Janet CollinsEveryone’s Doing It
February 18th 2009 21:30
People of all ages are now jumping onto the internet but as it happens the hosting sites are now feeling the pinch.
Facebook and Twitter are feeling the recession as much as the rest of industry it seems. Last week an American court valued Facebook at $4 billion as of June, down from an incredible $15 billion in 2007. Twitter is now talking about building revenue-generating products.
While these and other social networking sites have attracted millions of users, the capacity for them to make lots of money from these online communities has not lived up to expectations.
This is all happening at a time when more and more people are joining up. Can you imagine what it would be like if all the social networking sites collapsed?
Many have resisted the whole internet conversation trend either because they are simply too busy or dismiss it as something that is solely for kids. I doubt whether a collapse of this sort would worry them at all. They would probably even welcome it but what about the rest of us?
As a latecomer to the whole social network craze and to blogging, an article about older folk climbing aboard and, in fact, creating an invasion of sorts, caught my attention. According to a recent article in The Telegraph (UK) it just so happens that older people are finally embracing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and LinkedIn at a phenominal pace.
High profile users include the former UK deputy prime minister telling everyone 25 random facts about himself on Facebook, politicians in the US Congress keeping their followers informed on Twitter with updates of negotiations over the fiscal stimulus package and our own Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, using Twitter to keep his profile alive even if one of his postings was to brag about being the official tosser of the coin at a cricket match.
It’s not only the high profile people jumping on there either. Journalist Adrian Michaels, author of the article, believes that those over 35 are worried that the internet is now something they cannot afford to ignore as things such as jobs and events are gradually being advertised solely on the internet.
People of all ages are now embracing the internet to organise their social life, their work life and their professional networks. The online friendships not only provide an easy way to organise, say, a party but they also make it a lot easier to organise a group or professional associates.
Recruiters have also taken to the internet and this can mean those social internet networks can be quite helpful – a visible confirmation of a large network can’t be a bad thing for job prospects. A management consultant in San Francisco said that it didn’t do any harm raising his hand as a Facebooker in a management meeting recently. He was only one of half at the meeting who did so, he said.
And it’s not only the younger travellers who are using these sites to alert friends where they are and what they are doing. Older travellers have found it a great way to keep in touch with family and friends and share their travel photos without needing to wait for their return home.
So these sites have become more than valuable for so many people around the world. Some use it for fun, some use it for business and some use it to promote their skills or debate issues or just to share information.
I am still finding my way around some of the networks and slowly but surely getting quite hooked on the whole thing but what on earth would we all do if these companies went belly up?
I can’t bear to think about it.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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Comment by Chris Champion
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It sounds logical that the over-35 age group is a major growth area for Internet areas where younger demographic growth is slowing as it reaches maturity. I imagine this is particularly so for blogging.
I know I resisted Facebook, Twitter etc for a long time, but have changed my attitude partly as friends have joined and partly through the experience of blogging, where community-building is important.
I even recently worked out how to put a blog post link on my Facebook page. Am I a power user now?
Comment by Janet Collins
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Changing my use of the internet was difficult at first and I think sites like Facebook are all a bit daunting for some. They just seem to be a little too open, especially at first.
Love to hear your trick with the blog post link on Facebook.
Comment by Chris Champion
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On Facebook, under Profile, you will see Post Link button near the top. After clicking on it, you enter a URL in the box immediately below it.
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Comment by Teresa Ralton
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First of all I want to say that your posts are always very easy to read - straight to the point, clear, cohesive and uncluttered.
I had access to a home computer for 2 years before I even tried email! I am not technologically-savvy and, in fact, I was afraid of computers. Once I got onto to emailing, though, I realized how fantastic it was but even then it was slow, very slow because it was like learning a new language and changing a certain mind-set. Anyway, I can see social networking sites evolving more but going under? I don't think so. Let's face it, by anyone's standards $4 billion is a lot of money.
Comment by Janet Collins
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I was always reasonably savvy on a computer with documents and then email and even on the internet for research but I did shy away from the whole social networking thing for a long time.
Not for any real particular reason I don't think - only that I didn't know how useful it could be. I am having a great learning experience on the way.
Your comment about the $4 billion is a valid one but don't remember it was $15 billion three years earlier and that is scary. Maybe it was just a case of being overvalued in the first place. I just hope they stick around.
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Comment by James Rickard
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I've resisted the social networking thing. I used to do ICQ and other chats a lot but got out of it. On the other hand, I DO like the community sense of Orble. I'm not getting rich but I certainly enjoy the comments and good reading and your blog is one of them!
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Thank you very much for your lovely comments. I have only climbed aboard the social networking sites recently and more to find out what you can do on them. I don't spend much time there but I am enjoying learning about it all.
Take care and thanks for dropping by.
Comment by Janet Collins
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I can completely understand your resistance to using technology in your off time. I think it is not always a good thing. A friend of mine actually hides the cable sometimes from her kids because she fears they are spending too much time on the computer.
For me, I've got a lot of catching up to do so use it more to learn what I can do there.
Thanks for the comment.
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Like you I steered clear for a while - but despite the protests of my kids that I'm a dag in the way I use it - Facebook and MySpace are quite addictive.
It's interesting to note that the large publishing moguls pooh pooh the whole internet concept (well blogging at least) as second class journalism/writing/information gathering - whatever - but have dived head first into it (in a fashion) just to maintain their revenue streams.
Most have missed the whole concept - acting as more a portal than a social network - but in essence (much the way of newspapers) I think niche sites will eventually polarise particularly on-line communities.
Nice post!
Comment by Janet Collins
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Yes, publishers do pooh pooh the whole blogging thing but it is interesting when you see that sometimes bloggers can later become journalists and journalists have become bloggers so the lines are very blurred anyway.
Sometimes it all seems like a mixture - and a progression - of a letters-to-the-editor page and talk-back radio only it's more interconnected.
Thanks for the comment.
Comment by Mrs M
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What would we do if all these companies all went belly up? Well so far I've resisted My Space and Twitter. But I would miss Orble and Facebook.
And instead of commenting on your post right now I'd probably be chatting with Mr M
It is doubtful that these sites would go belly up but it would be a shock for some.
Wonder what Orble is worth?
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Janet Collins
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Yes it is true. Mr M would have you around more if the networks all collapsed but really I hardly think they're going to.
You do raise a very good point though...how much do we all think Orble is worth? Maybe that's a post on its own.
Thanks for dropping by and take care.