Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers add new wrinkle to growing old
Jane Glenn Haas
Boston Herald
May 1, 2008

Overview: “The pundits, academics, experts, professionals and hangers-on of the aging network have gathered in the nation’s capital to find answers to the future’s most pressing problem: What to do with so many old people who already bleed services dry? And there is no respite, for just ahead is the tsunami of the old as boomers cross the threshold from middle age to elderhood. A hand-wringing future at best. But this year, there’s another question on the table: What is elderhood anyway?”

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/lifestyle/view.bg?articleid=1090794

Not 'seniors': New magazine for lively boomers
Lisa Provence
ReadTheHook.com
May 1, 2008

Overview: “The man who brought Charlottesville a glossy shelter magazine last year has targeted another market: aging baby boomers-- although publisher Eric Lund avoids such words as ‘aging’ or ‘senior’ in The Next50, ‘Central Virginia's Lifestyle Magazine for the 50+ Generation.’"

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/05/01/NEWS-next50-C.aspx

Baby Boomers Lead U.S. Obesity Problem, Diabetes Increase
Market-Day.net
Apr. 30, 2008

Overview: “Overweight and obese ‘baby boomers’ are entering their senior years with weight-related problems that are plaguing their ‘golden years’ with problems, increasing the need for nursing homes and medical care.”

http://www.market-day.net/post_20080430/178614/

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Wellness; Casual Games Play a Critical Role in Health and Wellness
BusinessWire
April 22, 2008

Overview: “A recent Big Fish Games customer survey shows baby boomers are playing games as a way to promote mental and physical wellness. Respondents stated that benefits of playing casual games included reduced stress, better concentration, improved vision, increased memory and a reduction in unhealthy habits.”

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080422005954&newsLang=en

Not Your Parents' Travel Guide: From Active Vacations to Luxury Travel, Find the Best at BoomVoyage
Emediawire
May 1, 2008

Overview: “BoomVoyage, a Web-based travel style guide for Baby Boomers launched today. Founder Jeanne Parrent said, ‘When it comes to travel, Boomers have been there, done that. Now they want to go to new, exotic destinations responsibly and to experience familiar places in unique ways.’ As the age group that travels the most and spends the most on their trips, Boomers are redefining mid-life and travel."

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/adventure_vacations/family_vacations/prweb908254.htm

The best of The Boomer Blog

The other day I was standing in line at the grocery store and a boomer-aged woman uttered to the check out lady, “thank God the holidays are over…I’m exhausted.” The holidays, while they offer an important pause for Americans, are often emotionally charged for many families. This is especially true for boomers, who as “sandwich generation” caretakers are encountering unfamiliar and sensitive terrain as they simultaneously attempt to care for young adult children returning back from their first semester at college and older parents, who are stubbornly (yet understandably) refusing to give up their car keys, get a hearing aid or visit a financial planner.

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Instead of Breaking Hips, They're Breaking Into Hip-Hop
Robin Givhan
The Washington Post
May 4, 2008

Overview: “There's something immediately amusing about the sight of a senior citizen dressed in an oversize basketball jersey and executing hip-hop dance moves. It's the classic fish-out-of-water giggle, the same incongruity that makes folks chuckle when they see a toddler dressed up in a business suit and looking like a miniature hedge fund executive.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050200998.html

Traveling boomers are taking families along
Sally Walker Davies
Detroit Free Press
May 4, 2008

Overview: “Whether it's grandparents taking their grandkids on a cruise or generations of a family meeting for a special occasion, multigenerational travel has many forms, says Linda Raymer, president of the vacation division of Nashville, Tenn.-based Travelink.”

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/FEATURES07/805040539/1032/FEATURES07

Retire? Oldest boomers redefining the concept
Mary Jo Layton
Orlando Sentinel
May 4, 2008

Overview: “The nation's oldest baby boomers are turning 62 this year and are eligible to collect Social Security -- a milestone that's prompting jokes about Starbucks in nursing homes and serious debate over the pros and cons of retirement.”

