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List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond

Categories: Generations, Industry Index, Social Networking, Virtual WorldPosted on June 11th, 2008

I’m doing research around how different ages using social networks, communities, and virtual worlds by age, and will compile this list as it grows. I’m looking for established community sites that are mature enough to work with brands.

There is already so much coverage on mainstream social networks like Bebo, MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn that we forget about the other smaller niche networks. First, understand technographics (how ages use social media 18+) by accessing Forrester’s profile tool, available for free.

If you know the demographics for any of these, please leave a comment.


Youth
I’m primarily seeking communties that are under 18, beyond just MySpace.

Club Penguin, Disney
8-12, Virtual World

Stardolls
Young Girls 10-17, Social Network, virtual dolls

Barbie Girls
6-16, Virtual World

WeeWorld
Youth, Avatar based Social network

Zookazoo
6-10 year olds, Virtual World

Club Penguin, Disney
8-12, Social network, virtual dolls

Gaia
Teens, Virtual World

Habbo Hotel
European Youth, Virtual World

Cyworld
South Korean youth, (and now global), virtual/social network

Neopets
Youth, Virtual Pets

Pixie Hollow, Disney
Young Girls, Virtual Pet

Teen Second Life
Teen, Virtual World

Webkinz
Youth, Virtual World

Piczo
Teens, Social Network

Dizzywood
Youth, Virtual World/games

Shining Stars, by Russ
Youth, ‘name a star’

Puzzle Pirates

Youth, Gaming, Virtual World


50+
Now of course, boomers and retired are also going to be on lifestyle social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, but I’m seeking examples that are focused in on reaching these folks.

Eons

50+, Social Network

BOOMj
50+, Social Network

Tee Bee Dee
Boomers, Social Network

AARP
Boomers, Social Network

There’s a larger list of Boomer sites, many I’ve not heard from.


Departed
Someone suggests this in the comments in Friendfeed, makes sense.
Legacy
Respectance
Tributes.com
SweetMemoriesSite
ChristianMemorials
PreciousMemoriesAndMore

For what it’s worth, I hope this blog lives on past my time here.


Related Resources

  • Danah Boyd has a great PDF on Youth and Social Networks (PDF)
  • Many reports (260) on Forrester site tagged youth
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    40 Responses to “List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond”

    1. Would add in the game Runescape, which is a English start up out of Cambridge. Enjoys massive traction and is WW for under 16s. If it qualifies as a SN?


    2. Jeremiah, I wrote this post back in November so who knows how much it has changed since then but it may help for your boomer category:

      http://emersondirect.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/the-top-30-social-network-sites-for-baby-boomers/


    3. Then there’s weeworld for the youths
      http://www.weeworld.com/


    4. What about the virtual world of Shakespeare being created at Indiana Uni - http://swi.indiana.edu/ardenworld.htm

      Let’s hope there’s more to virtual worlds for kids than trying to sell toys…


    5. Second Life Teen Grid and Pixie Hollow, disney. Also have Alice.org which is for drag and drop programming of virtual worlds. Fun.


    6. Thanks I’m adding some of these.

      Will pass on MMORPG for now


    7. Thanks for the list Jeremiah! I have a 12 year old and she has visited two on your list but never returned. All of her friends are on myspace so much easier for her to connect with them there. She has recently picked up an interest in Ning and working on creating her own social networking site - I’ll let you know how that goes!
      My boys are 10 & 11 and big fans of the disney and wee world sites.
      Best,
      Betty



    8. Posted by Betty Sanchez on June 11th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
    9. Thanks Betty!


    10. I’d also add WePlay, which is a sports-based site geared towards 8-13 year-olds (it seems like). Takkle.com is another strictly sports social network but it’s mainly for older teens/high school crowd.


    11. Community.beliefnet.com


    12. Take a look at Dizzywood.com - they presented last week at Under the Radar and are building a great kid’s virtual world. Sweet interface - lot’s of fun.


    13. More info came in from my colleague

      >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
      Oh yes!

      Doko: http://www.dokodrop.com - social network/game

      GirlSense.com – http://www.girlsense.com – teen fashion-based community

      Moshi Monsters – http://www.moshimonsters.com – virtual world (British company)

      Zwinktopia – slightly different, dressable-up avatars, but they have already done some partnerships with clothing firms etc

      There is also a very long list of existent and planned teen/younger aimed environments here:

      http://www.virtualworldsmanagement.com/2008/youthworlds.html

      which is pretty recent -April.

      Hope that helps!

