I wondered, when I read The Harris Poll findings, how my proprietary panel of HomeTrend Influentials would stack up against the mainstream population on their use of social networking media.  HomeTrend Influentials pick up on new home-related trends and embrace new home goods much sooner than the rest of the U.S. population.  Do they also embrace new technology much sooner than the mainstream population?  

The answer is a resounding yes.  More than three quarters of the members of my HomeTrend Influentials Panel regularly visit at least one social networking site, with two thirds of them visiting the site at least once a day.  

The Harris Poll data indicated that among the general population, 74% of those aged 18-34 years old have a Facebook or MySpace account while only 24% of those 55 and older have an account.  This would seem to indicate that use of social networking media skews younger.  A look at the HIPster data shows that this is not necessarily true.  Many more HIPsters over the age of 55 have embraced social networking than you would expect based on The Harris Poll data.  61% of HIPsters age 55 and older visit Facebook on a regular basis.

Why have HIPsters embraced social networking media (and especially Facebook as it is the social networking site of choice for the HIPsters)?  Almost exclusively for social reasons: to stay in touch with friends and family and to reconnect and get caught up with old friends.  It is an especially useful tool for keeping in touch with, as one HIPster put it, "friends from all over the world."  Another HIPster said that it is "an easier way to keep up with friends who have moved to different parts of the country." 

Another reason Facebook and other social networking sites have caught on with the HIPsters is because the sites provide a time-saving way to stay connected with people.  They can, in the words of one HIPster, "keep in touch with several people at a time."  Another HIPster put it this way, "It's easy to see what's going on in their life without actually writing to them."

Given that HIPsters are visiting social networking sites for purely social reasons, I wonder whether the pioneering marketers who are experimenting with the promotion and advertising of consumer products and services on Facebook and other social networking sites are having any sort of success.

Drop me a line if you have done any sort of advertising, publicity, or promotion on Facebook or any of the other social networking sites, whether it was a success or not.  Perhaps we can all help each other navigate this wild and wooly world of social networking.