Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

New Online Website – Grandparents.com
Grandparents.com
September 4, 2007

Overview: Noting the launch of Grandparents.com, a new online community for modern grandparents. Boomers are the primary target here. The site is full of grandchild-friendly activities, smart travel ideas, great gifts, and fun, creative ways for grandparents to connect with their grandchildren. There is one section of the site that features 101 Things to Do With Your Grandkids for each of the top 25 cities. It reads sort of like a high-end travel guide.

http://www.grandparents.com/cgi-bin/iowa/home/index.html

Baby Boomers Help Students Get Back to the Books
Audrey Pernik
WCAV News
September 5, 2007

Overview: “A corps of volunteers and one of our area's most valuable resources, the booming retirement community, is combating this widespread issue.”

http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/9584322.html

AARP, Retirement TV Team To Produce TV Content
R. Thomas Umstead
Multichannel News
September 4, 2007

Overview: “Retirement Living TV cut a deal with baby-boomer-targeted organization AARP to develop original programming for the network.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6475160.html

A sunny day in DC—a walking town. Having just scanned the fashion tome “W”, decided to take an informal shoe survey. On the fashion pages, high heels are definitively in. On the foot that hits the pavement, high heels are definitively off.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

New Baby Boomer Book Seeks to Redefine Retirement Through
Lifelong Learning
PR Web
September 6, 2007

Overview: “Learning Later, Living Greater by Nancy M. Nordstrom, M. Ed. helps 78 million Baby Boomers redefine their retirement experience using lifelong learning, educational travel, and community service.”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/9/prweb551149.htm

Britain’s Baby Boomers Get their Own Website - Wanobe.com
Press Dispensary
September 6, 2007

Overview: “A MySpace-type website called Wanobe.com (http://www.wanobe.com) is launching to cater exclusively for the needs of Britain’s baby boomers.”

http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/releases/c991353.php

Aesthetic medicine: a booming (and boomer) market, says Turner Investment Partners commentary
Business Wire
September 5, 2007

Overview: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder … and the wallet holder, as anti-aging, appearance-enhancing products are driving one of the fastest-growing businesses in any industry -- “aesthetic medicine.”

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070905005949&newsLang=en

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

HSBC group targets rich baby boomers
asahi.com
Sept. 7, 2007

Overview: "With an eye on Japan's baby-boomer market, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) will start asset-management services for individuals with financial assets of 10 million yen or more."

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200709070104.html

Baby boomers urged to rethink future
Lisa Petrillo
The Paramus Post
Sept. 7, 2007

Overview: "Just because members of the largest generation in U.S. history are graying doesn't mean they should fade away like overwashed blue jeans. No, California professor Stephen Barnes said, he wants to teach baby boomers to tackle old age like professional wrestlers."

http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20070831220033701

Boomers buck "Granny,' 'Gramps'
Youthful grandparents pick hip handles
Lauren Bishop
The Enquirer
Sept. 7, 2007

Overview: "Grandparents Day is Sunday, and many of the men and women who will be celebrated that day are baby boomers like McFarland who are eschewing traditional names for grandparents in favor of more unusal, younger-sounding monikers."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/LIFE/309070002/1079

Where did the summer go? Why is it that with each passing year, time goes more quickly? With autumn’s approach, we begin to hunker down and prepare for winter. It’s squirreling season after all: time to make those badly needed home improvements, time to break out the best recipes we can find for the upcoming holidays, and time to load up on some great new books to plop on our bed stands.

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers’ retirement challenges system
Joan Barron
www.casperstartribune.com
Sept. 10, 2007

Overview: “The Wyoming retirement system is in good shape but faces a challenge as baby boomers retire, says a new legislative audit of the system.”

