Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers stay on the job longer than other generations
Jennifer Youssef
The Detroit News
August 1, 2007

Overview: Youssef reports, “Half of the people polled in the 2007 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington said they planned to work until at least 65.”

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070801/BIZ/708010347/1022

Boomers rule state, U.S. politics
Lisa Hoffman and Sarah McBroom
The Detroit News
August 1, 2007

Overview: A Scripps analysis, “found that more than 55 percent of America's current governors, state lawmakers, and congressional representatives and senators were born between 1946 and 1964, the era generally tagged as the baby boom generation.”

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070801/POLITICS/708010352/1022

Aging Baby Boomers Unaware of Eye Risk
Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News
July 31, 2007

Overview: According to a survey released by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), boomers are generally uninformed about eye diseases that may come with age.

http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/news/20070731/aging-baby-boomers-unaware-of-eye-risk

One foggy afternoon, a group of us—leading-edge boomers all—moseyed up to one of the hundred or so wine tasting bars in the Napa Valley to sample the wares. It had been a decade since I’d last sipped my way up Highway 29. Back then, I remember a whole lot of tobacco overtones with acid, mushroomy notes, tannin, licorice and/or whatever those other odious-sounding words are that make a cabernet or pinot pucker your lips upon first sip—but ages to perfection given enough time.

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Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers will spend golden years at work
Eve Tahmincioglu
MSNBC.com
August 1, 2007

Overview: Tahmincioglu discusses how technology will accommodate aging boomers’ more flexible work schedules. However, “Generational differences in the workplace are expected to rise; there will be unprecedented shortages in many industries as large proportions of the workforce retires; and we may also see more workers getting sick on the job, with a possible rise in strokes and heart attacks as they age.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20075038/

No Summer Dog Days Here: Financial services and insurance sectors are staying hot-with a little help from the boomers.
Lauren Barack
On Wall Street
August 1, 2007

Overview: “As this aging demographic begins its long trek toward retirement, life insurance is the watchword, analysts say. They believe that boomers will shift more and more pools of money from accumulation products and the market to offerings that are focused on longevity.”

http://www.onwallstreet.com/article.cfm?articleid=3698

Boomers may fill crucial management need in nonprofit sector
Chris Silva
Employee Benefit News
August 1, 2007

Overview: This article focuses on the need for boomers, who want to continue working, to consider a position in a nonprofit organization.

http://ebn.benefitnews.com/asset/article/149639/communicating-with-employees/boomers-may-fill-crucial-management-need.html

Where's my grey hair? Everybody knows that grey is the new blond, if you're over 40. Sporting grey hair gives you an aura of defiant independence, touched with wisdom-what a cool combo! Grey is Taylor Hicks and whoever those hip older models are who have the athletic builds of a 20-year-old, wrinkleless faces and bushy grey spikes on their heads. I want that!

For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

The Boomer Files: Meaningful Pursuits
Jerry Adler
Newsweek
August 6, 2007

Overview: Adler discusses the various ways boomers are contributing to society and discovering meaning as they near retirement. Adler writes, “If they no longer seek to transform the world by revolution, they strive at least to improve a small part of it, or perhaps themselves, through adventure, experience and self-actualization.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20075815/site/newsweek/

A Need for (Higher) Speed
Charlene Dy
Newsweek
August 6, 2007

Overview: This article focuses on the growing number of boomers who are taking racing classes. Dy reports, “When it comes to recreational high-speed driving, baby boomers dominate. At the Sports Car Club of America, 64.5 percent of members are over 40.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19999625/site/newsweek/

Recently, a Gen X marketer from a major company called to ask if FH Boom does “senior marketing.” We had to pause for a moment. No self-respecting boomer—the core of our target demographic—would identify with the term “senior,” and it’s been awhile since anybody other than a retirement community or diaper manufacturer has used the terminology.

For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Products that cater to boomers head to toe
Virginia Rohan
NorthJersey.com
August 5, 2007

Overview: Rohan discusses products designed specifically for the boomer generation, such as “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans.”

