Something strange is happening. Apparently nobody told the baby boomers that social networking sites were for the young ‘uns. It appears as if they are sneaking online in increasing numbers. Forrester Research found out that no fewer than 67% of those in the age group of 43 to 52 and 62% of the age group 53 to 63 were consumers of socially created content.

As if this aging invasion were not enough, it appears that they are not content to be passive observers but also want to contribute. The number of older baby boomers actually responding and interacting with content doubled from 2007 to 2008 and it seems that one in every three is likely to respond, to comment or to post in some way or form.

As we are really still witnessing the emergence of social media, it would appear that an application or platform of some kind may be necessary for this demographic. One in four of the younger boomer age range is an active member of a social network and this figure has almost doubled in the space of a year, as well. We are, however, yet to see an aggressive stance from the boomers, as only a minority are involved in actively creating original material, writing blog articles and so on.

It’ll probably be some time before the meteoric Twitter and the dominant Facebook settle themselves amidst all the dust, the creative forces unleashed during this scramble for market position. Indeed, both Twitter and Facebook appear slow to establish what kind of market they should target as neither powerhouse appears able to monetize their creation. By the time it all settles we may have witnessed several fragmentations and the emergence of networks and applications specifically for demographic groups.

Marketers face a tough job in analyzing an approach to social media in general. It seems clear that it should be possible to reach almost every type of demographic, boomers included, but while they are definitely in the process of getting engaged it may be too premature to assume that our middle-aged and senior populations are ready for an assault on their pocketbooks within their curious new world.

But there’s more, eMarketer.com tells us that women older than 45 years old signed on in greater numbers than any other demographic during the first quarter of 2009. Indeed it is estimated that they make up 22% of the entire Web population. Clearly the favored young adult male may not have that market-related bull’s-eye target on his forehead as often in the future.

Are you a tweeting Boomer? Fill us in, please!

Matthew Toren