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/09/10/news/wyoming/a1403d5cf3daa28f8725735100701bd7.txt

'Helicopter' parents breathing down hirers' necks
www.canada.com
Sept. 10, 2007

Overview: “It's a new phenomenon – ‘helicopter’ baby-boomer parents hovering around firms' human relations offices, quick to sing the praises of their kids or complain if they don't get a good performance review.”

http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/universityguide/story.html?id=2a28e3c8-f543-49f0-817b-f17e662b6b41&k=18991

Boomers, Gen Yers mix it up
Joyce Pellino Crane
www.boston.com
Sept. 9, 2007

Overview: “They wear flip-flops to work, reveal personal information online, and see no reason why their work schedules can't be flexible. Ladies and gents, please welcome Generation Y now tap dancing around their boomer managers in the workplace.”

http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2007/09/09/boomers_gen_yers_mix_it_up/

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

How will TV cope when the baby boomers retire?
www.tvscoop.com

Overview: “ I was listening to Talking Politics over the weekend while they were discussing the societal effects of the aging population and the fact that the "baby boomers" of the 1940s and 50s are now at or approaching retirement age. You've probably heard the statistics before, but there'll soon be more old people, holding more of the country's wealth than at any time before.”

http://www.tvscoop.tv/2007/09/how_will_tv_cop_1.html

Trim Baby Boomers have transformed to Generation 'O'
www.earthtimes.org

Overview: “In an article to be published in the Atlas of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinics of North America, September 25, 2007, Dr. Mansoor Madani describes a new term he calls it "Generation O" for overweight and obesity pandemic which he says is not limited to the U.S. population.”

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,175229.shtml

Homes being built for boomers to age comfortably
Michele Dawson
www.realityitimes.com

Overview: “Many homebuilders are designing new homes and remodeling existing ones to allow homeowners -- specifically Baby Boomers -- to age comfortably in place, the National Association of Home Builders says.”

http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtcpages/20031118_boomers.htm

Kudos to Enablex, for the most creative, effective marketing at the recent AARP convention in Boston (Life@50+). (More on the convention in a subsequent blog…)

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

Top New from Today's "Boomiverse"

The Graying of the Web
Matt Richtel
www.nytimes.com

Overview “Older people are sticky. That is the latest view from Silicon Valley. Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/technology/12social.html?em&ex=1189742400&en=f8aadaadb1ca115d&ei=5087%0A

Aging Is Inevitable, but Boomers Put 'Old' on Hold
Neil Henderson
www.washingtonpost.com

Overview: “When the first Marine Corps Marathon took place, in 1976, the oldest runner to finish the 26.2-mile race was 58 years old. On the race's 30th anniversary last year, the oldest finisher was 82 -- one individual's testament to how Americans are aging differently than they used to.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091001839.html

Body scans: a new health craze for Baby Boomers?
Bob Canning
www.arguscourier.com

Overview: “They frequent Sonoma County, setting up shop in churches, hotels, and health clubs, to scan your innards for potentially deadly abnormalities that can cause cancer, strokes or heart attacks. They are the mobile body imaging companies that have proliferated over the past several years.”

http://www1.arguscourier.com/article/20070912/COMMUNITY/70911030

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers to continue to drive demand for condos
Prices to rise through 2011, says Genworth report
Anne Howland
Canada.com
September 13, 2007

Overview: “Baby boomers leaving their "empty nests" for more convenient, smaller homes near shops and restaurants will keep the price of condos in major Canadian cities buoyant over the next several years, a new report shows.”

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=56e1c9ad-18e8-412d-a1da-d6c1823c0fff

Aging baby boomers not a major burden to health-care costs: report
The Canadian Press
September 13, 2007

Overview: “Canada's aging population will have little impact on the cost of maintaining a viable national public health-care system over the next 40 years, says a new report.”

