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Facebook has something MySpace never achieved and something that could easily set it's place firmly where it's at, given they don't make any major changes to me

by mawburn 11y ago

Facebook has something MySpace never achieved and something that could easily set it's place firmly where it's at, given they don't make any major changes to mess it up: The Geriatric Crowd. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time in history that anyone in the tech industry captured this crowd in a major way. Those in my family over 70, on both sides, can barely make a phone call on a cell phone and don't even really know what texting is... but they sure know how to use Facebook. That's how they see their grandbabbies, of course they know how.

xirdstl 11y ago
By that logic, if people started leaving Facebook for another service to post their photos, the older crowd would follow them in order to keep seeing their grandchildren.
nilkn 11y ago
I know this is going to be morbid, but the problem with the geriatric crowd when it comes to technology is that they have a tendency to die. The current geriatric generation is using Facebook to some degree (though in the case of my family no one over 70 uses it). What about the next generation of old people? Facebook will have to keep recapturing this market. This is very problematic because the older generation only interested in family photos really couldn't care less about the service itself; they're going to use whatever their kids and grandkids use, so long as it's not too complex (and with each generation the maximum technological complexity for the geriatric crowd will go up quite a lot). The other problem with having family on a social media is that this immediately limits what people can safely use the service for, which leads to an inevitable but slow exodus of users and their content. Facebook is the family friendly zone for sharing photos and short notes, and it's increasingly only that and nothing else. You have Instagram for stuff you don't want your family to see. You have tumblr for stuff you don't even want many of your friends to see. And then there are the messaging apps. FB still performs very well in this arena, but it's clearly struggling against the likes of Snapchat, and I expect in 5-10 years Snapchat itself will be struggling against another newcomer with FB messenger a distant memory.
- mawburn 11y ago
  >I know this is going to be morbid, but the problem with the geriatric crowd when it comes to technology is that they have a tendency to die. I actually thought about that too... but if you think about it relatively, the expected lifespan of someone who's 70 in 2015 (10-20yrs) is nearly an eternity in technology. And those who are in that age group currently are very reluctant to change. It's just part of getting old. I can't see new generations of older people being much different. Maybe more accepting of change, but not actively seeking it like someone in their 20's. >Facebook is the family friendly zone for sharing photos and short notes, and it's increasingly only that and nothing else. I don't see this as a bad thing, but as a huge positive. Look at movies. There has even been a push in the decade or so to PG-13 everything to make more money. But unlike movies, where they destroy stories in the name of making them Family Friendly, you can just move your non-family friendly content somewhere else. Which is personally exactly what I do.
- scarecrowbob 11y ago
  "What about the next generation of old people? Facebook will have to keep recapturing this market. This is very problematic because the older generation only interested in family photos really couldn't care less about the service itself; they're going to use whatever their kids and grandkids use, so long as it's not too complex (and with each generation the maximum technological complexity for the geriatric crowd will go up quite a lot)." My parents (~65) started using FB more when my great grandmother (~90) started using it. They are resistant to tech change, but they use it quite a lot. I'd imagine that given the long spans older folks tend to use technology, the drop off in folks as they die is offeset by the steady, if slow, adoption of the system by earlier generations. I personally am not too stoked about how folks who don't know me might look at my feed (from potential clients to potential band mates to the NSA), but I might care less if I was 67 instead of 37.

by mawburn 11y ago

xirdstl 11y ago

By that logic, if people started leaving Facebook for another service to post their photos, the older crowd would follow them in order to keep seeing their grandchildren.

nilkn 11y ago

I know this is going to be morbid, but the problem with the geriatric crowd when it comes to technology is that they have a tendency to die. The current geriatric generation is using Facebook to some degree (though in the case of my family no one over 70 uses it). What about the next generation of old people? Facebook will have to keep recapturing this market. This is very problematic because the older generation only interested in family photos really couldn't care less about the service itself; they're going to use whatever their kids and grandkids use, so long as it's not too complex (and with each generation the maximum technological complexity for the geriatric crowd will go up quite a lot). The other problem with having family on a social media is that this immediately limits what people can safely use the service for, which leads to an inevitable but slow exodus of users and their content. Facebook is the family friendly zone for sharing photos and short notes, and it's increasingly only that and nothing else. You have Instagram for stuff you don't want your family to see. You have tumblr for stuff you don't even want many of your friends to see. And then there are the messaging apps. FB still performs very well in this arena, but it's clearly struggling against the likes of Snapchat, and I expect in 5-10 years Snapchat itself will be struggling against another newcomer with FB messenger a distant memory.

mawburn 11y ago
>I know this is going to be morbid, but the problem with the geriatric crowd when it comes to technology is that they have a tendency to die. I actually thought about that too... but if you think about it relatively, the expected lifespan of someone who's 70 in 2015 (10-20yrs) is nearly an eternity in technology. And those who are in that age group currently are very reluctant to change. It's just part of getting old. I can't see new generations of older people being much different. Maybe more accepting of change, but not actively seeking it like someone in their 20's. >Facebook is the family friendly zone for sharing photos and short notes, and it's increasingly only that and nothing else. I don't see this as a bad thing, but as a huge positive. Look at movies. There has even been a push in the decade or so to PG-13 everything to make more money. But unlike movies, where they destroy stories in the name of making them Family Friendly, you can just move your non-family friendly content somewhere else. Which is personally exactly what I do.
scarecrowbob 11y ago
"What about the next generation of old people? Facebook will have to keep recapturing this market. This is very problematic because the older generation only interested in family photos really couldn't care less about the service itself; they're going to use whatever their kids and grandkids use, so long as it's not too complex (and with each generation the maximum technological complexity for the geriatric crowd will go up quite a lot)." My parents (~65) started using FB more when my great grandmother (~90) started using it. They are resistant to tech change, but they use it quite a lot. I'd imagine that given the long spans older folks tend to use technology, the drop off in folks as they die is offeset by the steady, if slow, adoption of the system by earlier generations. I personally am not too stoked about how folks who don't know me might look at my feed (from potential clients to potential band mates to the NSA), but I might care less if I was 67 instead of 37.