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNzczNTMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

Baby boomers: No rest for the weary?
Robert M. Cook
Foster’s Daily Democrat
August 5, 2007

Overview: “To make ends meet, more baby boomers may have work past retirement age”

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070805/FOSTERS01/108050366

Boomers retreat to first-floor bedrooms; Plan's popularity re-surges with the aging generation
Dudley Price
Myrtle Beach Sun News
August 5, 2007

Overview: Price reports that baby boomers are the cause for the recent surge in first floor bedrooms. He writes, “The National Association of Home Builders says more than 40 percent of new homes have master suites downstairs, a 15 percent increase over a decade ago.”

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/business/story/149246.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Golf Industry Counts on Boomers to Drive Sales
Liz Peek
New York Sun
August 7, 2007

Overview: Peek reports, “…boomers are about to be spending a lot less time at work and, presumably, more time on the golf course.”

http://www.nysun.com/article/60000?page_no=1

Help Wanted: Retired Professionals
ThirdAge
August 3, 2007

Overview: “New York City is hoping to find more ex-professionals like the 73-year-old -- people who are either unable or unwilling to return to full-time work but who want to use their skills and stay in touch with the workaday world.”

http://www.thirdage.com/news/articles/ALT04/07/08/03/ALT04070803-01.html

Where's my grey hair? Everybody knows that grey is the new blond, if you're over 40. Sporting grey hair gives you an aura of defiant independence, touched with wisdom-what a cool combo! Grey is Taylor Hicks and whoever those hip older models are who have the athletic builds of a 20-year-old, wrinkleless faces and bushy grey spikes on their heads. I want that!

For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers take steps to prepare to extend careers
Christia Gibbons
The Arizona Republic
August 7, 2007

Overview: Gibbons discusses keeping boomers in the workforce. She writes, “Neither baby boomers, nor potential employers, should give in to stereotypes that this generation is technology-challenged, medically shaky or feeble in any way, employment experts say. Many boomers need to work, financially or to satisfy themselves.”

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0807biz-boomers0808-ON.html

Startup targets baby boomer web surfers
David Louie
ABC12.com
August 8, 2007

Overview: Louie reports, “Competition is heating up to serve boomers on the Internet. Each is using different approaches to appeal to an audience in their 40s, 50s and older.”

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=sci_tech&id=5550057

A Recent Survey of Baby Boomers Shows 41% Most Concerned About How Much They Need for Retirement; They Want to Know, What's the number?
PR Web
August 8, 2007

Overview: Press release announcing, “In a recent survey of baby boomers asked about what was foremost about their concerns for their retirement it was interesting that while 41% were most concerned about having enough to live on, only 8% were worried about the future about Medicare and Social Security.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/08/prweb545441.htm

Astro Pants. Space age technology has created a breakthrough for the men and women of the boomer generation who don’t want their increasing need to make pit stops in the course of their busy lives to slow them down. Made of highly-absorbent disposable material, Astro-pants have been proven to work not only in space but in long-distance travel. Now you can hike, sit through long movies and even take the window seat on your next flight. Astro Pants.

For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers will spend golden years at work
Eve Tahmincioglu
MSNBC.com
August 8, 2007

Overview: “About 69 percent of baby boomers anticipate working past traditional retirement age, and money and health care are the top reasons.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20075038/

The names we use for people over 50
Marilyn Gardner
Christian Science Monitor
August 8, 2007

Overview: Gardner writes, “As the first wave of the huge boomer generation marches toward retirement, a linguistic question looms large: What should we call those in their middle and later years? Baby boomers? Older people? Senior citizens? Elders? She goes on to say, “Their top choice for a neutral and flexible general term to describe those in later life is ‘older,’ used to modify people, adults, individuals, or Americans.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0808/p15s01-lign.html?page=1

The Generation That Founded the Fitness Craze Remains Active, Healthy and Fit, Survey Shows
PRNewswire
August 7, 2007

Overview: Press release announcing results from the Boomer Fitness Survey conducted by Eons. “Baby boomers who fueled the aerobics movement and who crowded running paths across the country are now reaping the dividends of their active lifestyles, with more than half saying they are in excellent or above-average condition, according to the survey.”

http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20070807/NETU01607082007-1.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers Spending Billions to Age Naturally
Linda Franklin
Boomersmarkingadifference.com
August 7, 2007