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gD7jhx7-v98b5BrV2YsBIRrrCBoQ

Condo resales to jump because of baby boomer demand: report
Krystle Chow
Ottawa Business Journal
September 12, 2007

Overview: “Condominium resale prices in Ottawa are expected to jump by an average annual rate of about three per cent within the next four years, according to a new study by Genworth Financial Inc.“

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/289811041940255.php#

Either AARP is getting younger or I’m getting older. But for someone who once recoiled at the shock of being invited to join an organization dedicated to 50+, I’ve got to tell you that it isn’t so many years later that I finally got around to attending their annual national event--and had a big surprise.

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Banks Target Retiring Boomers
Jonathan Chevreau
www.canada.com
Sept. 14, 2007

Overview: “Canada's big banks have always coveted mass-affluent customers. This week, three have made announcements aimed at online traders, global travelers and, of course, Baby Boomers.”

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=37b84898-5559-4f83-8f41-366f3b03e16f

Aging Baby Boomers Lead Surge of Interest in Making Homes More Senior-Friendly
Melissa Rayworth
www.toledofreepress.com
Sept. 14, 2007

Overview: “For many people as they age, parting with a cherished home can seem unthinkable, even when steep stairs and slippery bathtubs become causes for real concern. One alternative — remodeling to make the home safer and more efficient for older residents — is increasingly popular.”

http://www.toledofreepress.com/?id=6359

There’s an ongoing debate in marketing-to-boomer circles as to whether non-age specific publications can provide an effective magnet for the boomer demographic. In other words, does the magazine have to show a woman 40 or 50+ and say so on the cover (i.e. “More”) to be successful with this demographic?

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Brave New Boomers
Annie Gowen
www.washingtonpost.com

Overview: “Area Officials Plan for a Generation That Won't Call Itself Old And Opts to Stay Put Far From Transit and Health Services.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091501654.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Boomers Political Force at the Polls
Christine Metz
www.ljworld.com

Overview: “The thought of aging baby boomers scares Lawrence public schools Superintendent Randy Weseman. And it’s not just because the 58-year-old is one of them. Since Weseman’s college days at Kansas University in the mid-1970s, he has heard warnings that the baby boomer bubble could spell trouble for schools at the turn of the millennium.”

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/sep/16/boomers_political_force_polls/

Boomers Get Hearing Help
Tiffany Arnold
www.herald-mail.com

Overview: “It used to be that if William "Mike" Kronk were attending a lecture or concert, he'd appear to be digging in his ears. This is what would happen before he got his new hearing aids. When the noise would get too loud or too soft, he had to poke his finger in his ear to turn the volume up or down on the clunky old hearing aids resting in his ears.”

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=174781&format=html

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Study: Boomers Increasingly Turn to PC, Phone
Kristina Knight
www.bizreport.com

Overview: “Advertisers who are sticking with traditional media in the hopes of turning more Boomer consumers into buyers could be making a fundamental mistake. According to a recent study, instead of turning to television or newspapers, Boomers are increasingly turning to their computers and phones to find product information.”

http://www.bizreport.com/2007/09/study_boomers_increasingly_turn_to_pc_phone.html

Baby Boomers Joining the Peace Corps
www.upi.com

Overview: “A growing number of citizens over the age of 50 are joining the U.S. Peace Corps.”

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/09/17/baby_boomers_joining_the_peace_corps/8356/

Baby Boomers Returning to College
www.9wsyr.com

Overview: “Baby boomers are returning to college in record numbers, for personal enrichment, and to change careers. The two most popular degree programs: teaching and nursing.”

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d2d226cf-7f1b-4a92-a811-33d6e5809756

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Study: Mobile-Savvy Boomers The Norm, Not Exception
Tameka Kee
www.publications.mediapost.com

Overview: “New data from InsightExpress shows that when it comes to use of mobile features, Baby Boomers aren't that far behind their younger, seemingly more tech-savvy counterparts--a sign that mobile marketers and advertisers have the opportunity to tap into a wider, more diverse audience than previously thought.”

