AARP embraces social media

The nonprofit for 50-plus demographic redesigns site based on user feedback

Don’t expect the popularity of social networks and other Web 2.0 tools to decline as users age. Just ask AARP.

The nonprofit launched daily news site AARP Bulletin Today and redesigned its Web site last spring (the site came out of beta testing in September) to include Web 2.0 features to prepare for what it expects will be an exponentially growing user base, Clark says Nataki Clarke, director of online marketing.

Data compiled by the Pew Internet & American Life Center reveals that, today, 70 percent of people age 50 to 64 use the Internet, and 35 percent of those over 76 years of age are online. Meanwhile, JupiterResearch estimates that baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) account for 43 percent of the total Internet population. And as more boomers reach the 50-year milestone—the age of eligibility for AARP membership—and millions from this generation enter retirement, AARP is betting its community and content will become increasingly important to a vast majority of Internet users.