Content providers are overlooking the needs of many of today's Internet users

Why when you read this type of headline do you know that the “many of today’s Internet users” are likely to be the 50-plus?

An outfit called Burst Media has conducted an online survey of 13,000 web users 18 years or older and found that the majority of Internet users 45 years and older believe that online content, as well as website design and online advertising is skewed toward younger web users.

There is a good reason for this perception – it IS skewed towards younger web users!

The survey that is only reported in press release format has a few other observations:

· Website usability is an issue for older web users more than for younger people.

· Loss of connectivity is ‘devastating’ at any age. I think that is a bit strong but I know what they mean.

· All ages of people are looking at an “Expanded Universe of Sites”

So there you go. Nothing much new, a couple of statements of the obvious but it does reinforce what us 50-plus marketers have been saying for as long as I can remember (which is not long these days!).

Woops. I should have looked in more detail. There is a report on the site about this research. Thanks to Tom for pointing this out. Dick Stroud