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=67678

Gregg: Don’t Let Boomers Go Bust
Jordy Yager
www.unionleader.com

Overview: “As the first of approximately 70 million baby boomers retires next year, two senior U.S. senators are attempting to fix what they cite as ‘a fiscal challenge of unprecedented proportions.’”

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Gregg%3A+Don't+let+boomers+go+bust&articleId=dcee773f-ffe1-4699-b445-be619c2c7748

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomer-Friendly Companies to Recruit Workers at Job Fair
Susan Felt
www.azcentral.com

Overview: “Some of the estimated 80 companies registered to recruit at the Boomerz Job Fair on Monday will sport the baby boomers' equivalent of the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.”

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0920jobfair0920.html

Room Alternatives: Empty Nesters Fill their Homes and Reinvent their Space
www.app.com

Overview: “Basements become workshops. Children's rooms become libraries. And sprawling life in suburbia transforms into streamlined city life. These are some of the housing and home decorating trends demonstrated by the nation's more than 80 million baby boomers entering their empty-nest years. Often far from retirement, this fast-growing segment of the U.S. population is clearly enjoying its newfound freedom. Today's parents are finally treating themselves to the luxuries they have been dreaming about for years.”

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070920/LIFE/709200374/1006

The Peace Corps Ramps up Recruiting of Boomer Retirees
Barb Galbincea
www.seattletimes.com

Overview: “Ten days after his 50th college reunion, John Baker joined the Peace Corps. The Collinwood, Ohio, resident was 70 years old. His wife, Kathy, who also signed up, was 61.”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003892647_peacecorps20.html

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Social Security Preparing for Baby-Boomer Retirement
Tom Joyce
www.mtairynews.com

Overview: “Social Security offices nationwide are bracing for the first round of baby boomers to hit retirement age, and an official with the local branch is advocating applying online to avoid possible long lines.”

http://www.mtairynews.com/articles/2007/09/21/news/local_news/local03.txt

Aging Baby Boomers Dominate Ski Slopes
Scott Condon
www.postindependent.com

Overview: “Aspen isn't the only ski resort dominated by wealthy, old, white guys with a lot of time on their hands.”

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070921/VALLEYNEWS/109210055

Death Fears of the Boomer Left
James Lewis
www.americanthinker.com

Overview: “‘Back in the Sixties,’ sighs an ex-hippie lady I know, ‘everybody was happy. Really. Everybody.’ Gosh, that wasn't what other people remember. Most teenagers go through a lot of ups and downs, and in the Sixties the Baby Boomers were rollercoastering through their own adolescence. (Some still are.)”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/09/death_fears_of_the_boomer_left_1.html

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Generations Can Clash in Workplace
Andrea Coombes
www.miamiherald.com

Overview: “If you've ever griped about your 20-something co-worker who is always attached to her iPod or the 30-something who never seems to be working at his desk, you're probably a baby boomer -- and those same workers are probably griping about your penchant for face-to-face meetings.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/business_monday/story/246486.html

The Aging Boom Lowers on Boomers
Mary Brophy Marcus
www.usatoday.com

Overview: “Ambush. That's how Lydia Nayo describes her first hot flash. ‘There I was in Sears and I went up in flames,’ says Nayo, 55, a real estate broker from Oakland. For Nayo and many other baby boomers, when age-related health problems first strike, they often come as a jolt.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-09-23-aging-boomers_N.htm

Are Boomers Ready?
Dan Wright
www.rocktownweekly.com

Overview: “Retirement is arriving quickly for the baby boom generation — as early as next year for some. Keeping up with the details of retirement is almost like running a business or working a full-time job, said Linda Greene, owner of First Class Services, a Harrisonburg company specializing in mailing services for bulk mail projects.”

http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=12397&CHID=1

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

When Boomers Say 'What?'
Debra Melani
www.rockymountainnews.com

Overview: “You might be a baby boomer if: You turn the television volume all the way up and still strain to hear. Your friends and spouse recently started mumbling just to tick you off. You've decided you really like those foreign films with the nifty subtitles. If it sounds familiar, listen up: Hearing aids aren't just for Grandpa anymore.”