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-keepworking08may04,0,1219760.story

The best of The Boomer Blog

FH Boom has collaborated on a research study in conjunction with NMI’s proprietary Healthy Aging/Boomer™ (HAB) research project to give marketers a first glimpse of the Boomer consumer at age 70. Hint: think of boomers at 70 not so much as revolutionaries, but as ‘retrolutionaries’. By this definition, retrolutionaries are the vast majority of Boomer-aged consumers who are aiming to get their monetary expenditures in better alignment with values formed at an earlier stage in their lives. Think the 2016 version of Birkenstocks and the equivalent of VW back in the 60's: living affordably, but with style.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Plus 50 Initiative Reaches Out To Graying Students
Matthew C. Keegan
SayCampusLife.com
May 6, 2008

Overview: “Thanks to an initiative developed for 15 colleges, baby boomers are being targeted as prospective students. Program organizers explain that the project is designed to help with one of the largest generational shifts impacting our country, as baby boomers approach retirement and consider how to keep themselves active, healthy, and involved in careers and projects of importance to them.”

http://www.saycampuslife.com/2008/05/06/plus-50-initiative-reaches-out-to-graying-students/

Walker's World: Bye-bye boomers
Martin Walker
United Press International
May 5, 2008

Overview: “The victory of Boris Johnson in London's mayoral election represents the emergence of a new generation of politicians into the struggle for power. The baby boomers are starting the long, sad slide into senescence. The generation X-ers are on the march.”

http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Analysis/2008/05/05/walkers_world_bye-bye_boomers/6078/print_view/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Plus 50 Initiative Reaches Out To Graying Students
Matthew C. Keegan
SayCampusLife.com
May 6, 2008

Overview: “Thanks to an initiative developed for 15 colleges, baby boomers are being targeted as prospective students. Program organizers explain that the project is designed to help with one of the largest generational shifts impacting our country, as baby boomers approach retirement and consider how to keep themselves active, healthy, and involved in careers and projects of importance to them.”

http://www.saycampuslife.com/2008/05/06/plus-50-initiative-reaches-out-to-graying-students/

Walker's World: Bye-bye boomers
Martin Walker
United Press International
May 5, 2008

Overview: “The victory of Boris Johnson in London's mayoral election represents the emergence of a new generation of politicians into the struggle for power. The baby boomers are starting the long, sad slide into senescence. The generation X-ers are on the march.”

http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Analysis/2008/05/05/walkers_world_bye-bye_boomers/6078/print_view/

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Canada's Baby Boomers are Lacking in the Bedroom
Newswire.ca
May 7, 2008

Overview: “If you're a Canadian Baby Boomer, new research indicates you likely have a complicated and unhealthy relationship with sleep at a time when you need it the most.”

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2008/06/c5179.htmlCnews.canoe.ca

Baby Boomer Brain Drain Looms
David McCann
Cfo.com
May 7, 2008

Overview: “Companies may be having a hard time finding qualified young people to fill their junior accounting and finance positions, but that's nothing compared to the struggles they'll likely be facing in the next few years at the other end of the age spectrum. The long-dreaded era of Baby Boomer retirements has finally dawned, and with the oldest Boomers turning 62 this year, the fallout may reach epic proportions in the early years of the next decade.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11324070/1/c_11324249?f=home_todayinfinance&x=1

Boomers' spending goes bust
Thomas Kostigen
MarketWatch.com
May 6, 2008

Overview: “One in four affluent 60-year-olds are downsizing their lifestyle by contributing less to charity, canceling vacations, reducing retirement saving or postponing retirement altogether, according to a national survey conducted by Bell Investment Advisors in Oakland, Calif.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/baby-boomers-spending-goes-bust/story.aspx?guid=%7B5C845AB5-7FD8-4C3E-9D5F-818990B01806%7D

No, not the liquid in the bottle. The bottle, itself. Changes are brewing in the world of plastic bottles and the boomer demographic. But based on a combination of market research—and common sense—this is just the tip of the ice cube…

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

Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers troll Net on sites of their own
Oshkosh Northwestern
May 8, 2008

Overview: “Eons is one of at least two dozen social networks aimed squarely at Baby Boomers, the population bubble born between 1946 and 1964 that has defied traditional perceptions of aging and retirement. Many boomers jumped into the Internet mashup to keep track of their kids on Facebook or MySpace, then moved on to their own networks in search of more common ground.”

