I had a good chat yesterday with someone who noted that consumer social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace continually get “ruined” when the old people show up and make it not cool. Sorta like then the cops showed up at your high school cul-de-sac beer drinking party. Then you’d drive around until you found a new place to hang out.
His observation was that this was the exact opposite at work. At work, a bunch of young people have suddenly showed up. There it’s the old people wanting these 23 year old social software know-it-alls to shut up and stop trying to change the workplace.
While I think that can be true, my observation is that “old” and “young” are more mindsets then actual ages. Especially in the workplace. Some of the most amped up power users I know are in their 50s.