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/health/article/0,2777,DRMN_23956_5706305,00.html

Baby Boomers Struggle With Succession
www.telegraph.co.uk

Overview: “Business advisers are bracing themselves for a tidal wave of family businesses changing hands as their 'baby boom generation' founders decide to pass on control to their offspring or sell up.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/25/ybfamily125.xml

Getting Boomers Back on Track
Steve French
www.naturalproductsinsider.com

Overview: “The Boomer market is 76 million strong. Due to their sheer numbers, Baby Boomers have been responsible for the growth of many industries eager to meet their needs throughout their lives. As they age, the large population of Boomers will create a fundamental shift in the demographic structure of the nation, as the first wave of Boomer retirees enters the health care system.”

http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/07sep24market.html

News Flash: Boomers are on the march, and Europe may never be the same. That’s the headline from the grand tour to Europe that is being made as I write by American marketing-to-boomer experts Chuck Nyren, Brent Green and myself.

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

New Ways to View Work and Retirement
www.sltrib.com

Overview: “One 52-year-old real-estate insurance agent switched careers after 20 years and went to work on affordable housing. A 50-something truant officer took up emergency-care nursing as a second career. And a retirement-age corporate executive left to work in the trenches to help the homeless.”

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_6997731

Most Companies Have No Plan to Deal with Impending Brain Drain
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
www.informationweek.com

Overview: “Most companies recognize that an exodus of talent threatens their business in the coming years, yet few have knowledge retention programs to deal with a brain drain caused by retiring baby boomers, according to a survey by Monster Worldwide.”

http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202101526

New Type of Retirement
Ray Turchansky
www.canada.com

Overview: “The financial industry is stepping up efforts to tell Canadians that they are facing a new type of retirement, in which they have to plan a lifestyle that will then determine their financial well-being.”

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=3b96eaf3-ab6b-4918-8128-0333be127938&k=22611

Landing in Stockholm for the grand tour of Europe sponsored by the Bayard publishing group—featuring three American marketing-to-boomer experts—I was dumbstruck. All I wanted to do was find the one publication with an older woman on the cover, announcing that I had located Bayard’s newest member of the family: Plus Sverige.

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverese"

Computer Games Aim to Keep Aging Brains Sharp
Leslie Walker
www.nwanews.com

Overview: “Glenys Dyer, 82, is drawing Queen Elizabeth on the tiny screen of her Nintendo video game player. Suddenly her instructor — a cartoon figure on the screen — tells her to shift gears and draw a picture of herself, then read a passage from a novel aloud.”

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/202635/

Updating the Empty Nest
www.bobvila.com

Overview: “Baby boomers are renovating or reinventing their empty nests—and not with afghans and rocking chairs!”

http://www.bobvila.com/OnTheLevel/Updating-the-Empty-Nest-2818.html

Charities Could Cash in on Baby Boomer Generation
Emma Rigby
Third Sector

Overview: “Baby boomers are a lucrative target for legacy fundraisers and the legacy market will have more than tripled by 2050, according to a report from research project Legacy Foresight."

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Channels/Fundraising/login/740710/

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

How Aging Athletes Can Battle Boomeritis
www.hometownlife.com

Overview: “If you are an aging athlete or a baby boomer, and if you ever get aches and pains after exercising or playing sports, you might want to read this article.”

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/SPORTS/709280307/1062/NEWS18

Young, Old, and In-Between: An We All Get Along?
Jim Gray
www.theglobeandmail.com

Overview: “Older workers, don't talk down: Intergenerational relationships can be tough, whether it's going up or down the chronological chain. With four generations now rubbing shoulders in the workplace, communication expert Jim Gray offers advice for co-workers of different ages on how to find common ground.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070928.CAGRAYOLD28/TPStory/Business