Is MOL old?

On one of the BOE election threads someone posted "The MOL crowd seems to skew a bit older, and my sense is that conventional wisdom here is a bit out of touch with younger generations (of Maplewoodians)", which got me thinking.

I obviously do not know anyone but it does appear from what people post that the demographics of MOL has gotten older over the years with only limited infusion younger people who post regularly.

Do other agree with that assessement and if so why does MOL not appeal to a younger generation?

We're pretty much not Snapchat, if that's the question.

Since many people, myself included, initially come to MOL looking for advice on household maintenance - plumbers, carpenters, etc. it attracts an older demographic. The younger generation of home owners may be going to Yelp, which I would if I didn't live in the MOL area.

Discussion boards are so not au courant.

I think Facebook has had a much bigger impact than Yelp. The Swap Lounge is where people now go for that sort of advice. A lot of younger people think of MOL as a place where the older crowd goes to yell at each other about politics, both national and local.

Sad to say, I think imonlysleeping hit the nail on the head.

Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

ctrzaska said:
Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

It's not completely umoderated. It's a closed group and if someone crosses a line the group owners can take action. I haven't been there long enough to see how that plays out, but it isn't NJ.COM for sure.

"Owners"

FB mythology.

I do think MOL is an older crowd which I appreciate when it comes to recommendations for home and health related issues. The last two contractor recommendations I got here were way off but for the most part I think of MOL as a solid experienced knowledge base for certain things.

imonlysleeping said:
I think Facebook has had a much bigger impact than Yelp. The Swap Lounge is where people now go for that sort of advice. A lot of younger people think of MOL as a place where the older crowd goes to yell at each other about politics, both national and local.

I love it. It's "au courant" for me, even when I have to wait out a banning and try to get back on.

By photos on swap lounge, I'm guessing this is an older demographic, for better and worse.

Different strokes for different folks.

I can't speak for now (unless I hear from them about it) but a few years back I found out, much to my surprise, that my kids and a surprising number of their then teen-aged friends were lurking on MOL. Fortunately I always tried to be circumspect about what I posted about them, but noticed that the same was not always true of some of my peers.

I am NOT olde.

While I believe most MOLers seem seniorish or close to seniorish, I get the impression that there is somewhat of a division even within this demographic: open folks and closed folks , which has little to do with age.I'm also not clear how diverse the core group is. Just wondering...

sac said:

ctrzaska said:
Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

It's not completely umoderated. It's a closed group and if someone crosses a line the group owners can take action. I haven't been there long enough to see how that plays out, but it isn't NJ.COM for sure.

Their only moderation ability is to allow and remove access, no different than on MOL. Where it differs is that hey have no control over who posts what, nor can directly do anything about it once anything is posted.

At 32, I definitely feel like I'm one of the younger posters on MOL. I also feel like I'm one of the youngest parents at my kid's preschool, but that's neither here nor there. I do feel like the FB swap lounge group skews more towards "my" demographic--people in their 30's or early 40's, usually with younger kids--but I use both platforms, probably for different things though.

"How do I turn this damn computer on? What...? What...there's a button? In my day, all we needed was a typewriter and a piece of carbon paper...Maplewood on line? Maplewood is on the line? I didn't hear the phone ring. One of those damn telemarketers. They always call when I'm watching Matlock reruns."

ctrzaska said:

sac said:

ctrzaska said:
Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

It's not completely umoderated. It's a closed group and if someone crosses a line the group owners can take action. I haven't been there long enough to see how that plays out, but it isn't NJ.COM for sure.

Their only moderation ability is to allow and remove access, no different than on MOL. Where it differs is that hey have no control over who posts what, nor can directly do anything about it once anything is posted.

And since it is tied to Facebook it is for the most part not anonymous

I look at MOL as being the modern day cyber-cousin of The Town Cryer - guess that reference makes me a fossil at 55...

cuethesun said:
I look at MOL as being the modern day cyber-cousin of The Town Cryer - guess that makes me a fossil at 55...

55? Ha! You are a mere babe in the (Maple)wood(s)!

Stay tuned - we're going to add a Bieber category soon, then we'll be hip with the kids!

I was just about to ask about The Deafening Silence on the Biebs.

Eh? What's that you say, sonny?

ctrzaska said:

sac said:

ctrzaska said:
Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

It's not completely umoderated. It's a closed group and if someone crosses a line the group owners can take action. I haven't been there long enough to see how that plays out, but it isn't NJ.COM for sure.

Their only moderation ability is to allow and remove access, no different than on MOL. Where it differs is that hey have no control over who posts what, nor can directly do anything about it once anything is posted.

I believe that they are able to delete posts/comments, although I don't know if they choose to exercise that power. I know that I am able to do that on the Facebook groups that I 'own'.

Well I was young when I started posting on MOL. But, I know that high school students lurk and sometimes troll here, so there is hope for the future.

jamie said:
Stay tuned - we're going to add a Bieber category soon, then we'll be hip with the kids! ">

I just don't want to see nude shots of the Bieb. It would take me back to my days of changing diapers.

sac said:

ctrzaska said:

sac said:

ctrzaska said:
Swap has got a slew of folks from outside the MSO area, far more so than MOL. The more banal three-post topics of older MOL seem to have moved there as well, along with posts that were and are not allowed on MOL (primarily those of a promotional nature). It's also unmoderated insofar as content as its on FB. Different animal altogether.

It's not completely umoderated. It's a closed group and if someone crosses a line the group owners can take action. I haven't been there long enough to see how that plays out, but it isn't NJ.COM for sure.

Their only moderation ability is to allow and remove access, no different than on MOL. Where it differs is that hey have no control over who posts what, nor can directly do anything about it once anything is posted.

I believe that they are able to delete posts/comments, although I don't know if they choose to exercise that power. I know that I am able to do that on the Facebook groups that I 'own'.

My bad if true... only assumed that because they often just ask for inappropriate posts to be removed. But then again I'm not stalking Sharon to find out, either, and know it's a big job to monitor all the BS in any case.

Still, the two outlets are apples and oranges for many reasons more than that, and a lot more similar in other areas than some FB posters seem willing to admit.

I'm 41, and feel like a whippersnapper on MOL.