Overview: Franklin reflects on the new Focalyst report, “The Realities about Aging Naturally,” that predicts boomers’ consumption on anti-aging products in the next twelve months.

http://www.boomersmakingadifference.com/2007/08/boomers-spendin.html

New Internet Portal for Baby Boomers and Generation Jones - BOOMj.com - Passes One Million Page Views
PR Newswire
August 8, 2007

Overview: Press release announcing, “BOOMj.com, Inc.(TM), a lifestyle portal serving Baby Boomers and Generation Jones, has reached over 1,000,000 page views, an important major milestone for the growth of any website.”

http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20070806/LAM10706082007-1.html

Looming Retirement of Baby Boomers a Big Concern for US Employers
Dominique Soguel
Voice of America
August 8, 2007

Overview: “In 2011, the so-called baby boomer generation of Americans born after World War II will hit 65 and start looking at its options for retirement. While more than 78 million baby boomers are contemplating how to spend their golden years, businesses are bracing themselves for labor shortages and the biggest brain drain in U.S. history.”

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-08-voa72.cfm

For many boomer daughters, just as their adult children begin to leave the nest, they are greeted with new demands—the need to find care and support for an aging parent. Navigating the maze of services for older adults (and tackling the patchwork of expenses) is no easy task.

For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Ann Taylor Said to Plan Boomer Unit
Michael Barbaro
The New York Times
August 13, 2007

Overview: Barbaro reports, “Ann Taylor wants to grow up. The clothing chain, known for its prim clothing for career women in their 30s and 40s, is developing a new casual apparel chain for the older, baby-boomer generation, according to people briefed on the matter.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/business/13ann.html?ref=business

Romance doesn't die at 40 . . . or 50 or 60
Laurie Granieri
New Brunswick Home News Tribune
August 12, 2007

Overview: This article focuses on baby boomers and the dating world. Specifically, “Several Internet dating sites report the baby-boomer demographic is the fastest-growing portion of the market.”

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/NEWS/708120465/1001

Boomers embark on new midlife careers
Employment Digest
August 11, 2007

Overview: Many baby boomers are switching careers, looking for more meaningful work and going back to school.

http://www.employmentdigest.net/2007/08/boomers-embark-on-new-midlife-careers/

We’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately and I just have to comment on the becoming of invisible me. Maybe it’s the traveling or maybe it’s the places we’ve been but my biggest take away is Kathy Bates line in Fried Green Tomatoes … “I may be older but I have better insurance.” And while it may not have been two young things in tight jeans and belly shirts who took my parking spot, these people tried to take my dignity.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Retirees leave 'corporate amnesia'
Martin Ricard
Inside Bay Area
August 11, 2007

Overview: Ricard reports on baby boomers leaving the workplace and writes, “It's that when they do leave the workforce, they will be taking with them an entire generation's worth of knowledge that can never be replaced.”

http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_6600610

Making room for older workers
Dave Angus
Winnipeg Sun
August 12, 2007

Overview: Angus reflects on what businesses are doing to address their aging workforce. Specifically, “One of the strategies that is gaining some momentum is for organizations to provide the flexibility necessary to keep their aging workforce engaged in their organizations. This, however, will take some dramatic change in how workplaces and traditional jobs are structured.”

http://winnipegsun.com/Comment/Editorial/2007/08/12/4411515-sun.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Basic premise for a column Boomerangs
Mary Schmich
Chicago Tribune
August 15, 2007

Overview: Schmich shares her view on the term “boomer.” She writes, “Instead it was sobering to realize that before long ‘Boomer’ will be one of those words like ‘flapper’ that will make most people say, ‘Huh?’ ”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-schmich15aug15,0,7313670.column?page=1

SUMMER OF LOVE: How they changed the world; The decades in since 1967 have seen advances in racial and social equality
Vancouver Sun
August 14, 2007

Overview: This article focuses on the boomer generation’s impact on the world and raises the question, “So, 40 years later, did the boomers change the world?”

