“Mom, I Am NOT Friending You on Facebook!”

According to a recent study by the NPD Group, a market research firm, 41% of baby boomers have visited social networks such as MySpace or Facebook.

As mature adults and baby boomers, we often feel that the world sees us as dusty, old curmudgeons wishing for the good old days of telephone party lines, ice cream socials and 10 cent coffee (quiz: when was the last time you saw the cent sign (“¢”) anywhere?).

While many older Internet users now have no problem retrieving and sending e-mail, more and more are turning to social networks like Facebook to do the same thing their younger counterparts use it for — to find and reconnect with old friends.

According to the social technographics profiling tool at Forrester Research’s Groundswell blog, almost one in four Americans between the age of 45 and 54 classify themselves as “joiners,” who either maintain profiles on social networking sites or visit such sites on a regular basis. In fact, over one in ten Americans over the age of 55 now are “joiners” as well.

Twitter: A Silly Name, But a Great Way to Keep Connected

What’s a Twitter?
If you’re like most online consumers these days, it seems like every time you fire up your Explorer, Firefox or Safari web browser, there’s another oddly-named web site staring you in the face. Or, perhaps you’ve heard your kids talking about “tweeting” to their friends, your younger cohorts at the office giggling about a viral posting being passed around online or you’ve read yet another article lamenting the end of the common telephone call.

Twitter, one of a set of tools calls even more cryptically, microblogging, is fast becoming one of the must-have methods of staying in touch and in the loop online. But what exactly is it, why would you want to use it and what are the benefits?

The Shopping Mall
One of our favorite methods of explaining new online technologies and tools to the common man is to use the shopping mall analogy. In a shopping mall, you’re blitzed with messages coming at you from all sides, at all times and in a variety of ways.

Think of being on the Internet as walking through a shopping mall.

Still with us?

Fan of Facebook? Find Us Online!

Join us on Facebook and become part of the Edgewater community.

Whether your a heavy-duty social networking (hey, no Super Pokes!), a casual user who like to keep in touch with family and friends or just curious as to what this whole Facebook thing is, we’re ready to be your Friend!

If you’re already a Facebook follower, head on over to our Friends of Del Webb’s Edgewater Group. There, you can hook up with other online folks who are fans of our community, participate in discussions, share some of your favorite things about Elgin and just see who else is online that you may know.

Not a member of Facebook, one of the fastest growing online social networks? Not a problem. Joining is easy, takes just a few minutes and in no time you’ll be addicted to checking up on people you know, letting everyone see what you’re doing throughout the day, posting pictures and getting connected with new friends.

Come join us on Facebook and be a part of the Del Webb (online) community!