I read an Associated Press story today about how Twitter is finally catching on with the younger generation.
Since Twitter started, it seemed to be a social site for older generations. The article discussed how the young generation was staying away from Twitter like a plague. The group that you would think would be on top of all new technology stayed away.
The social network world has gone through some interesting transitions over the last few years. It was not that long ago the MySpace was number one. Now I find very few who actually still use it unless they are in the music business. MySpace has become a great site for bands and music lovers to show off their stuff. My teenage son was on Facebook before I was. Today, it seems everyone from pre-teens to senior citizens have a Facebook page.
My theory of why the younger generation is moving to Twitter has to do with the following statistic. The article states that the median age on Facebook is 33 years of age and Twitter is 31. If MySpace is not the place, and Facebook has been taken over by geezers, then maybe there is a place for the young on Twitter?
If the young are taking over Twitter, is it just a matter of time before AARP starts marketing their own social site?
No matter where generation groups go, the bottom line is that everyone is getting into social networking. Marketing our shows and events on these sites are very important. When I first started discussing social network marketing over a year ago, I said you didn’t need marketing budget for it. Today, you still don’t need to spend money but is that the right decision? Don’t we want our marketing dollars going where the customers are?
Tags: AARP, Facebook, generation groups, MySpace, social networking, Twitter
November 2, 2009 at 9:23 am
I think it’s interesting to discover how different demographics use Twitter. Perhaps the older generation are using it more for business, and perhaps the younger kids are using it for more social purposes. I think you’ll find this is also relative to mobile phone use. I use Twitter on my phone, but hardly ever log in online. However, I use Facebook more online.