The world of social media networking sure is fascinating. We enjoy reconnecting with friends over Facebook, writing recommendations for colleagues on LinkedIn and viewing/sharing videos with friends on YouTube. But how long until the public feels lost in a sea of social media possibilities? How long until companies stop trying to reinvent the social media wheel?
While the answer to that question remains to be seen, one thing is for sure – not every emerging media platform will have “marketing stickiness” and therefore succeed and be sustainable in the long-term. In fact, among Wall Street Journal’s list of venture-backed shutdowns this year are emerging media start-ups such as TeeBeeDee, a social networking platform similar to Facebook for people over the age of 40.
Aimed at reconnecting the Baby Boomer generation, TeeBeeDee simply did not attract enough users to its site. According to the Wall Street Journal, TeeBeeDee “at its peak was receiving less than 200,000 monthly unique visitors and nine million page views, but the site would need 5 to 10 times bigger than that to be sustainable. As the article also suggests, TeeBeeDee attributes it failure to a poor business model that did not raise enough awareness and funding for the site. But why do you think that not every social networking channel succeeds?
In the case of TeeBeeDee, I believe that attracting users within the Boomer demographic towards a generationally segmented social networking site was their biggest challenge. Unlike Generations Y’s (18-25), who are pre-dispositioned digital natives who may be more ready and willing to branch off into different sub-communities based on niche interests, the Boomer demographic needed to connect to users at a broader level.
Take for example, Facebook, a social networking site that Boomers are increasingly embracing to connect to their children, extended families and long lost friendships. In fact, according to Mercury News of Silicon Valley, Baby Boomers are embracing technology at a higher rate than do Generation Ys.
The fact is that Baby Boomers are just getting started with harnessing their inner social media prowess. Check out what Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor has to say about Baby Boomers on Social Media.
