Blaine Collins over at Stronger Teams posed this
question:
Is
social networking of the generation or in the genes?
I’m over 40 and use these
tools all the time. I have MANY over 40
(and 50) friends that do the same.
I also know of MANY under
30’s that don’t.
So I’m not sure if it’s
personal bias, but I don’t feel age is adequate as a single determining factor
of one’s predisposition toward social networking tools. Age might be part of the equation but there
seem to be other variables that weigh in heavily.
Steve spoke about
genes. Well I can tell you that my soon-to-be-82-year-old
father has posted and commented on WWII pictures. He’s also been thrilled to find some of his
WWII acquaintances online.
But, I’m not sure it’s
just genes either.
I believe that curiosity
and one’s desire to learn are factors.
Flexibility is also a
factor.
Utility may be one as well. Social networking, the Internet, email, and
virtual collaboration tools make me more productive and more knowledgeable
about my industry. They have become a
requirement for me to keep up.
One’s propensity toward
networking and building relationships with people in the first place may also
be important.
I know I seemed to
“collect” people long before these tools were around. The problem is I’d lose track of them over
time.
Now I can maintain
relationships over longer periods of time, greater distances, and different
phases of life.
Regardless of what the
predictive model may need to include, social networking, and electronic
interactions in general, can now have an important place in interpersonal
relationships.
But as is the case with
most other things in life, the key is balance.
We still need to get on
the phone, in the car, or on a plane from time to time to keep our
relationships healthy, vibrant, and productive.
Our tool box just got
bigger!
Actually, I’m so busy this week I don’t think I’ll see much of Twitter either – I have a feeling this isn’t going to catch on with me right away. Utility is the key, now isn’t it!
My economist training has kicked in for me on Twitter so far. The opportunity costs are too high for me to tinker with this latest “rock star app,” because I’m concentrating on getting greater utility out of wikis, blogging accessories, etc.
More power to you, though. Let us know how it goes and, of course, what you are doing!
The funny thing, Blaine, is that I find myself sometimes wondering: Is this new thing really useless or am I too old to appreciate it!
That’s why I decided to start playing around with Twitter!
Sorry to come so late to the party, Ann.
I think you are on to something in talking about utility. Technologies that add utility (cell phones, Tivo) get adopted pretty quickly, but these do not involve networking. Services like ebay and craig’s list are about making connections, and almost everyone who has been online has checked-out at least one of them. Those who found utility returned – bringing huge success.
Because there is a technology learning curve, there must be sort of threshold of utility that must be achieved before services are adopted. Where the learning curve is steep, the threshold is greater.
The learning curve directly correlates with age, but the utility equation would likely be quite personal.
“Nothing is for sure except change.”
Music to my ears Paul!
I like your blog too:
http://incentive-intelligence.typepad.com
Thanks for coming by.
Ann
You’re right – age is only one factor. The other thing to consider is that in any “group” there is some distribution from low to high or small to big. I also am over 40 and use all the tools you mention but I assume I’m in the front tail of that distribution. I know of a few 30 year olds who have never seen a blog let alone use IM.
For any “group” there will be outliers on either end of the distribution. As things advance the curve moves and the middle moves to where the outliers were.
Nothing is for sure except change.