My Grandmother Does Not Use Facebook
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Written By Miguel Cancino | September 24, 2007 | Share This
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Marketers are generally aware of the opportunity that social-networking sites like Facebook and Myspace provide to companies hoping to target teens and 20-somethings. A new group of sites, however, aims to target an older segment of the population – the enormous aging baby boomer audience.
Though the thought of your grandmother on Facebook might seem like an unlikely (and even uncomfortable) scenario, in the eyes of investors and entrepreneurs this segment of the population provides a potentially golden opportunity. So what makes the elderly so attractive? For starters, there are currently 78 million of them. What’s more, this portion of the population possesses a unique “stickiness” that has bypassed younger generations. To quote a recent New York Times article:
“Teens are tire kickers — they hang around, cost you money and then leave,” said Paul Kedrosky, a venture capitalist and author of the blog “Infectious Greed.” Where Friendster was once the hot spot, Facebook and Myspace now draw the crowds of young people online.
“The older demographic has a bunch of interesting characteristics,” Mr. Kedrosky added, “not the least of which is that they hang around.”
In addition to being “sticky,” baby-boomers also have time and money. Sites like Eons.com and Rezoom.com are hoping to capitalize on these demographic advantages by creating networking sites that appeal to older generations. These sites aim to create more comfortable, albeit less “hip,” environments in which older generations will feel safe discussing issues that are of concern to an older audience, like retirement, aging, and health concerns. If baby boomer-oriented networks achieve even a fraction of the boomer population, they have the potential to eclipse youth-oriented social networks like Facebook, by providing advertising opportunities for companies that have until now felt social networking to be beyond the scope of their target market.
So, the question remains, could you see your grandmother surfing the social net?
Personally, I have a tough time doing so. Most social networking sites grow through word-of-mouth evangelism that is bred in condensed social environments, like high school or college campuses. Is this WOM effect likely to occur within an aging population that doesn’t live within the same condensed of environment? Current statistics suggest it’s not - In a recent study, Forrester estimated that 70% of Seniors (65+), 61% of Older Boomers (51 – 61) and 54% of Younger Boomers (41 – 51) are “Inactives” online. In other words, well over half of this audience has never had contact with social activities online – perhaps because the barrier to entry for many boomers is higher than merely visiting a web address.
Nevertheless, Eons.com and Rezoom.com have both made compelling cases for the future of boomer social networking. If baby boomers are as “sticky” as the venture capitalists claim they are, it’s not the short-term prospects that they’re concerned with. Venture capitalists firms such as Shasta Ventures and VantagePoint Ventures and are willing to put their money where their mouth is, investing $4.6m and $16.5m, respectively, in social-networking sites aimed at older generations. With this level of capital on the line, one has to imagine that at least some venture capitalists believe in the adage, “If you build it, they will come.” Only time will tell.
Topics: Social Media |