Older people are sticky. 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 liankely than youngsters to flit from one trendy site to the next. >>Full Story
Thoughts// Yet more evidence that the connectivity afforded by the digital age isn't just restricted to Gen X or the millennials. This NYT piece highlights emeging new social networks catering to boomers and older adults, who are increasingly congregating in smaller niche networks of the like-minded folks discussing a host of lifestyle issues. Most importantly, boomers were likely to be loyal to a network and are "stickier," with one network citing that 96% of users returning each month (Consider however that half of all Facebook's 30 million+ users login daily).
Perhaps the following quotes offer some insight into how such niche networks are different than Facebook and MySpace.
- “I feel like I’m putting down roots, building relationships...my feeling on MySpace is that people give you a poke, and then they’re gone and you never see them again.” (38 year old CO mom)
- “I’ve discussed my divorce, my medical issues, and when do I dare go dating again...I sure wouldn’t discuss that stuff with a 20-year-old.” (Martha Starks, 52, a retired optician in Tucson, who spends an hour or two each evening on a site called Eons.)
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