Eons Is to TeeBeeDee as MySpace Is to Facebook

Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:48AM EDT

See Comments (10)

One site focuses on sex, work, and relationships. The other more politely calls it "dating" and offers everything from brain fitness exercises to obituaries. Just like MySpace and Facebook attract different sorts of young adults, so do the boomer sites like Eons and TeeBeeDee. Both are trying to cultivate a boomer following, each just sees boomers through a different lens.

According to experts like Danah Boyd who study these sorts of things, MySpace and Facebook have attracted two different audiences. MySpace is associated with a lower economic, less educated demographic while Facebook smacks of the college educated crowd from which it was born. Following suit, the new boomer networks, Eons and TeeBeeDee, are likely to amplify the boomer cultural divide.

Eons, the first major web destination for folks over 50, offers its users community and advice on money, travel, health, finance, and more. There are expert columnists doling out advice on a number of topics from bird watching to life changes. Both the editorial and the user comments have a certain primness, a sort of Andy of Mayberry sensibility. The comments to blog posts are kind and encouraging; the humor is kind of cornball—like the uncle whose jokes made you groan at the family holiday table. The site also tries to bring 50-somethings a bit of their own celebrity world. The feature story this month is about Jane Seymour (if you're under 30 you may not have a clue).

TeeBeeDee (a longhand way of spelling "TBD," the abbreviation for "To Be Determined") smacks of a more leisured, hipper and privileged class. It focuses on the 40+ demographic, and it's amazing the difference a decade can make. Sex over 40, work, relationships, and mind/body balance were the hot topics over the course of my visits. Totally propelled by community content, the members tend to quote great authors, listen to eclectic but non-mainstream music, and travel to exotic destinations. TeeBeeDee's celebrity story featured Ali G hosting a rather explicit interview with the Beckhams. Biggest problem, the site has a homogeneity of voices, probably because it's all based on inviting your friends to join you.

TeeBeeDee's is certainly holding a different cocktail party than the one on Eons. TeeBeeDee asks members to talk about where they've had their wildest sex-capades; Eons members talk about the difficulties of getting intimate after 50—never mind the wild sex. If Eons is Mayberry then TeeBeeDee is Woodstock.

Created by the founder of Parenting magazine, TeeBeeDee took a lesson from the women's service magazines with topics and headlines that capture our imaginations. Eons, founded by Jeff Taylor (the same guy who founded Monster.com), brings a bit more utility and handholding advice to an aging generation. Eons has been around for a year and a half; TeeBeeDee is just getting started. Both sites fill an important space in the ages and stages of the Internet.

Why don't you visit each of them and tell me if my insights are on target? Which one would you spend more time on? Boomer web sites are being launched daily so I'll be taking a look at some of the others in upcoming posts.

 

Comments on Eons Is to TeeBeeDee as MySpace Is to Facebook

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 1 Posted by casey_dawes on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    Did you find that there was a lot of traffic on either of these sites? I have periodically gone back to EONS, but can't get excited because there isn't a lot going on or it's boring. From all the research I've done, most of the sites aimed at boomers aren't hitting the mark in terms of traffic.

  • 2 Posted by ytech_robinraskin on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Casey, I tried to check the relative position of these sites in terms of traffic and my machine froze. (Maybe they don't want us to know?) I think like all communities on the web they start small and then they sort of hit a tipping point when enough folks invite more folks. Certainly AARP has a lot of web traffic. I'll get back to you with some stats.

  • 3 Posted by engcall on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    I saw a post on the Savvy Boomer about a week or two ago with all the stats for about 1/2 dozen of these sites up until the end of August. If I recall, Eons was way ahead of the pack which is interesting considering that they laid off a bunch of people this month.

  • 4 Posted by ytech_robinraskin on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Eons spent a lot of money on content. TeeBeeDee is all user generated (aka cheap). I think Eons will dial back and rightsize itself for the market. Thanks for the info--Robin

  • 6 Posted by maggiecmg@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    TBD?? What is it? That's what I would have asked before reading this article. Eons let me and everyone else know they were out there with television ads, etc. rather than a "The sky is falling" approach TBD seems to be taking. Eons has a sufficient number of forums for people to find one which suits their interest(s) without a problem. The people who make up these groups quite often form friendships with members who live states away or sometimes in the very same town...friendships they would not have formed without making contact on Eons. As far as not finding anything to get excited about on Eons, it's necessary to read more than message headlines to know what is going on in any given group.

  • 7 Posted by bucchieri on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    Eons has made a profound difference in my life. It has connected me to the outside world. I have several health issues which make me rather housebound.. While only a member since July I have made life long friends both on line and in person. I spend time reading wonderful blogs, playing on line games and visiting wonderful groups. I would encourage everyone to spend less than 30 minutes on the site and tell me you're not "hooked"..

  • 8 Posted by dixie29464 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Unlike the post ahead of mine, I am not housebound and have an active life. Even so, I have been an eons member for about 8 months and have made some good friends there. I've even met some of them in person. It is like the real world there. You can find the "primness" of Mayberry if that's what you're looking for, or you can find your own place with others who think the same way as you if you're not the Mayberry type.

  • 9 Posted by thegolfgirl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've never felt that I needed an "older person's" alternative to MySpace/Facebook. Those two social networks, along with Twitter, serve my needs just fine. The idea of "over 40s" in their own little online ghetto is not very appealing to me.

  • 10 Posted by dnkropi on Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    I get many responsis I don't know how to answer back, what can I do?

More Posts: First Prev 1 2 Next Last

Post a Comment