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by Erik Sass
, Staff Writer,
December 8, 2010

This is
almost guaranteed to elicit howls of derision from some readers, especially Web-savvy older adults: a new blog, WebOver50 has launched with the mission of
helping adults over the age of 50 navigate the rapidly-changing social media environment. Now, I can already hear the criticisms: plenty of people over 50 know all about social media, from Facebook to
Twitter and beyond, and they don't need any help figuring out where, what, when, or how to share their personal lives online. But I would beg these readers for patience and tolerance -- after all, not
everyone can be as hip as you, and there are still plenty of older adults who can barely turn on a computer (I happen to know some of them).
Of course, it's not clear how someone who needs
help navigating the social web would know to consult a blog (or even what a blog is) but nevertheless I was interested to hear what WebOver50 has to say to its target audience.
The first
part of the mission is convincing skeptical adults ages 50+ that social media is actually worthwhile. This is probably easier than we might think, as millions of older adults have already been
converted by, say, social media making it easier to stay in touch with family members -- especially children and grandchildren. WebOver50 also points out that social media is a good way to stay
informed about consumer products and health issues, find jobs, and save money.
After demonstrating social media's utility, WebOver50 moves to address some of the major obstacles -- for
example, privacy concerns, especially among older women -- and strategies for dealing with these. One recent post conceded that Facebook may not be for everyone, and suggested that community groups
use Ning to create their own 100% private networks.
In another recent post, WebOver50 noted that there were a number of positive responses from readers in the target audience -- but also
described a cohort of entrenched older social media-haters, who take the position "I don't care what you say. I don't use social networks, and I don't want to" and respond to the merest mention of
Facebook with a "visceral reaction I normally associate with words like Nazi" (I should add that the writing on WebOver50 is often witty and clever).
So the generational divide around
social media will persist in the near term, it seems. However, habits will inevitably change over time as younger generations, who don't equate Facebook with war crimes, age and bring their social
media habits with them.