Avant-Garde: Blogging about Blogging

The thing about blogging is that you need something to say. If you’re like me, you hear these made-up words like blogosphere and think two things: 1. “what can all these people possibly be talking about?” and 2. “blogosphere is a bizarre and nonsensical word.” While it’s true that there are way too many blogs for one person to follow, that doesn’t mean that you can write off blogs as a medium of expression. If you have something to say, people will listen.

For example, BoomerCafe.com is a blog designed by and for baby boomers. It’s constantly updated, features a pretty slick website, and publishes work from dozens of contributors. It’s pretty successful. The catch? It was launched 12 years ago. Who knew what a blog was in 1999? If somebody had suggested I check out the “Blog” 12 years ago, I would have told them, “I don’t like horror films.”

To me, this is an awesome example of staying power. I know, as I’m sure everyone else does by now (it’s hard to ignore) that boomers are increasingly more connected online. But 12 years ago? I know for a fact that my grandmother and all her sisters were not Facebook-fiends 12 years ago. So why did Boomer Cafe grow to what it is today?

Because boomers have something to say. They’re finding that online tools for communication are fun, and that they provide a place to vent, share, and embellish. I can’t tell stories about my wild youth like my grandpa can. I can’t share cultural memories like my Aunt can. I am, however, willing to listen. Now, more people are listening than ever before, and thankfully, more people are sharing as well.

So how can you say what you want to say? How can you share what’s important to you? Well, you could always start your own blog (check out blogs like changingaging and elderchicks for inspiration), you could take advantage of a built-in, directed community in a forum like The Age for Change: An E-Book for People 50+ at comingofage.org/ebook, or you could even explore sites like Facebook or Twitter, which Boomers are adopting in droves.

Janis Glenn for example, a consultant for Coming of Age, is a social media Rock Star, currently on Twitter, with plans to fire up her own “Glam-Mom” blog for “Feminist/Activist Grandmoms.” In my mind, while blogosphere is still a heinous word, overall it’s a pretty cool idea.