Comments on: Social Media Now: Will the Me Generation Go Social? http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/ A community for the champions of Social Media and those seeking to learn Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:34:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Jason Chervokas http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/comment-page-1/#comment-7482 Jason Chervokas Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:25:29 +0000 http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/#comment-7482 Barbara, thanks for your comment. Of course I know about ThirdAge. The gist of my comment on Eons was not that boomers don't or won't use the Net. That's absurd. And Boomers (and I'm a trailing edge boomer) do behave socially online--they're obviously comfortable w/ Web based discussion, for example. My question relates more to certain kinds of behavior that characterize social media--contributing media (posting youtube clips, blogging, podcasting, etc); participating in media (comments, collaboration); and tagging, naming or categorizing media (tagging, linking, etc). Maybe I'm wrong. I'd love to see some study of boomers and social media--percentage of bloggers over 44, percentage of YouTube clips loaded by people over 44, percentage of 44+ internet users who post photos to a photo sharing service, etc. I think there's a difference in kind between the way our kids (mine is 15), who grew up in a Net-abled world, think about "media" (more of a verb) and the way we think about it (more of a noun). I also believe the kids are comfortable doing things in public (ie on facebook and myspace) that their parents believe are or should be private acts. Even messaging. We use e-mail for private messages. They post private messages semi-publicly. That also is a generational change. Finally, because of my bias as a trad media guy who got into the Net biz in 1995, I am always looking at what boomers do because boomers created the media economy as we knew it before the Net. (Here's something about the boomer demo and pop music: http://chervokas.typepad.com/trickster/2005/03/yesterdays_gone.html Boomers haven't shifted even their trad media consumption online. With social media, for the first time in our lifetimes, boomers will not be the demographic that defines a media platform or makes it profitable. Barbara, thanks for your comment. Of course I know about ThirdAge.

The gist of my comment on Eons was not that boomers don’t or won’t use the Net. That’s absurd.

And Boomers (and I’m a trailing edge boomer) do behave socially online–they’re obviously comfortable w/ Web based discussion, for example.

My question relates more to certain kinds of behavior that characterize social media–contributing media (posting youtube clips, blogging, podcasting, etc); participating in media (comments, collaboration); and tagging, naming or categorizing media (tagging, linking, etc).

Maybe I’m wrong. I’d love to see some study of boomers and social media–percentage of bloggers over 44, percentage of YouTube clips loaded by people over 44, percentage of 44+ internet users who post photos to a photo sharing service, etc.

I think there’s a difference in kind between the way our kids (mine is 15), who grew up in a Net-abled world, think about “media” (more of a verb) and the way we think about it (more of a noun).

I also believe the kids are comfortable doing things in public (ie on facebook and myspace) that their parents believe are or should be private acts. Even messaging. We use e-mail for private messages. They post private messages semi-publicly. That also is a generational change.

Finally, because of my bias as a trad media guy who got into the Net biz in 1995, I am always looking at what boomers do because boomers created the media economy as we knew it before the Net. (Here’s something about the boomer demo and pop music: http://chervokas.typepad.com/trickster/2005/03/yesterdays_gone.html

Boomers haven’t shifted even their trad media consumption online. With social media, for the first time in our lifetimes, boomers will not be the demographic that defines a media platform or makes it profitable.

]]> By: Barbara Rozgonyi http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/comment-page-1/#comment-7355 Barbara Rozgonyi Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:36:05 +0000 http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/#comment-7355 Thanks for your post and your interest in how Boomers connect online, Jason. Here’s my perspective as a blogging Boomer who is the Social Media Club contact for Chicago. My three socially active [online and off] teenagers take me to the edge of what's new - whether I'm ready to go there or not. I sometimes write about what they have to say in posts like "Is Email Outdated?" that talks about the trend away from email to texting and Facebook. For me, it's not your birthday that dates the way you communicate, it's your outlook on life and your approach to everything you do. If you want to be edgy, you can be – at any age. A few resources . . . Online and direct marketing company for adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s http://www.thirdage.com Fastest growing site for Boomer women on the Web – their words http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com AMA Webcast Marketing to Boomer Women http://www.marketingpower.com/webcast333.php http://www.theboomerblog.com Article on marketing to Boomer women http://blogs.mediapost.com/omd_commentary/?p=418 Barbara Rozgonyi Thanks for your post and your interest in how Boomers connect online, Jason. Here’s my perspective as a blogging Boomer who is the Social Media Club contact for Chicago.

My three socially active [online and off] teenagers take me to the edge of what’s new – whether I’m ready to go there or not. I sometimes write about what they have to say in posts like “Is Email Outdated?” that talks about the trend away from email to texting and Facebook.

For me, it’s not your birthday that dates the way you communicate, it’s your outlook on life and your approach to everything you do. If you want to be edgy, you can be – at any age.

