A new social networking site has been officially launched within the last two weeks in Munich. 'Seniorbook' is a new, so called 'grown up' alternative to the ubiquitous Facebook, and aims to serve as an introduction to the world of social networking for people aged 45 years and over.

Seniorbook's developers, Markus Erl and Thomas Bily, are trying to drum up interest in their new project and are placing emphasis on Seniorbook's marketplace feature and the benefits that this will bring for people over a certain age. The developers want to help older people utilise their potential through the use of their site.

Bily and Erl took the decision to name their site 'Seniorbook' as opposed to 'Seniorsbook' in order to emphasise the fact that this site is not intended for people who are 'senior' in terms of years but are 'senior' in terms of their life experience. Bily and his business partner Markus Erl identified the domain name and took the step to secure the URL two years prior to the launch of the site last month. Erl has a background in construction and the seeds were sown for a Facebook aimed at older people during his previous involvement with housing projects for the elderly.

The internet portal has been up and running since September and the developers are satisfied with the response the site has generated. 'We currently have 1,500 users and around 50 to around 100 new users are signing up every day' said Bily.

Seniorbook cannot be characterised simply by calling it a Facebook for older people. Whilst users of the new site can register for free, connect with friends and share content in much the same way as Facebook, the directors claim Seniorbook offers users a distinctive and unique experience. Seniorbook revolves around 'Theme worlds', which are zones with editorial content where users can discover and share common interests. Nowadays 'it is becoming ever more important to be connected with the local community,' said Bily, and a defining feature of Seniorbook are sections dedicated to the specific area or location where the user is based.

Another key aim of the developers was for Seniorbook to be used as tool to help bring people together so that they can help one another and give something back to the community. 'Older people are often well-placed to offer help to those in need and are often considered the 'backbone' of society' and the use of this site can help develop a sense of community that many people feel is missing from modern life.

In order to preserve a clear and user-friendly interface, the developers have avoided complicated features that might confuse users. Bily says the visitor 'should arrive at their desired goal within a maximum of three clicks'.

It is also important that the users are able to trust the platform in terms of data protection. 'Data is secure and will not be transmitted to third parties' said Bily. In addition, all profile settings are automatically private unless the user actively decides to make certain information public. When a user wants to delete their account they can do so with one click, safe in the knowledge that all their data has been completely erased from the system. The developers see this as a key feature that sets them apart from Facebook.

Seniorbook can be found under the domain name seniorbook.de.