Thanks to advances in technology, the virtual world has become accessible for just about everyone. Couple that with the fact that America’s aging population has worked with some form of a computer for the last 25 years and it’s easy to see how the face of the average online social networker is changing so rapidly. So why are 20 and 30-somethings still shocked when people nearly double their age know what phrases like “data exchange,” “html,” or “blogging” mean?
“The machine that gave way to the modern computer was born in the 1940s; so why can’t the computer’s users also have been born in the same decade?” asks Suzanne Caplan, a successful business writer, consultant and the founder and CEO of WomenEtcetera. “Young people believe Myspace is their space only, which is fine. But that doesn’t mean our demographic isn’t demanding our own real estate in Cyberspace.”
That’s why Caplan created WOMENetcetera!, which is quickly becoming the go-to “space” for modern, mature women in the continuously growing 50 to 70-year-old demographic. More than a social networking and relationship building tool, the website provides a forum for serious topics like work and careers, financial security and medical issues.
“At our age, many of us have scars that still need healing,” says Caplan. “The site is a non-traditional instrument for women wanting to develop their resiliency.”
This explains Caplan’s excitement in announcing the addition of noted author and blogger C.J. Golden to WOMENetcetera!, “She is the exactly unique voice that personifies what our online community is about.”
Author of “Tao of the Defiant Woman,” Golden now writes tips and blogs on WomenEctetera.com, “They are a necessary and vital community. I am proud to be playing even a small role within this far-reaching and rapidly growing program.”
Golden continues to explain how her personal beliefs mirror the mission of WOMENetcetera!, “A defiant attitude added to a Tao philosophy endows mature women with the necessary skills to deal with the changes life brings after 50 in a positive and healthy manner.”
According to Golden, she and Caplan are already planning on expanding the reach of the site into the ‘real world’ by providing regional meetings in various parts of the nation “to share with, learn from and give our insights to as many” modern, mature women as they can meet.
Noting Microsoft’s recent business assessments stressing the value of serving America’s aging population; Caplan delivers a recommendation to other women in her age range, “We need to learn to laugh at ourselves as well as the others who underestimate us. We are still a generation to be reckoned with and we know how to make a difference – even if it is online!”
