Let’s hear it for the (old) boys

In my last post I discussed three really interesting women over 50 who “have it made,” on social media. (I realized afterwards there are of course dozens, if not hundreds, more women over 50 that I could have profiled as well. Maybe next time.)

In this post, I will discuss three men over 50 who are considered huge influencers in the North American digital space, starting with this clow…  er, U.S. presidential contender:

Photo credit: Reuters

Now that I have your attention — how many of you had NOT seen this photo before? According to Time magazine’s 30 Most Influential People on the Internet list for 2016, like it or not, the Donald has redefined how U.S. political candidates now use the Internet. With almost 15 million followers split between Twitter and Facebook, Trump’s political insults, racial slurs, religion-based threats and overall misogyny reaches not only a large segment of the American population but actually, the entire world. (Now there is a cheery thought). Thankfully, a combined 120 million people follow the divine Ms. O‘s hubby, Barry, on Twitter and Facebook. So, really, Time, who truly is the biggest influencer, hmmm?

But anyway, we also have THIS social media star:

Photo credit: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP—Getty Images

Last year, The Huffington Post stated that Pope Francis is one of the most re-Tweeted people on the planet, with between 10,000 and 50, 000 people spreading his every chirp of wisdom, far and wide. It’s likely the same crowd that also went wild when @franciscus joined Instagram just over two weeks ago. Over one million followed him in the first 24 hours; the account has now surpassed 2 million.

And who can forget the countless rap lyrics and memes that popped up last year, after the photo above — of a Papal visit to Africa — circulated on the Internet?

As this shirt says, the pope is…..

Photo credit: Popculturetees.com

The last old bloke/cool dude/huge influencer on social media I want to highlight in this post is Bill Gates:

Photo credit: Prashant Panjiar, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

If you don’t know who Gates is, you are in the wrong medium, my friend. I will not describe Gates’ past achievements, etc. Instead, I want to focus on Gates’ use of social media to promote his philanthropic work via The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

According to Wikipedia, this is “the world’s wealthiest charitable foundation, with assets reportedly valued at more than $34.6 billion.” According to the Foundation itself, it works “with partner organizations worldwide to tackle critical problems in four program areas: helping the world’s poorest people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty; harnessing advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries; improving  U.S. high school and postsecondary education and support vulnerable children and families in Washington State; and building strategic relationships and promote policies that will help advance our work.”

Bill, and the foundation, are of course on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Bill also promotes the foundation’s good deeds via his blog, gatesnotes, and a YouTube channel,  thegatesnotes which recently featured this inspirational video:

So, yes.

You can not only be old and cool on social media, but you can also change the world, in a good way. (Yep, that shade was most definitely meant for you, orange-faced man.)