PeopleJam promises to help me in my “pursuit of a great life,” whether we’re talking health, relationships, finance, faith or fun.
That’s touching, not to mention a tall order, given that I’ve had a heart attack and a divorce, have debts up to my armpits, abandoned the religion of my youth long ago, and, as the father of 6-year-old triplets, remember fun only vaguely.
Worse yet, however, is that it seems I — and PeopleJam — have only a bit over a year left for me to attain all of that missing greatness. … Talk about pressure.
Why the deadline? Well, PeopleJam — making its debut this week at DEMOfall07 here in San Diego — is targeting its ambitious social network at the age 25 to 50 demographic … and the Big 5-Oh is set to smite me come this Oct. 31.
So I went to the PeopleJam booth and asked CEO Matt Edelman straight-out why he’s looking to put me out to pasture — if not off his site — in 400 days give or take.
He looked at me like I had said I have pictures of him in an airport men’s room, but after grasping the gist of my inquiry assured me that the age range was all about marketing and not about wanting to make 51-year-olds feel ready for AARP (which, by the way, starts mailings to potential members once they hit age 50, I learned not long ago, much to the amusement of my wife, who will get hers someday … yes, many, many years from now, dear, but someday).
Being a crotchety old fella, I also asked Edelman what could possibly differentiate PeopleJam from the zillion other social-networking communities beckoning for members these days.
“Those aren’t purposeful communities,” he assured me, invoking a phrase with which I had previously been unfamiliar, perhaps owing to a lifelong lack of purpose.
From the PeopleJam press release:
PeopleJam (http://www.peoplejam.com) brings together the most compelling characteristics of the Internet and video to create a new type of online community for the 60 million Americans interested in “purposeful living” and personal development. … PeopleJam fills a void in the online media market by targeting an audience looking for advice, information and meaningful personal connections that will help them get the most of out of life between college graduation and retirement,” said PeopleJam CEO and Co-Founder Matt Edelman. “Integrating today’s three most significant online trends — video, social networking and blogging — into a single user experience for this passionate user segment, PeopleJam takes the notion of an interactive online community to a deeper level.”
The 25-to-50 age group “is going through the biggest life transitions,” Edelman told me, and hence would benefit most from the 150 “lifestyle coaches” made available on PeopleJam.
So what happens when a member hits 51?
“We don’t want you to leave,” Edelman assured me, “please don’t do that.”
