Boomers on Facebook

Friending on Facebook. Did you notice the fine print? "Mary has no friends." That's what happens when you visit your Facebook account just a few times in many years, never tell anyone about the account, and refrain from friending other people. Well, of course, it is also possible that I might not have friends for other reasons.

Social networking is for boomers, too. Our generation popularized instant friendship (witness the very close relationships that emerged at sit-ins and love-ins), so you might say that baby boomers set the stage for online networking. If you are GenX or GenY you might not say this and I understand fully. Facebook and earlier networks like Friendster were popularized by young people and were long the domain of youth. Today, Facebook serves all ages with the sub-title, a social utility that connects you with the people around you.

tbd AKA TeeBeeDee = to be determined: Another concept is advertised at www.tbd.com specifically for people over 40, Sharing Experience to Thrive. Notice that a reason is provided: don't just connect, thrive.

Or start your own. The next development is to put networking software into our hands, as www.ning.com does. That's not just an opportunity to start a group—it's actually programmable software whereby you create a social network. Groups at ning are impressive: a firefighters group with 22,000 members. An ASCPA community with almost 12,000 people. These are numbers that professional organizations would do anything to garner (and perhaps they should do something as simple as establish a presence on ning).

On a personal note: This week, I asked my daughter if she had emailed a birthday message to her cousin Nicholas. She told me, I put a message on his Wall; you can do that, too. But how would I leave a message on his Wall? Well, you just friend him, and then you put a message there. Oh, I'd never do that. Nicholas is a nice kid who would think he had to befriend me, out of politeness or respect for an old aunt. I would never force that on someone. Ah, I am not well suited to social networking. (Remember, I'm the passive poster to LinkedIn.) ~ Lida

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.