Posted by on Mar 26, 2011 in Social Media | 9 comments

One of the most contentious issues in social media today is age. Whether it’s saying  folks over 40 are too old to “get” social media, or implying  20-somethings lack the strategic background necessary to get that coveted social media ROI, the great age debates can be brutal. It’s time to settle this once and for all:

Some people lack technical understanding. Some people lack the strategical know-how to monetize social media. Some people are just plain stupid. None of these conditions are age constrained.

Simply put, people of any age can succeed (or fail) at social  media. It will be the people who can tie their social media efforts into their larger business or personal marketing efforts who will succeed; it’s the folks who take the time to care and cultivate their relationships who will see ROI. Is the technology easier for younger “digital natives”? Maybe. Does the business side of social media make more sense to the more experienced? Perhaps.

Look for example at Lorraine and me: we come from vastly different backgrounds. Lorraine’s the sassy New Yorker with an MBA and years of experience in corporate. I’m the corn-fed Hoosier with a degree in communications and no formal business education. She was an early adopter on Twitter, while I was one of the first users of Facebook, back when it was college only. Yet if you look at our Klout scores (a disputed score, but a decent metric for our purposes here), they’re the same: 59.

How is it that two people, as different as can be, wound up in roughly the same place? Easy. We learned ( and continue to learn)  from each other. Lorraine teaches me how to be more business focused in my tweets, to tie it into larger marketing efforts for Roundpeg, as well as my own personal goals–and how to apply those principles to help our clients. At the same time, I can offer Lorraine a different perspective on the technology, its use, particularly with regard to social issues and breaking news, and our role in life today.

Your age does not determine your social media success. Young people aren’t stupid, and older people aren’t hopelessly technologically stunted. Let’s all continue to explore this new medium together, instead of imposing divisions where there needn’t be any, shall we?

 

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  • http://scloho.net Scott Howard (ScLoHo)

    Ha! very similar to what I wrote Friday at http://sclohosocial.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-dont-have-to.html

    Age and education are not going to be the dividing factors, it will be each persons choice as to whether or not to participate…

  • http://www.roundpeg.biz Lorraine

    What do they say about great minds???

  • http://grindandthrive.com Torrey

    I think the diversity of experiences can be an asset regarding age or amount of time spent using social media. The “early adopter” could be more apt to try & “game” the system to gain followers, fans, etc. The less experienced social media user could think of connecting with people on more of a personal level and deepen relationships which could convert into loyal fans, followers or what-have-you.

    By the way, I’m from Fort Wayne & have spend a lot of time in Indianapolis :-)

  • http://www.roundpeg.biz Lorraine

    Torrey,
    The diversity is what makes it fun. Watching the evolution, what I have seen is everyone is a little unclear how to use the tools in the beginning, regardless of age. The earliest adopters tend to walk away if too many people join the network with the sole intention of gaming it.

    For example – SmallerIndiana, was a lot of fun in the early days, and the front page was filled with conversations and debates. Somewhere along the line, people joined with the sole intention of promoting their business, selling a product, or finding a job. Post after post became nothing more then a list of personal ads, and the early adopters fled to other mediums.

    With twitter, I can just tune out people who bore more or want to spam me with sales pitches.

  • http://www.tkographix.com Randy Clark

    II don’t know if I should leave a comment since I’m a 58 (Today’s Klout score), but I will LOL

    This subject has been on my mind because – I’m old. I recently read a post about how buying decisions are made – based on age. IMO, this is too simple. The reality is more complicated. I dislike being classified in a demo by my age. What does age have to do with knowledge, skill, disposition, beliefs, etc.? If we must classify people aren’t there better parameters?

  • http://www.asiontheweb.net Jake

    First of all, Randy – You are old. :-)

    Second… I’ll comment from a completely opposite perspective. I’m young. 21, in fact. While the technology comes naturally to me (had a myspace and a xanga at 14, used them to “market” bands and meet girls) the business side of social media isn’t always as obvious. One of the best things I ever did was start asking questions about tying social media into other marketing efforts to more experienced business people. Thanks to guys like Randy I learn more and more every day.

    This blog is dead on. “Young people aren’t stupid, and older people aren’t hopelessly technologically stunted.”

    I think it takes both of us working together.

  • http://www.voxiamdevelopment.com Tim

    For me it isn’t a question of age or technical ability. I’m a newbie at social media when it comes to using it to promote my company, but certainly well aware of what the technology (and the networking it facilitates) can do. So I know that it is important, even vital.

    I’ll admit that the reason I don’t do more (ok…really anything at all) to promote my business on social media venues is because of my experience with SmallerIndiana, which was similar to Lorraine’s. I want to be known for providing solutions to my clients, not spamming their twitter feed. So, I’m probably missing out on some great opportunities. I’d say that there might be a few business owners like me who are in the same boat.

  • http://www.slaughterdevelopment.com/ Robby Slaughter

    There’s a disease that afflicts some people, and it seems to have nothing to do with age, gender or race.

    I call it “changeaphobia.”

    If you *are* afraid of change, then you won’t learn social media (or any new technology, or any new political idea, or anything new at all) no matter what. But if you are okay with the idea that the world changes and you must change with it, then you’ve got a chance to make the world a better place.

  • http://www.roundpeg.biz Lorraine

    Robby,
    I think changeaphobia is a part of the problem. The other half is “PEOPLE LIKE ME SYNDROME ”

    It doesn’t matter how you define your group; age, gender, race, geography, the school where you got your degree, or the type of degree you have, in each case the assumption is that people like me know more than people like you.

    The trick is to get past the bias and look for what the other person, does know.