The reason for this being the new social networking technology aimed at the over 50's was one of those 'wouldn't it be really great if we had...' ideas I had about a year ago. The new social network is called Saga Zone and it is riding the back of the 'silver surfer' wave (sorry for the pun). Saga Zone (link) is apparently arranged in a way that caters for the needs of an older generation. It is well worth watching the video (here) from the BBC's news website to see how one user understands the differences between Saga zone and other SNS's like Myspace and Facebook. Apparently older people 'use a different language' which is really interesting to see in online interaction. This offers a great opportunity to compare if older generations use social networking technology in the same way i.e. 'do they have real vs fake friends? Do profiles represent an authentic self? Also, from a social construction of technology perspective, do the users of Saga Zone use any of the features in a way that was not originally intended by the developers?
The gateway page has this comment:
SAGA Zone is a new online community where you create a whole new social network of friends and easily stay in touch from the comfort of your home.You can create your own personal profile page and share your interests in our online forums. You can even write your own web diary, or blog. Soon, you will be able to set up your own photo gallery and enjoy live instant chats.
What is immediately clear at this point is that it does start by saying - 'over 50's only' although the website will only let you create a profile if you enter a date of birth over 50. So something is happening here- do marketing companies believe that user will be deterred by openly joining something that is for over 50's? Why has it instead opted to use the term 'easily stay in touch from the comfort of your home' - I fail to see how this is a new and novel concept. The new bit seems to come at the end with one line -
Anyone over 50 can join SAGA Zone in three easy steps.
This shows that the Saga have come very close to missing the point. It is for people over 50. This is the main selling point. That fact that it is from the comfort of your own home is not a new idea. I would be really interested to incorporate this new avenue of social networking into my PhD (although I already feel that this could be a PhD on it's own) and would be interested to talk with anyone who has ideas on this topic.
One thing that is already clear is that networking of this kind offers a stark comparison to the idea that social networking is all about young people. Saga zone represents a unique opportunity to study online communication that is dependant on being from an older age group. I think this is merely the beginning of my talks around this point...
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