      Rj

      Rebecca Jennings


    14. Tootsville is a virtual world for kids, 6-12.
      http://tootsville.com



    15. Posted by Emily on June 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
    16. Only 15% of CyWorld’s population are 13-18 years of age (and only 35% are 13- 24). In fact 22% are over 40. Cyworld just has those child-like avatars to make you think it’s for kids :)


    17. [...] Originally posted here: List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond [...]


    18. Webkinz can be used by kids as young as 3 and can stay relevant to them through their early reading years - 8 to 10 I’d guess.

      I find it interesting that parents will pay for their children to join a social community like Webkinz but very few adult networks could get away with charging admission for entry.


    19. [...] List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond [...]


    20. http://www.vois.com is an online community for 25-50


    21. What is a Community - a good definition…

      Found this definition of Community on one of my favorite Marketing Blogs ( Web Strategy by Jeremiah …


    22. AARP recently relaunched its website, which includes a community component. Anyone can sign up to be a part of the community, but as an organization, AARP focuses on the 50+. Check out http://www.aarp.org/onlinecommunity/



    23. Posted by Meredith Sandell on June 12th, 2008 at 10:27 am
    24. Glad you liked Danah Boyd Paper Youth and Social Networks - she is great.

      You should also check out Doko, social networking and global trading Game for kids - http://www.dokodrop.com.

      Combining physical, virtual world and social networking interaction to help kids get out from behind computers as well.

      Doko launched just weeks ago and has already amassed thousands of registered users, connecting children in 73 countries around the globe so far. The game is geared toward tweens - they thought boys would like to more than girls - but the girls are loving the fun characters.

      Full Disclosure: I’m helping launch them - but my Nephews love ‘em so much - I feel okay sharing.

      Please feel to opt-out in sharing if you don’t feel appropriate - Thanks,

      Bob C.



    25. Posted by Robert Collins on June 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
    26. You might find this graph of use….

      http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?page_id=2092


    27. [...] from. Departed Someone suggests this in the comments in Friendfeed, makes sense. Legacy Respectance Tributes.com SweetMemoriesSite ChristianMemorials PreciousMemoriesAndMore*Thanks to Jeremy for putting this [...]


    28. [...] morning, my wife read Jeremiah Owyang’s post on Social Networks for all kinds of folks. He didn’t list AARP’s Online Social Community, so she left a comment about it. The [...]


    29. [...] List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond - [...]


    30. Thanks for including us. You missed Dizzywood, my kid’s favorite community. http://www.dizzywood.com


    31. [...] List of Communities, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks for Youth, Boomers, Retired, and Beyond [...]


    32. Check out http://www.newretirement.com/ - it’s mostly financial planning reference right now, but does contain an active Answers section.


    33. Uhh, you missed http://www.roliana.com ( another role-playing site very similar to gaiaonline, but with a lot less users ), and http://www.kinsaki.com ( I think it just started, ‘cuz it has less than 20k people registered. )
      I think they’re both for people under 18.
      Hope you find this helpfull :D



    34. Posted by Annabella Noxious on July 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
    35. Thought this might be helpful… it’s a Virtual Worlds wiki in timeline format - we should merge everyone’s input here: http://www.dipity.com/user/xantherus/timeline/Virtual_Worlds



    36. Posted by Ann Marie Mathis on July 16th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
    37. Another one I have come across is Rocketon (www.rocketon.com). I guess the company is still in private alpha, but I have come across a few articles on it. I am not exactly sure if they are targeting youth, but the art seems to suggest so.



    38. Posted by Jessica on July 16th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
    39. papermint (www.papermint.com): with all this comments, this article became a quite interesting list of social virtual worlds. don’t miss papermint! as undefined and open as paper, rich of possible stories and colorful like LSD.
      br,
      lev


    40. For Entrepreneurs :: http://www.efactor.com
      E.Factor, the fastest growing business community for Entrepreneurs and Investors.


    41. Hey Jeremiah! Thought you’d be interested in checking out Horseland.com, a youth oriented SN site for those with a shared interest in horses. Also, YouthNoise.com for teens interested in social activism. Take care and great site! -jp


    42. antoher up and coming kids world can be found at http://www.gardenpartyworld.com with emphasis on Growing your own fun.


    43. Hi heaard about a new social network call mycirclespace.com it is a nice site that just get started take look at i think thee kids will love it


    44. Some other websites I noticed that weren’t on there are:
      Whyville
      IMVU
      Photobucket
      Flicker



    45. Posted by elle on April 19th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
    46. Can’t forget about Kaneva, a virtual world for all age groups 10+ ^_^


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