OLDER INTERNET SOCIAL NETWORKERS MORE DURABLE AND STICKY. BUT IN A GOOD WAY.

Social networking through MySpace and Facebook is a ritual for teens and young adults. More minutia and narcissistic nothings pass though these networks than is shared at a Britney Spears prison sentence wrap party.

Such social networking sites have machine-gunned money shots at venture capital venture firms for sometime, but some VC firms are looking at the parents and grandparents for the next batch of billions. Why? (The Author is guessing Willie Sutton knows.)

From a New York Times article of September 11th, “New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age”:

...the latest view from Silicon Valley [is]. 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. The sites have names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, Maya’s Mom, Boomj, and Boomertown. They look like Facebook — with wrinkles.

YOUNG CONSUMERS ARE FICKLE AND RUN IN PACKS LIKE VACILLATING SENATORS.

One need only watch an NFL football game to figure out that 20ers are highly pliable. They are still deciding between Miller Lite and Bud Light beer.

“Teens are tire kickers — they hang around, cost you money and then leave,” said Paul Kedrosky, a venture capitalist and author of the blog “Infectious Greed.” Where Friendster was once the hot spot, Facebook and MySpace now draw the crowds of young people online.

But when they do hang around, they do drop a lot of cash.

OLDER FOLKS ARE HARDER TO WOE, BUT EASIER TO KEEP.

One reason that older demographics are ignored by advertisers is because they have already established their brand loyalties and are resistant to switching. But consider this:

…[T]there are 78 million boomers — roughly three times the number of teenagers — and most of them are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. Indeed, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm.

The question is whether they’ll want to network in large enough numbers to justify the tens of millions of dollars going into the space. Indeed, the interest from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists has led to a mini-boom in sites that cater to baby boomers, creating what they say is both critical mass and a likely falling out.

The Author does not generally participate in on-line social networking. It is enough that his neighbors and friends know of his whereabouts and patterns of conduct. Why broadcast it? And let’s face it; most people are not that interesting.

THE DESERT OF THE REAL IS ACTUALLY A HOGAN IN NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO WITHOUT ELECTRICITY OR NEARBY PAVED ROADS!