Social Media PR Podcast | Baby Boomers Master Social Networking

No matter what your age, mastering social networking can be challenging. While teens and young adults might appear to be less self-conscious about setting up online profiles, the one major missing component for many of them is strategy. How do you set up – and maintain – not only an effective online profile, but nurture and grow a responsive community that goes along with it?

Although this podcast is about how baby boomers can master social networking, the basic principles apply to everyone. What’s different for Baby Boomers? Experience, sometimes decades of experience. Moving from shame about becoming older to accepting and valuing life’s accomplishments is a message that Carlos Hernandez, a native San Franciscan and social media consultant, takes to Baby Boomers and the companies who employ them.

A Baby Boomer himself, as am I, Carlos came up with the idea as a result of his personal frustration from being too far behind in terms of technology. The need to explore the world online motivated Carlos to attend the first BlogWorld Expo event in November 2007. We met over lunch at an outdoor cafe and stayed in touch since then. At the time, Carlos was like most of us there – amazed at the possibilities and the ease of connecting in person and online.

In this interview, Carlos talks about how he came up with the idea to help Baby Boomers overcome their fear of expressing who they really are online. Working in layers, Carlos helps them build a profile that releases their attachment to a company and connects them with their best personal qualities. The 22 minute interview also covers these topics:

• the biggest issues Baby Boomers face when creating online career profiles
• value-added qualities Baby Boomers bring to the workplace
• how social media is becoming a new language that requires fluency
• overcoming ageism by valuing experience

Here are two ways to listen to the interview: right click on the link to save it to your computer or click the play button on the AudioAcrobat player.

Mastering Social Networking for Baby Boomers : an interview with Carlos Hernandez by Barbara Rozgonyi

Te see how Carlos presents himself online, visit:

Carlos Hernandez, social media consultant, LinkedIn profile and Facebook profile 

Image: Carlos Hernandez, Wendy Piersall – CEO of Sparkplugging and Barbara Rozgonyi in San Francisco for BlogHer08