This year, the DMA awards will feature three more digital categories to reflect the adaptation of direct marketing as people spend more time online.

Last year there were three digital categories – email, digital execution and digital journey. Now there are six – online advertising, email, campaign websites, mobile marketing, eCRM, and new applications/use of new technology. The last is designed to include things such as widgets, social networking and branded content.

Some commentators were amazed when Saga announced the launch of its social networking site for the over 50s. They were even more taken aback when 13,000 users signed up for the trial, the oldest being 87. They shouldn’t have been.

Those of us working in the Social Media field weren’t surprised. To us, it seems logical that the social networking trend should sweep away the over 50s, just as it did the under 35s. The way we see it, before long all of us, young and old, could be creating mashups and microblogging* across the generation gap.