Valley PR Blog

How Old is Too Old for Social Media?

By Linda VandeVrede on October 19th, 2007 In Social Media

When are you too old to advise others on social media branding?  Paul Dyer posted this week that “if you were in high school or even college during the Cold War, getting involved in Social Media is like learning Russian.”  A teleseminar by an ancient 50-year-old (whom I happen to know) prompted his post.  

Many readers got hot and bothered by his post, but as I thought about it, I realized he had some valid points, however provoking they may have seemed.  Here’s what I agree with:

1.  For younger generations, participation in social media is not a learning process – it’s how they keep in touch with their friends.   They grew up with it, so it’s instinctive to them.

2.  Many of those in the 50 age bracket do struggle with voicemail, email and text messages.  Few have Facebook or MySpace pages.   Fewer still are blogging, or twittering.   I only have to look around at my family and friends to know this is true.  (Maybe I just need to find new friends!).

3.  Some (not all) “older” folks are jumping onto the social media bandwagon and using the lingo in an effort to keep up with the times.  To twentysomethings, this must be like seeing your parents strutting around in clothing from the latest, coolest retail store.  Some people can pull it off — – not everyone can, however.

Dyer feels that learning from a 50-year-old “social media advisor” is “like taking Russian from somebody who just taught themselves last week.”

After reading the post, I wanted to find out what made him tick.  We connected on Facebook, and he sent me thoughtful, honest, gracious replies to my questions.   

Based on his post, I had the feeling that he had had other experiences that contributed to his viewpoint, not just the teleseminar — it was probably just the flashpoint.   And yes, indeed, he told me he has sat in on a lot of panels and calls over the last year where well-meaning but uninformed senior practitioners were passing on what was apparently limited and incorrect knowledge of social media concepts and aspects.

It sticks in Paul’s craw that some consultants are positioning themselves as social media experts and focusing on the technology aspect of it, when to Paul’s point, “social media is about understanding your audience and how they interact in an entirely new channel of communication.”  I agree in part, but technology is what has made that channel and culture possible.   You can’t level the playing field without the proper equipment.

In his replies to me, he also made the point that social media represents a unique situation in which there is practically an inverse relationship between age and experience. As I’m sure we all can remember at some point in our lives, Paul has often been told that he was too young to do something.   In this social media age, the rules have changed and seniority can really be a detriment in some regards.  

I feel I personally was born at the wrong time, because as a baby boomer, I grew up with the expectation that if I just hung in long enough, I would gain the respect and prominence that came with age.   I’m blessed or cursed with looking 10-15 years younger than my actual age.   Just at the point where I’m finally beginning to be looked upon as senior, however, the game has changed, and the power, if you will, is now being equally distributed.  So I kind of feel I missed out!  I showed up at the right venue for the big concert but I had the wrong date….

I think if we 40 and 50+ somethings were completely honest with ourselves, we would realize that we felt exactly the same way when we were Paul’s age.  We looked at older generations as slower, not quite as hip, and not getting it.   This is classic behavior with each generation.  But I do know that when I was in my 20s, despite how passionate and on top of my game that I felt, I didn’t have the judgment, empathy and scope that I have now.  Nor could I have predicted so.  It took 25 plus years of being in high-tech to beat that into me – travelling, meeting different kinds of challenges, working for different kinds of personalities from the magnificent to the mediocre.  So I don’t know that I would want to go back and be in my 20s again, even if it meant being more hip and having grown up with the realization that “social media is changing the source of third-party authentication.”

There are a lot of expert bloggers and social media hounds of all ages in Arizona.  Our state, because of its newness, perhaps, isn’t mired down in so many old rules and old ways of doing things.  It’s reputedly one of the best states in which to start a new business – a veritable open land-grab of opportunity.  Maybe other high-tech meccas such as Silicon Valley or Boston are still more segregated by age than Phoenix is.   Maybe you’re only as old as you feel/sound/behave. 

Share This

Hide Sites

Want Your Picture Icon? Go to gravatar.com and set a picture up to your email address for free. It also works on thousands of other websites, too!