New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age
Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users.Eons? Wrinkles? I admit I don't have experience with these social networking sites, but alluding to my graying hair and age doesn't do much to convince me to click over. Couldn't they have come up with more flattering names? Maybe "Sage" or "Savoir-Faire?" Or how about "Venerable" or "Seasoned?"
The sites have names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, Maya’s Mom, Boomj, and Boomertown. They look like Facebook — with wrinkles.
I will admit I've been curious to see what all the fuss is about. I'm also curious about those online dating services. My neighbor recently spent an evening telling me about her mother's matchmaking success through eHarmony and it was quite interesting. Her mother credits the matchmaking service with pairing her up with someone compatible, and saving her the time and effort of having to ask questions in order to learn about her dates.
Sigh...the world is changing. So is the way we do things, particularly when it comes to communicating. The internet has opened up a whole new world to "venerable" people like myself. I especially love webcams. When my granddaughter was born this summer, we bought one so we could keep in touch with her and watch her grow (we live a distance away). I didn't want to leave anyone out so I screen captured a picture of Grace to share with you.
I can't even begin to imagine what technology will be like when she's a seasoned woman like me.
7 comments:
What a cutie!
It's hard to believe how fast it has moved in the past ten years-'97 was the year I started on the net, with a 386 computer. Digital cameras didn't exist (in mass form, anyway). Download movies? Are you kidding me? Couldn't be done.
Boom! look where we are now. It is astounding.
And to think I remember a time when we could only get three channels on the TV... and we had to walk ten miles in the snow uphill to change the channel... these kids today will just NEVER know the hardships we suffered.
;-)
Grace is adorable!
Cathleen, Boom! is right. I was talking to the 4-year-old girl next door one day and asked her what kind of records she liked to listen to. She just gave me a blank stare and her mother giggled. It turns out the child never heard about records, apparently Sesame Street is on CDs now. Boy, did I feel old!
Mensch, thank you. She has her grandma's genes. ;-)
Kathy, I met my love in 1998 on ICQ and we later transferred to Yahoo messenger. We communicated like that until 2003. At that point I packed up and moved to Singapore to be with her and I have been here happily ever since.
I was married for 36 years and was never as content as I am now. It can happen.
I'm sure Grace will wonder how granma ever managed to survive back in the primitive 00s.
I hate the term 'boomers.' Hated it even when I was young, and now that I'm not-so-young I really hate it. Can't explain why, there's just something juvenile and dumbed-down about it.
Expat, you and my neighbor are living proof that it can happen. I guess I'm still a little old-fashioned, although I will admit my husband and I are complete opposites and I doubt eHarmony would have put us together! It makes our marriage interesting. :-)
Abi, I'm not crazy about that term either, but I guess I'd rather be a "boomer" than a "Gen-X." We're defined by the big boom in population after WWII. I never did quite figure out what the X means. Do you know?
Don't know, but it reminds me of "ex," as in ex-young.
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