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/OSH04/805080301/1168

A Destination Site For "Sonic Boomers" Who Like It Loud
Glen Boyd
Blogcritics.org
May 7, 2008

Overview: “A former publicist at Warner Bros. Records who also put in a few years working for Neil Young, Bentley was a guy who saw a void that desperately needed filling. Like a lot of aging baby boomers not yet quite ready to hang up their rock and roll shoes, for Bentley the mind was still willing. It was just in sore need of a destination.”

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/05/07/223205.php

Boomer Women Broke Barriers, but Now They're Retiring Broke
Redorbit.com
May 6, 2008

Overview: “Women on the leading edge of the baby boom generation are also at the forefront of other trends ones that may work to their detriment in retirement.”

http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1373299/boomer_women_broke_barriers_but_now_theyre_retiring_broke/

Affluent Boomers Adjust Portfolios Because of Economic Worries
Rebecca Moore
PlanAdviser.com
May 6, 2008

Overview: “A press release on the survey results said almost one quarter (23%) of affluent Boomers turning 60 this year said they are planning to change their investment strategy in preparation for a potential recession.”

http://www.planadviser.com/research/article.php/2176

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomers Still Misunderstand Disability Income
Occupational Health & Safety
May 7, 2008

Overview: “According to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans, most baby boomers overestimate the breadth and depth of the public safety net available for workers who suffer a disability, believing public programs provide disability benefits to more people than they actually do and overestimating the amount of benefits available.”

http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/62408/

When $1 Million Isn't Enough
Emily Brandon
Planning-to-Retire Blog
May 7, 2008

Overview: “Is a million dollars enough to retire comfortably on? Many baby boomer millionaires don't think so, especially once recession fears come into play.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/planning-to-retire/2008/05/07/when-1-million-isnt-enough.html

Mine is Longer Than Yours
Michael Kinsley
The New Yorker
April 7, 2008

Overview: “Extending your own life expectancy is the most selfish motive imaginable for doing anything. Do it, by all means.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/07/080407fa_fact_kinsley

Another publication for “not seniors”—but rather, boomers: The Next 50, a slick little magazine out of Virginia. But read the fine print and you’ll recognize the key issue that all 50+ publications have to (and usually fail to) successfully address.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Retiring boomers seek new meaning
Deirdre Conner
The Times-Union
May 12, 2008

Overview: “Baby boomers - officially described as people born between 1946 and 1964 - are on the precipice of retirement. That's why a United Way task force is searching for ways to use the boomer talent pool to avoid a shortage of workers and channel boomers into volunteer or paid public service roles.”

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051208/met_278011826.shtml

Boomers must be groomers
Margaret Gainer
The Times-Standard
May 11, 2008
Overview: “One of my theories about this leadership gap has to do with the Boomer psyche. The Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1951, is the largest and one of the most idealistic generations that ever entered this world. I'm a Boomer, and like many, as a young adult, I was confident that we were going to change the world. We were going to clean up the environment and solve poverty, social injustice, disease and end war. That idealism drives my work ethic every day.”

http://www.times-standard.com/business/ci_9223882

After turning 60, I decided to start spending my retirement by working toward a master’s degree at a first-rank university. It wasn’t long before I had two epiphanies:

One – It’s the most legal fun I’ve had in 40 years.

Two – I have to sit in front so I can hear everything and see what's on the blackboard or the fine print on the slides, and I need a left-handed desk in order to avoid cramps in my note-taking hand.

For the rest of today's blog, continue at TheBoomerBlog.com

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Survey: 1 in 10 boomers borrowing for everyday expenses
Ellen Simon
Associated Press
May 13, 2008

Overview: “The economic downturn is hitting roughly one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans especially hard, compelling them to borrow money for everyday living expenses and to seek help from family, friends or charities, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP.”

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0cr-f5ZqUDSJSYEo9hZkVC2U7lgD90KH8RO6

Boomers' latest impact is on college campuses
M.S. Enkoji
Sacramento Bee
May 11, 2008

Overview: “College acceptance letters aren't going out to only new high school graduates. More than ever, it's their parents waiting for that letter. Many baby boomers return to school for economic necessity or to start new careers. This idea of higher learning later in life is also fueling a rapidly growing retirement option: university retirement communities.”