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=24c8e9a9-0d60-49ba-bc19-ae1cc3877e3f&k=10332

En route via seaplane from St. Croix to St. Thomas recently, (how’s that for “place-dropping”) I happened to be seated next to an economist for the islands. Boomers both, our conversation quickly turned to retirement fantasies.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

More businessmen getting plastic surgery; More men want to boost careers by looking younger
Tammy Joyner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 16, 2007

Overview: Joyner writes on the topic of American businessmen getting plastic surgery. She writes, “Baby boomers, the original architects of the youth culture, are a key driver of the trend.”

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/08/16/plasticbiz0816.html

Boomer site pitches own political tent
Susan Felt
The Arizona Republic
August 16, 2007

Overview: Felt reports, “Politicians go where the crowds are, and this campaign season they're mixing it up online, and not just with the 20- and 30-somethings.
The 50-somethings also have joined the Web party, and the candidates are reaching out to tech-savvy boomers.”

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0816boomercampaign0816.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Dressing for success baby-boomer style
Canada Digital
August 16, 2007

Overview: “50 plus job-seekers need to keep their appearance as up-to-date as their skills, according to RetiredWorker.ca. Older job-seekers looking to re-enter the workforce know they often have to work harder to convince potential employers that their skills are up-to-date, and the first step is taking a good look in the mirror.”

http://www.canada-digital.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleid=1792

Baby boomer takes a swat at Gen Y
Bernard Salt
The Australian
August 16, 2007

Overview: Salt writes about his concept of a Boomer SWAT team.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22251246-28737,00.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Moms on the move: All-women triathlons popular with baby boomer generation
Stefanie Loh
The Olympian
August 18, 2007

Overview: The baby boomer generation is contributing to the growing trend of women-only fitness and triathlons to help maintain active lifestyles.

http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/193350.html

Baby Boomer Woman Has Launched Online Magazine to Help People Live a Passionate Life
PRWeb
August 20, 2007

Overview: Press release announcing, “Passionate for Life Magazine - Baby Boomer, Dana Hall, has launched Passionate For Life.com, the online magazine for readers striving to live the passionate life, and she is helping visitors find their passion through her magazine's content.”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/8/prweb547460.htm

Once again, the kids have a gripe against us. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gens X and Y. In fact, some of my own favorite adult children are Gen X and Yers. :) In fact, I think it’s amazing how on the same page we are about so many issues. We are much closer to one another than I was to my parents. We call, we email, we instant message. In many ways, it feels like we are cool friends, sharing the lingo, and being hip together. :)

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers come of age and opt to keep it real
David Graham
The Star
August 21, 2007

Overview: Graham reports, “The demographic that gave us sweaty aerobics classes, 80-hour workweeks and gruesome facelifts is simply contemplating a less aggressive posture. They are meditating quietly and searching for physical activities that subtly develop muscles, mind and spirit.”

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/248094

Baby boomers: rich, affluent, and ignored by retailers
Seniorscopie.com
August 21, 2007

Overview: “Studies reveal that the U.S. Boomers are the most affluent and the wealthiest age group. But in spite of this, retailers do not seem to mind them much.”

http://www.seniorscopie.com/actu/article.asp?id=070821120442&rub=swi

The Silver Market Phenomenon
Chuck Nyren
Advertising to Baby Boomers
August 20, 2007

Overview: Nyren introduces the upcoming book, The Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities in an Era of Demographic Change by Dr. Cornelius Herstatt and Dr. Florian Kohlbacher. Nyren writes, “This will undoubtedly be the most varied resource of global marketing information and techniques for targeting the 50+ demographic.”

http://advertisingtobabyboomers.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

I don't feel as old as I am.
I don't know what I really look like.
I don't get me most of the time.
At sixty, I still laugh at all the crude, crazy things my kids do.
My eyes look out of a body I don't recognize.
And while I don't wear faddish clothes, I like to glam it up.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomers and Retirement: A Generation’s Catch-22
Thematuremarket.com
August 20, 2007

Overview: This article shares findings from a “Thrivent Financial for Lutherans” study conducted in October 2006. The survey found that, “While boomers are generally optimistic about retirement, 56 percent believing that they will have the same or even better standard of living than their parents, only 20 percent believe they worry less about money than their parents.”

http://www.thematuremarket.com/SeniorStrategic/Baby_Boomers_Retirement-9126-5.html

Bodybuilders and Baby Boomers Expected to Pump Up Sports Nutritional Products Sales to $12.7 Billion by 2011!
PRLeap.com
August 21, 2007

