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Social Networking Catching on among Baby Boomers

Once the nearly exclusive domain of teenagers and the under 30 crowd, social networking has been embraced by the aging baby boomer generation.

Once the nearly exclusive domain of teenagers and the under 30 crowd, social networking has been embraced by the aging baby boomer generation. Certain sites seem to be benefiting more than others in the war for market share of this valued and wealthy generation, and the race is far from over. The dramatic success of those Internet categories is apparent from a recent online-traffic analysis provided by market research firm ComScore Media Metrix, which examined visitor growth rates among the 50 top Web sites over the past year. As of December 2007, it was a busy month for social networks across the board. In September, one in 18 U.S. Internet visits included a stop at a leading social network, almost twice the rate of a year before. The five fastest growing social networks, other than the biggest, Lifesmine, identified during a recent tracking period include Bolt (271%), Bebo (95%), Orkut (63%), MySpace (51%), and Gaia Online (41%). In an industry where high growth is the rule, Lifesmine.com’s expansion dwarfs all the others, with approximately 2900% Growth. The recent success of Lifesmine is also important considering what a recent national analyst said about the social network business model in general. “In order for a social networking site to be successful, it must attain a critical mass, and competition is fierce to attract new member,.” said Jill Meyers, an Analyst with In-Stat. “So far, sites have focused their attention on a younger demographic, which is finite, fickle and limited in expendable income,” she added. Recent In-Stat research finds that the biggest American generation, the baby boomers, is frequently overlooked. Baby Boomers are one of the two age groups that Lifesmine CEO Larry Lutvak has focused on in terms of his efforts to build a strong company. “We know that adults from 40-60 years old are in the midst of an entertainment transition,” stated Lutvak from his Tampa Bay area offices. “High speed bandwidth and cheaper computer costs are driving internet usage and more and more people are choosing social networking as a way to meet new people and spend their time,” he added. Lutvak also cited the recent strategic adjustments by Facebook as regards their renewed focus on the 35 and up marketplace. “We could see that advertisers wanted to see an evolution in social networking towards more mature age groups”, said Lutvak. Observers have lauded Facebook for attracting an increasing number of business and professional users and more consumers in the 35-plus age categories than is usual for networking sites, which often skew younger. All this should mean growing advertising revenue for the site. Industry experts have also said a broader base of investors seems ready to embrace social networks, citing as evidence the networks' rapid growth and funding rounds by venture firms and rich individuals. A recent case in point: the $40 million raised by Ning, an online service that allows consumers to create their own social network "for free in seconds," according to its Web site. Netscape pioneer Marc Andreessen is one of its co-founders. All of this bodes well for Lifesmine.com provided they continue to grow rapidly. The company is using a combination of Google pay par click advertising, public relations and consumer generated online publicity to add new subscribers, but word of mouth seems to be the biggest driver of growth thus far. With general internet user trends pointing to continued growth of internet penetration by Baby Boomer, Lifesmine.com is poised to enjoy even more growth. Robert Cefail Editor-In-Chief Press Direct International