Technology provides the means, relationships provide the value.

The Relationship Economy is now, not when, being built by individuals who learn how to maximize the value of relationships by optimizing technology. We’ll need to forget what we’ve been using and think “how” to adapt to the convergence of means which enables us to maximize value. We need to ReThink our methods and ReShape the means so we can individually and collectively capture the most value. Are you ready? What is your plan? How will you adapt?

When is Now: What say you?

I’ll be publishing a lot more on this at my blog later today. If you want more go to http://jayderagon.com/blog

As a side note, just because people older than 25 don’t admit to your face that they have a MySpace page doesn’t mean they don’t have one. I believe it’s not socially acceptable yet to admit it - much like Internet dating in the mid-late ’90s.

Also, I must agree that Comscore’s numbers could be skewed based on their methods of reporting. If they took a sample of ages as reported on profiles, I would agree with Jack that this data cannot be trusted. Many of the younger users (my niece and her friends included) give ages that are much higher than what is actually true, most of them choosing an age above 18 (for what reason, I do not know). Also, there are MANY bots out there creating fake/spam profiles so the ages on those profiles must be thrown out as well.

I think the main point here is market saturation. The social networks are not as saturated with older users as it is the younger user. I also think that younger users are more of “power users” and use these sites more often than an adult user. I agree when Jack says that most older users “first exposure to (new technologies) was part of their job requirements” so Google taking a route similar to what Jack describes would enable them to increase the saturation of older users and expand the use of their social network.

The assumption you are making is that those Comscore numbers are right. While Comscore claims “unmatched accuracy” in this case I would really like to know HOW they got these numbers.

One would believe it would be the easy route of simply mining the MySpace Profile data base. If so then I really question these numbers, given people like Michale Gray have been on shows like SEO Rockstars saying, “I am running MySpace Bots all day long”. So how many of those profiles are real, how many are bots on revolving IP addresses?

In short when you actually talk to people the numbers do not bear out the way Comscore claims.

To see it another way, I live in Texas and no matter what organization put out a statement like, “Only 10% of Texans drive pick up trucks”, I would never believe the number. Why? Well because I drive around here every day and know it is more like 40%.

Same with MySpace, etc, the Internet is my life, I am paid to pay attention to everything I can about it, that is my job. I ask every one I meet on and off line about social networking and I can tell you that the vast majority of people in their 30s do not have a MySpace page while every single teen I have asked (many of them show up at random courtesy of my 17 year old son) has one.

The Comscore numbers just do not jive with what we see. Do you know of any other such studies that back this one? One study is meaningless unless a third party can duplicate it.

Jack