Overview: Press release announcing, “Driven by continuing trends in health & wellness and balanced eating as aging Baby Boomers look for more ways to prolong life and delay old age, sports beverages will lead growth while bars and gels & supplements will grow at more modest levels.”

http://www.prleap.com/pr/90109/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Bridge Releases Baby Boomer Media Consumption Study
Radio Online
August 23, 2007

Overview: This article shares results from a Bridge Ratings study revealing the media habits of baby boomers. Specifically, “The study of adults ages 43-61 indicates a rapid adoption rate of Internet radio and podcasting since 2004.”

http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=b10178

Older adults don't give up on sex
Sharon Jayson
USA Today
August 22, 2007

Overview: Jayson reports, “Americans pushing 60, 70, 80 or even 90 don't forgo sex just because they're aging, according to a study that shows many are having sex into their 70s and 80s.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-22-older-sex_N.htm

Boomers Opt To Keep it Real
Chuck Nyren
Advertising to Baby Boomers
August 22, 2007

Overview: Nyren reflects on the Toronto Star’s article, “Boomers come of age and opt to keep it real.” He writes, “Good to know that most Boomers would rather spend their time and money so they can feel, look and be healthy – instead of self-consciously walking around like pod people wrapped in cellophane.”

http://advertisingtobabyboomers.blogspot.com/

One of our faithful readers, Todd Derene Vice President of Marketing from RTi Research, www.RTiResearch.com, a global market research company, poses the billion(s)-dollar question. Todd writes:
“It’s been well published that Baby Boomers continue to have a huge economic impact at every stage of their lives, that they will be the wealthiest retirees the world has ever seen, and they may be destined to become a dominant factor for decades to come.”

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Of special note: AOL Money and Finance's ongoing summer series on "Retiring in Style." The series has been running all summer long, featuring content from SmartMoney.com. For example, August 23's topic: "Top 5 Biggest Retirement Mistakes."

My husband is a cat lover. I am a dog lover. We talk about someday buying an exotic bird. Despite these differences, we’re both sickened by Michael Vick's recent dog fighting case, which is so tummy turning that I end up walking out of the room whenever the story hits the airwaves.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

If you are going to apply for long-term care insurance, I may have just saved you thousands of dollars. That is, if math was never your thing and you are asked this question by an insurance expert screener who wants to make sure you’ve still got all your marbles. Practice up and you may get the preferred rate—or even be accepted into their insurance plan at all.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

…while being screened for long-term care insurance, before making a joke. It could cost you thousands.To pick up where we left off on my earlier blog, you may recall my difficulties counting backgrounds from 20 by 3’s (under pressure) as a test of my mental acumen. To falter could conceivably be part of a picture that could cost one thousands of dollars extra in premiums—or deny you entry into the promise land, entirely.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Junk mail report indicates baby boomers are target
Margot Brown
Yourhub.com
August 29, 2007

Overview: Consumers over the age of 45 are being targeted with the most junk mail according to stopthejunkmail.com's 2007 second quarter survey. Results show that the over 60% of surveyed participants are over the age of 45 years old, which includes the baby boomer demographic.

http://denver.yourhub.com/Boulder/Stories/Environment/Lifestyle/Story~354922.aspx

The Baby Boomer Is Back -- Just Ask Martha
Nat Ives
Advertising Age
August 27, 2007

Overview: Martha Stewart's media-business instincts have mostly proved spot on, regardless of mistakes she's made along the way. That makes an idea percolating at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia -- a magazine targeting baby-boomer women -- all the more striking, since that isn't where publishers usually see great advertising potential.

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=120083

Boomer Women Struggle With Eating Disorders
Foxreno
August 16, 2007

Overview: Most people think of eating disorders as a problem that strikes girls and young women. But increasingly, experts said, eating disorders are becoming an epidemic among baby boomers, Boston television station WCVB reported.

http://www.foxreno.com/health/13905708/detail.html

Dr. Brent Powell, an adult development specialist, has come up with a fascinating psychographic tool. In brief, you can go to his website www.GenerationalProfile.com, (which I did) take a brief free quiz, and find out to which generation your responses most closely correlate.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog