The resources we share for understanding 50+ consumers are quite varied, so it shouldn’t surprise us that a recap of top links would be as well. Here they are — the articles, white papers, etc. from the last two weeks that garnered the most attention from Creating Results’ followers on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
2. MOST SHARED: Why do Millennials (18-29 year olds) share on social media? Same reason Boomers wore peace signs, says writer Sharalyn Hartwell:
“Consider society when Boomers and Xers were at a similar age and life stage. At those times, the only real platforms they had to showcase the things they cared about—personally, politically or otherwise—were things like bumper stickers and t-shirts. Now, in addition to those “old-school” options, Millennials have social networks. When they are passionate about anything from a political stance to pictures of their family to LOL cats, they can use their mobile device and quickly tell their 231 closest friends all about it. In an instant. What drives a Millennial to share a viewpoint on Facebook is the same sort of thing that drove Boomers to wear “peace” t-shirts. They are simply telling the world what they think, in the method that makes the most sense to them.”
Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Or, read the whole post: http://bit.ly/Ujx7IW
OTHER TOP ITEMS
* The percentage of GenY folks who use social media for business daily: 40. The percentage of Baby Boomers who do so? 50 http://bit.ly/SQ4FyU
“Younger employees’ use of social and collaborative technology actually lags behind that of older workers, according to a new survey from Citrix Online. The most enthusiastic adopters of social tools are older Baby Boomers, defined in the survey as those 55 years or older … Forrester Consulting conducted the survey for Citrix, overseeing an online survey of nearly 800 information workers evenly split among the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Australia.”
The fact that it was a survey of only information workers makes me pause, however. On this blog, we do have several related posts that demonstrate how 50+ consumers in general use business-oriented social networking platform LinkedIn at higher rates than younger colleagues:
Mature, Affluent, Educated and LinkedIn
Facebook, Internet Users More Similar to Offline Population Ages than Ever
* US Voters, by age group, in November 2008 election
Early reports for the 2012 election are that 18-24 year olds made up 19% of this year’s electorate and those over 65 16% of the electorate.
* Twitter promoted tweets, Facebook sponsored stories actually DECREASE brand trust http://mwne.ws/UD1ieC
* Are baby boomers’ adult kids finally leaving the nest? Household formation is up, reports Lennar.
“The country added 1.15 million new households in the past year, following four years of meager growth averaging 650,000 new households annually, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau … The recent uptick in household formation suggests that things are picking up for young Americans.” Read the whole post: http://bit.ly/Sf7KIa