Calling All Geezers
I had an interesting back-and-forth with a fellow blogger, who claimed that Vox catered to young people and paid mere lip service to older folks such as herself - and me, actually. For some reason, I've been thinking about this all day. Blogging, social networking, Twittering, Facebooking and all that stuff: is that really a young person's game? There are a few social networking sites for older people. Eons.com, for example, is fairly well known. Less known sites include boomtown, BOOMj and - kinda' clever - a social networking component of the AARP (American Association of Retired People) website.
But...I wonder: do these sites really "get it" when it comes to us? Most of them have nothing but smiling older faces, with people claiming to be just as energetic as their younger counterparts and a lot richer (richer? Huh?). Where are all the people who have problems to share and maybe solve? Where's that "basement of discontent" that I hear so much about from that wonderful Ms. FD? Where's the bitching, the anxiety and - most of all - the sense of humor that's been honed to a fine edge by the observation of stupid humanity for 40 or 50 years? Where's the wise-cracking and the realization that it can really suck sometimes? All I see are silly blog posts about 4-year-olds teaching us a lesson, what to do with our burgeoning stock portfolios and how we can be "Fit Over 40."
Oh please.
Well, here's a question for the over 40s, both for Vox and Live Journal (I cross-post to both blogs): what would you like to see in a blog, a social networking site, a micro-blog like Twitter, etc., etc.? What would be relevant to YOU, as a no-longer-spring-chicken writer and contributor? Maybe if I get enough responses I'll send them on to those insipid over-50 sites.
Comments
I'd like to see something in a blog about life being a journey, and that we can either look out the window and enjoy the view, or just look at the walls and complain about the colour.
I turn 38 this December. I look for well-written articles, memoir, essays, poetry and fiction. I like art and interviews too. I do not like personal ramblings, since I only share and receive from good friends. I detest facebook, though I am a member. It is like being in a party, but without the full benefits of hors d'ouevres and face-to-face interaction. I feel welcome on Vox by old and young people. I think associations and friendships across generations are often the most stimulating. We tend to segregate ourselves into age groups in the USA and that is detrimental to our development.
Lucy, who thanks you for the good question