I didn't have to wait until Easter to learn that my grandniece got into graduate school. (Go, Briana!) Dave forgot to tell me that Bonnie got a Group 4 at the dog show last week. But now I know. In all the years that we've been taking a family picture at Christmas, I've never seen the final product. Until this year. And I have Facebook to thank for it.
I've been connecting with my professional network via LinkedIn for some time, and then there's Twitter, but I wouldn't dream of subjecting other librarians to the details and video of my latest dog agility run. So I'd been thinking a personal social network for sharing information about my dog-related activities would be fun. But what good is a social network, if none of your friends are there? Then, a couple of months ago, my friend Sally said she'd joined Facebook and suggested I'd be surprised at who I might find there. She was right. I found friends, relatives, and an easy way to keep up with them all.
I'm not the only one. The number of Americans over 35, 45, and 55 on Facebook is growing fast. In the last 60 days alone, the number of people over 35 has nearly doubled. (Inside Facebook:Number of US Facebook Users Over 35 Nearly Doubles in Last 60 Days) Women over 55 are the fastest growing demographic. Yes, this is the same Facebook that started as an online haven for college students. As I told my nephew when I found him in Facebook, it's the invasion of the baby boomers.
So how long before the kids run screaming from the virtual room because their aunts, uncles, parents and others are now watching their every move on Facebook?