A few resources . . .

Online and direct marketing company for adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s http://www.thirdage.com

Fastest growing site for Boomer women on the Web – their words
http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com

AMA Webcast Marketing to Boomer Women
http://www.marketingpower.com/webcast333.php

http://www.theboomerblog.com

Article on marketing to Boomer women
http://blogs.mediapost.com/omd_commentary/?p=418

Barbara Rozgonyi

]]> By: More questions about social media and generations « Stronger Teams Blog http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/comment-page-1/#comment-7264 More questions about social media and generations « Stronger Teams Blog Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:46:42 +0000 http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/#comment-7264 [...] Today, Jason Chervokas has a similar line of questioning, Will the Me Generation Go Social? Jason is inclined toward a different conclusion and is well worth the read. Will the generation whose media habits were formed by the heyday of network TV, change its behavior and begin doing the things social media participants do: contribute, participate, and tag? I suspect that few boomers post pictures to Flickr, keep blogs, or tag links with del.icio.us. Partially that illustrates a technology gap. But more importantly it highlights the gulf that exists between the way boomers and their kids think of personal messages. [...] [...] Today, Jason Chervokas has a similar line of questioning, Will the Me Generation Go Social? Jason is inclined toward a different conclusion and is well worth the read. Will the generation whose media habits were formed by the heyday of network TV, change its behavior and begin doing the things social media participants do: contribute, participate, and tag? I suspect that few boomers post pictures to Flickr, keep blogs, or tag links with del.icio.us. Partially that illustrates a technology gap. But more importantly it highlights the gulf that exists between the way boomers and their kids think of personal messages. [...]

]]> By: Jason Chervokas http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/comment-page-1/#comment-7210 Jason Chervokas Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:32:21 +0000 http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/#comment-7210 Wrong, maybe. Naive, no. I'm technically a member of the boomer gen (tho' I just get in under the wire), and when I compare the social networking practices of those of my peers and folks just older than I (that is, those of my peers who are not Internet professionals), I find an enormous gulf between the boomers and their children. Ubitquitous facebook & youtube penetration among kids, zero involvement in anything of the sort among the adults. Furthermore, this notion among the kids that the normal way to send personal messages is publically is disconcerting to the adults. It's a generational change. In any event neither of our samples is sizable enough to be meaningful. I'd love to see a scientific study. Like I said there may be enough boomers to make a business out of something like Eons. But I don't think the boomers will deliever the same kind of impact on the SM biz that they delivered (and still deliver) on the trad media biz. Dating online is an interesting case. I don't know enough about the market there. Any idea what percentage of the online dating market is 45 and up? Wrong, maybe. Naive, no.

I’m technically a member of the boomer gen (tho’ I just get in under the wire), and when I compare the social networking practices of those of my peers and folks just older than I (that is, those of my peers who are not Internet professionals), I find an enormous gulf between the boomers and their children.

Ubitquitous facebook & youtube penetration among kids, zero involvement in anything of the sort among the adults.

Furthermore, this notion among the kids that the normal way to send personal messages is publically is disconcerting to the adults. It’s a generational change.

In any event neither of our samples is sizable enough to be meaningful. I’d love to see a scientific study. Like I said there may be enough boomers to make a business out of something like Eons. But I don’t think the boomers will deliever the same kind of impact on the SM biz that they delivered (and still deliver) on the trad media biz.

Dating online is an interesting case. I don’t know enough about the market there. Any idea what percentage of the online dating market is 45 and up?

]]> By: Francine Hardaway http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/comment-page-1/#comment-7186 Francine Hardaway Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:38:14 +0000 http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/03/07/social-media-now-will-the-me-generation-go-social/#comment-7186 Oh, please, you are so naive. I am an older Boomer and I started the Social Media Club in Phoenix. Boomers are my friends. Although some are not social, almost all of them know Flickr, YouTube, etc. Many blog. Are they on Facebook? No. But they all date online. When I compare the social networking percentages of boomers and of my children (GEN X and GEN Y) I find not much penetration yet in any of the generations. It's a moment that is coming...for everyone. Boomers are in the workforce. The workforce is full of social media, collaboration software, etc. They will adopt these tools just as they adopted email, IM and online shopping. If it's convenient and healthy for them, they will do it. Oh, please, you are so naive. I am an older Boomer and I started the Social Media Club in Phoenix. Boomers are my friends. Although some are not social, almost all of them know Flickr, YouTube, etc. Many blog. Are they on Facebook? No. But they all date online.
When I compare the social networking percentages of boomers and of my children (GEN X and GEN Y) I find not much penetration yet in any of the generations. It’s a moment that is coming…for everyone.
Boomers are in the workforce. The workforce is full of social media, collaboration software, etc. They will adopt these tools just as they adopted email, IM and online shopping. If it’s convenient and healthy for them, they will do it.

]]>