Jul 7th, 2009| 
Facebook User Statistics
Is Facebook starting to lose its allure with Generation Z? Is it just getting too passé? It may be so, since the social networking giant is attracting a different crowd. Recent figures show that more +55 year old were signing up on Facebook than highschool students… Huh?
Yes, that’s right! Facebook is attracting a mature crowd for whatever reasons. It could be just so that the +55 year olds can stay in touch with their grandkids or reconnect with old friends. Whatever the reasons, this shift in demographics is very interesting.
Facebook’s official stats claim that there are over 200 million users worldwide, with half of them being in the English speaking world (USA, Canada, UK, Australia.) But having a closer look at the actual breakdown from CheckFacebook is quite revealing. You can see how a large portion of the more mature crowd are using Facebook. But, these are just stagnant figures. They don’t show the current movement, but according to Andrew Nusca from ZD net, teen/college population is down by 20% and the 55+ are up by 514%.
Facebook User Changes?
In the short term this means that Facebook will be changing its “Face.” As someone back in December of 2007 envisioned the inevitable: Facebook for your Grandparents.
But seriously speaking, we’ll get to see different types of apps, tools and ads being developed to cater to this older crowd. But from a marketing perspective, this means you can advertize products aimed at people with residual income. So don’t be surprised if the price per click is likely to go a bit higher.
Facebook Rival?
In the long term, we can expect a new generation of social networking sites to emerge that will address what Facebook lacks. Interestingly, some of the research citied what teenagers found weak on Facebook. They were looking for some more “socializing” functionality such as the ability to blog, chat with group of friends and customize personal profiles. Facebook is sure to listen to these requests and try to do something to slow down the teenage exodus.
But at the end, no matter what Facebook does, it’s no surprise that the iGeneration want to try something new, something different. Question is what will it be? Any guesses?
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July 7th, 2009 at 22:54
I use Orkut much and all of my friends are on it. It does have chat ability with Google Talk. But I am sure some new, better website is coming.
July 8th, 2009 at 03:14
I haved used Ning (www.ning.com) in the past. It’s nice and now I see webjam gain some local momentum here. But I dont think this trend showcases anything that important. Facebook is a powerhouse in social media and it won’t go down just because a few teens don’t sign up for it. Facebook has a number of ideas and business model behind it. Its Facebook ads are very popular and it will soon give more control to its users to customize look and feel. Read this http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/facebook-will-give-users-more-control-over-who-sees-what
July 8th, 2009 at 03:22
I dont like to use Facebook because of privacy issues. StudiVZ is more common with my friends. I like it
because it’s not as big as Facebook and doesn’t have the silly stuff that Facebook has.
July 17th, 2009 at 18:38
Most 55+ users tend to be late adopters. Now that there is a critical mass they see the value of joining. (Ie as the author suggests to connect with grandkids and old friends). I really enjoyed the “pensionbook” satire.
http://jv2.com