The mid-life MySpace: TBD
50+ LIFESTYLES | Parenting founder creates site for boomers
Robin Wolaner's first big splash in the media business was Parenting -- a magazine she started in 1987, just as huge numbers of baby boomers were busy having babies of their own.
She later sold the magazine to Time Inc., where she continued to work on magazine success stories like Martha Stewart Living and Sunset magazine.
Fast forward 20 years, and Wolaner is riding the crest of another change in life for the huge boomer generation: the shift into mid-life. But Wolaner knows this is no time to start an ink-on-paper media venture. Her latest venture is TeeBeeDee -- a Web site that wants to be the Facebook for grownups.
The site, at TBD.com, is short for "to be determined," a reference to Wolaner's belief that boomers are embarking on new adventures in life. TeeBeeDee is a place where they can do what she calls "purposeful networking" -- comparing notes, getting ideas and inspiration.
"There is a fork in the road at mid-life," says Wolaner, 53. "Some people can't take the steps to reinvigorate their careers and relationships. But the mind set of the person joining our site is, 'I'm in pretty good shape, I've got a couple decades ahead. I'm going to make the most of things.'"
TeeBeeDee joins a growing field of interactive ventures appealing to people who want to network online, but are just a bit older than the typical Facebook or MySpace user.
The splashiest site is Eons, the brain child of Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor. Backed by $32 million in venture capital, Eons has spent heavily to build its brand and site traffic since launching in mid-2006 -- and has built a respectable audience of 1.8 million unique visitors at the end of August, according to Compete.com. The company recently went through a round of staff layoffs, but appears to be maintaining its traffic momentum.
Other boomer-oriented social networks include Boomj, Boomertown, Rezoom and Gather. And AARP -- the granddaddy of 50+ media -- is getting ready to add social networking early next year as part of a redesign of its Web site.
There's no doubt boomers are online in huge numbers. Sixty-five percent of Americans age 50-to-64 are online, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and the percentages are higher among boomers under 60.
The audience is a lucrative demographic target for online advertisers in categories such as financial services, travel and health. But will boomers take to social networking in the same way their kids have bought into Facebook and MySpace? Some observers are skeptical.
"The most compelling reason that young people use these sites is to hook up," says Susan Ayers Walker, who writes about computers and technology for AARP's Web site. "Older people already have their social networks set, so what is the compelling reason they will use sites like this?"
How about ... hooking up?
"A lot of the traffic on TeeBeeDee is around sex and relationships," Wolaner says. "There's really no place online for people at this age to talk about sex and relationships."
Wolaner started with something else in mind when she hatched TeeBeeDee. But after a divorce and a bout with breast cancer, she found herself asking how she wanted to spend the next part of her life.
She committed to starting TeeBeeDee. The company has raised $4.8 million in venture capital, and hired a staff of 19 at its San Francisco headquarters.
Along with discussion forums, the site offers career reinvention tools that help users figure out their next steps and online boot camps on topics ranging from dating to writing. Feature articles focus on topics such as sexless marriages and weight loss. And Wolaner hasn't been shy about injecting herself into the community -- the site recently ran a graphic feature about her experience with eye-lift surgery. But TeeBeeDee will rise or fall on networking, she says.
"No one is as motivated as you are to get the answers you need. That is why networking can be purposeful. It's not just about hanging out. People our age don't have the time for that."