The End of Eons for Boomers

We reported on the recent decision by eons.com to drop the age requirement, which didn't go over very well with their members.

This article over the weekend in The New York Times tells the whole story.

What's interesting to us is that what we observed about "Boomer" focused sites is exactly what Jeff Taylor and eons.com seems to have experienced. From a posting last September:

The fundamental issue for all of these sites is relevance to Boomers or someone over 50. We don't think being a Boomer makes you a member of an affinity group -- it's just a demographic designation. Given that, why would "Boomers" flock to a web site to mingle with other "Boomers." There needs to be a stronger, more relevant connection -- like life stage, marital status, hobbies, etc.

We hope the other players are paying attention.

British Boomer Web Site

Fellow blogger and Boomer pundit Chuck Nyren pointed us to yet another new Web site focusing on the 50+ market, this time from England.

Wanobe.com has a nice look and feel, and may strike the right chord with an audience over 50. (Apparently it's pronounced "wa-no-bee" and not "want-to-be," which might be more appropriate.)

A question all of these "social networking" sites will ultimately have to answer is what defines success? Is it a million "users" or more? What is the audience needed in the Web space before advertisers consider a site worth their dollars?

What advertisers are these various sites seeking, if any? Are they competing for the same visitor and the same ad dollars, or have they sliced off a piece that they can uniquely deliver?

We doubt there are hard and fast answers to any of these questions, making all of these ventures shaky until some of this shakes out. Those will the patience and deep pockets to last through that period will win.

Boomer "Social Networking" Web Sites

History may record 2007 as the year Boomer Web sites boomed. (We suspect 2008 will be known as the year many of them busted, but that remains to be seen.)

As a public service, herewith are sites we've found that are attempting to woo Boomers online. So as to not sway your opinion, we're only listing the site name and tagline -- no logos.

If you know or hear of one not yet on the list, please let us know. We'll update the list as needed.

First, the list. Then some comments. As of September 5, 2007:

Boomer Site & Tagline
eons -- Lovin' life the flip side of 50
BOOMj -- Boomer Nation Lifestyle Network
reZOOM.com -- Redefining life for an ageless generation
Boomer Towne -- no tagline
Boomer Girl -- Welcome to the Club
eldr -- Celebrating aging
Redwood Age -- Think. Share. Act. Live.
BoomSpeak! -- Your whole life's in front of you
eGenerations.com -- Connect. Learn. Explore.
Boomer Time -- Having fun...while changing the world
Growing Bolder -- no tagline
Boomer Living -- ...enhancing the lives of Active Baby Boomers
TeeBeeDee -- Sharing Experiences to Thrive
Life Two -- ...Midlife Improvement
My Boomer Place -- Like MySpace, but better...for young people over 40
My Primetime -- Personal Trainer for Life
Second Prime Time -- Where people 50+ connect, create and contribute
Maple and Leek (UK) -- Live it up at 50+. Adventures start here...
GrownUps (NZ) -- 50+ Community

Plenty for Boomer Consumers to chose from, which means that not all of them will find success in the marketplace.

Now for some color commentary:

• The fundamental issue for all of these sites is relevance to Boomers or someone over 50. We don't think being a Boomer makes you a member of an affinity group -- it's just a demographic designation. Given that, why would "Boomers" flock to a web site to mingle with other "Boomers." There needs to be a stronger, more relevant connection -- like life stage, marital status, hobbies, etc.
• A quick click-through to all the sites and you'll see some that obviously have been well-funded and designed, and others that are perhaps more home-made. The top three at first glance in our view: reZOOM, BOOMj and BoomerGirl. Clean layouts, yet visually interesting and inviting. You want to click somewhere.
• reZOOM hasn't gotten much coverage that we've seen, but we really like what they are doing -- City Guides and their $100,000 prize. Eons.com has been getting the coverage, but reZOOM is the one doing some real good at there.
• We're not fans of eons.com's Obits section. It's the only site among this bunch that features anything about death and dying, which could make the site interesting to some. But we think it's a turn-off at this stage of 50+ marketing.
• We find most of the taglines amusing but not helpful or informative. Chuck Nyren has already taken many of them to task in this post from last year.
• The best name is "Growing Bolder." Says it all and is about an attitude, not an age or even a lifestage. Done right (and it's being revamped as we type this), it could be a real winner.

We'll keep tracking these Boomer and 50+ Web sites and let you know what's happening with them.