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Geriatric cyberspace

The slow to clue business world is discovering what some of us already knew very well, that older people are online – in fact, "the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm." I've had discussions in the past with net.biz "experts" who were adamant in their belief that older people aren't and won't be common in cyberspace – the argument being that they just can't figure out the technology, usually based on anecdotal evidence. It might be harder to adopt for folks who didn't grow up with the tech. It wasn't a problem for me, but I'm, er, unusual. But did you really think that, with so much happening online, that the grannies wouldn't go there? [Link]

...venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have been slow to embrace the interests of older Internet users, said Susan Ayers Walker, a freelance technology journalist for AARP and founder of SmartSilvers Alliance, which offers consultant services to businesses looking to connect with older consumers.

She said that Silicon Valley investors have seen themselves as eternally youthful, and identified with ever-new gadgets. But they are starting to accept their age — and to invest in it.

“They’ve all got high blood pressure,” she said. “They’re starting to understand their age group — they’re living it.”

jon posted this at 9:11 AM
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