Baby Boomers' Membership on Facebook Swells

Baby Boomers' Membership on Facebook Swells

There's no shortage of social networking communities for Baby Boomers to join, participate, connect, and make new virtual friends.

Examples are: Eons, Boomj, Vibrant Nation, Grandparents.com, National Association of Baby Boomer Women, and dozens of smaller niche communities targeting the 46-64 demographic.

One social networking community which has seen its ranks swell with Baby Boomers in 2008, is Facebook. Created originally for college students to stay connected, Facebook now boasts over 100 million members. And many of them are Baby Boomers.

According to O'Reilly Media data, the growth in the United States in just the last 12 weeks among Baby Boomers is:
45 to 54 year olds -- up by 70 percent
55 to 59 year olds -- up by 73 percent
60 to 65 year olds -- up by 53 percent

As a member of Facebook, its main value to me is that I can follow, share photos and connect with my entire family and circle of friends, no matter what age they may be.

To learn more about the benefits of Facebook, I'd like to suggest a virtual friend, Mari Smith, who I met on Facebook. Mari is Internet marketing consultant, relationship specialist and Facebook business coach.

Mari manages a Facebook group called Why Facebook? Social Networking for Fun and Profits! A very busy gal, Mari also publishes the web site Why Facebook, which is laden with "insider tips, tricks and techniques to using Facebook powerfully and profitably." "Why Facebook" is an Internet destination where you will discover "specific how-to's you never knew along with proven marketing and relationship-building strategies!" I'm a subscriber to her email newsletter and have picked up several strategies to make my Facebook experience more enjoyable.

There are also numerous books about maximizing your Facebook experience—too many to list them all. Here are a few that caught my attention.
>>Facebook: The Missing Manual
>>Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business

>>I'm on Facebook--Now What???: How to Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from Facebook

Like most social networking communities, membership in Facebook is free and setting up an account is a snap.

.

—Martin Diano, Editor