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_9229623

Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life
RisMedia.com
May 13, 2008

Overview: “Barbara Corcoran has built her career on knowing where people will live even before they know it themselves. In NEXTVILLE: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life, she turns her incomparable real estate eye on Baby Boomers planning for retirement and predicts “the next big things” in real estate for that enormous demographic.”

http://rismedia.com/wp/2008-05-12/amazing-places-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Majority of Boomers Are Using Rebate Checks to Pay Bills, Buy Necessities or Save for Retirement, According to Eons.com Poll
Market Wire
May 13, 2008

Overview: "Today, Eons.com, the largest social networking site for baby boomers, revealed the findings of its 'Rebate Check Boomer Poll' which polled more than 700 members of the Eons.com community.”

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=855652

When marketing tourism, age matters, expert says
Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune
May 13, 2008

Overview: “One size definitely does not fit all when it comes to marketing tourism destinations to people of different ages.”

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9251120

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

The Baby Boomer's Guide to the Next Great Adventure Opens to Rave Reviews
PR Web
May 14, 2008

Overview: “This year, more than 4 million baby boomers will turn 50 -- that's more than 12,000 a day. They are the single largest generation in history, with more discretionary income than any other age group. The launch of PreRetirementLife.com marks the beginning of a new set of online retirement services for this trend-setting generation.”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/boomer/retirement/prweb937614.htm

Keys to engaging boomers as volunteers: 'They crave experience' (and want to be recognized)
Scott Russell
MinnPost.com
May 14, 2008

Overview: “I was with 400-plus people at the "Boomers and Civic Engagement: Opportunities and Challenges" conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Attendees were mostly nonprofit leaders searching for ideas to attract boomer volunteers; as boomers near retirement age, they offer a large pool of potential help. So how do nonprofits attract boomers? Bottom line, said Mark: Sell volunteering as a new experience. ‘The most important insight we can gather from the marketplace is that boomers buy experience. They crave experience.’”

http://www.minnpost.com/scottrussell/2008/05/14/1844/keys_to_attracting_boomer_volunteers_they_crave_experience_and_want_to_be_recognized

Marketers should take pause at Michael Kinsley’s “reflection” in the April 7 edition of The New Yorker titled "Mine is Longer Than Yours.” (Lifespans, that is.) Is this the first hints of a longevity backlash that may replace aspirational with “reality” ads in regards to a wide span of products, ranging from health food to vitamins to mattresses?

For the rest of today's blog, continue at TheBoomerBlog.com

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

New retirees more likely to relocate
Ilyce Glink
Baltimore Sun
May 16, 2008

Overview: “The oldest are 62 and just old enough to start collecting Social Security and qualifying for a reverse mortgage. But for this group of Americans, retirement looks a whole lot different, according to Gene Warren, president and chief executive of Thomas, Warren and Associates.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-glink0516,0,5606346.column

CNBC's "Survival Guide: Boomer Angst" And The Retirement Crisis
Bob Pisani
CNBC
May 15, 2008

Overview: “This Friday at 9 pm EST and midnight, CNBC will air a special, "Boomer Angst," on the difficulties the baby boomers are facing in their retirement. We did a similar special a year and a half ago, and the facts have not improved since then.”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/24652389

The Coming Boom in Boomer-Friendly Transport
Jim Henry
WRCB-TV
May 15, 2008

Overview: “The oldest baby boomers start turning 65 in less than three years, but car-crazed American society isn't ready, and neither are the boomers themselves. Cars, highways, street signs, public transportation, and politics are all changing to accommodate an increase of roughly 20 million Americans over age 65, from 2004 to 2020.”

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/Story.asp?S=8323030

Advertisers often lament that it is a challenge reaching the boomer woman. As many marketers have discovered the hard way, she doesn’t respond to hype; is too busy to have you waste even a spare moment of her time with information, graphics or an angle that isn’t right on the money. What she does want is a real relationship with the company/brand/service. The kind of relationship that reads along the lines of: What have you done for me lately?

For the rest of today's blog, continue at TheBoomerBlog.com