was still in diapers to Second Life, which is already struggling with both “Get a life first!” backlash and trying to figure out a way to build a robust, profitable, long-term business.
And then, of course, there are Facebook and MySpace, which seem to have eclipsed early front runner Friendster.
Teens seem to dominate this space, but making money off of teens is never easy, and making money from the under 18 set online–where credit cards or at least a bank account are prerequisites for commerce beyond the advertising-to-eyeballs method–is almost impossible.
But as the venerable Gray Lady herself (for the non-boomer set, that’s the New York Times) points out today, “Older people are sticky.” Teens and younger folk can be fickle. It is difficult to keep their attention for long. But older people tend to be more loyal (or maybe we’re just too lazy to try something new once we’ve found something we like–either way, the result is the same).
As the article in the Times continues:
“That is the latest view from Silicon Valley. Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users.
“The sites have names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, Maya’s Mom, Boomj, and Boomertown. They look like Facebook — with wrinkles.
“And they are seeking to capitalize on what investors say may be a profitable characteristic of older Internet users: they are less likely than youngsters to flit from one trendy site to the next.”
Which could, say some, lead to profitible online social networking sites in it for the long haul. The article continues:
“Social networking has so far focused mainly on businesspeople and young people because they are tech-savvy and are treasured by Madison Avenue.
“But there are 78 million boomers — roughly three times the number of teenagers — and most of them are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. Indeed, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm.”
Hey, they’re talkin’ ’bout my generation!
Click here to read the rest of the article for yourself…