Lately I’ve been writing about the impending collision between the Post War generation (often referred to as the “Boomers”) and the Iron Law of Aging.
Let’s review that Iron Law…
Every day we all wake up one day older.
The problem is that the generation that lionized youth, the generation that once pledged to “never trust anyone over thirty” is now caught in the jaws of a cultural vice they helped construct.
This will create a challenge of massive and sustained cultural challenge— how do we dismantle the mythology that our youth obsessed culture has constructed around normal aging? How can we re-establish the virtues currently hidden within aging?
Under normal circumstances we might turn to the mass media and ask them to help us tell our story. These outlets (print, broadcast and electronic) reach hundreds of millions people everyday.
We are saved!
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Except we’re not.
The mass media is the most ageist element of our society. These outlets would rather suffer anaphylactic shock than commit time, resources and energy telling a pro-aging story. Regular readers who have been following Kavan’s news digest posts know exactly what I am talking about.
Well– we could cry the pro-aging message from the rooftops.
Except- it’s cold and windy up there and nobody will hear us.
There is one more option… It’s BIG. It’s powerful. It’s under our control. The answer is…
Social Media.
Social Media is the catchall name for things like Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube– you know, the most popular parts of the internet.
One little problem. Although Social Media provides us the tools it does not tell our story.
We have to tell the story.
Three things makes this hard to do.
1) What are all these blinky things, buttons, widgets and toggles? How do they work? Who has the time to figure all this stuff out? Uggh.
2) “Sure,” you say, “I’ve got things to say but dang how do you come up with new and interesting things everyday?” Building an audience– like the one here at Changing Aging requires a fresh, regular supply of new content. Hmmmm.
3) People ask, “If I put my stuff out there, how do I can I get people to read it/watch it/use it?”
The answer to each of these problems is embodied in a new approach that Kavan and I have been working hard to develop.
The answer is…
The Changing Aging Blogstream
The blogstream is a cooperative effort by people with a pro-aging vision that facilitates the creation, sharing and distribution of pro-aging content within the social media universe.
Working together magnifies our voices and maximizes our influence.
We will all create interesting social media content and then share that content with each other.
As a result, your blog will have access to the ideas and creations of the best and coolest pro-aging thinkers and your insights and ideas will also wind up on their blogs as well.
The blogstream will also include regular web-based instruction in how to use social media tools.
We will have instruction that will help elders and the people who love them use social media tools to tell THEIR stories.
We will have beginning, intermediate and black belt social media courses that will help the people who learn these skills become masters of social media.
There is more….
Right now I want folks to think about the power and wisdom of cooperation, sharing and learning.
Our cause is just,
the time is right,
now we must take hold of the tools that will help us
change the world.
Get a sneak preview here.
It Starts Here « ChangingAging.org
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