Search Marketing Blog
Welcome to Face-Mart
Posted by Sean McMahon on 04.06.2009
A compelling article from MSN Money last week titled ‘Is Facebook the new Wal-Mart?’ put forth the proposition that, due to the fact that the social media Web site’s audience is skewing older and going mainstream, Facebook is now positioned to become a bona-fide ‘big box retailer’.
The article substantiates this point by reporting that older people are currently flocking to Facebook. In fact, the fastest-growing age group on the site is the now the over-55 segment, with membership from this group growing more that twenty-seven percent (27%) in February 2009. This age group, according to the tracking firm Hitwise, now represents nine percent (9%) of all Facebook users.
Additionally, the next-fastest-growing age segment is the 45 to 54 year olds, which grew twenty-one percent (21%) during the same month. This age group now represents seventeen percent (17%) of all users. All of this increase in older audiences is in direct contrast to the fact that there is currently a decline in the number of younger users on Facebook.
“Adults are driven to the site in part to build their ’social capital,’” says Matthew Fraser, a social-networking expert in this MSN Money article. “As they socialize, they’re looking to develop ties to influential people and swap useful information,” he says. “It’s just like joining groups in real life, but they can connect with people around the world.”
Thus, the article summed-up the ‘big box retailer’ phenomenon with the following statement: In a sense, Facebook users benefit from the same sort of globalization that lets Wal-Mart shoppers find cheaper goods made overseas.
Let us know if you perceive Facebook to be worthy of this image and why; and if you think it’s a positive or negative development for social media networking.
