Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Employers should bet future on older workers
William J. Rothwell and Diane M. Spokus
Detroit News
September 1, 2008

Overview: “Employers are facing a future workforce different from the past. There are fewer younger workers, and older workers are becoming more sought-after. How many employers are really prepared to attract, manage, develop and retain older workers, and how many employers are prepared to re-think age-old stereotypes about older people?”

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080901/OPINION01/809010319/1008

Boomers bound for boomtowns
Anne Marie McQueen
The National
September 1, 2008

Overview: “The country’s vast professional expatriate community may commonly be thought of as people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who move here for a new experience, a bump in their careers or just a few years of tax-free earning. But there is another demographic flocking to the Emirates: baby boomers, an influential group estimated at 450 million people worldwide, born in the years after the Second World War through to the early 1960s.”

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080901/NATIONAL/666131743/1119

Boomer retirees seek life of luxury
Courtney Drake-McDonough
The Denver Post
August 30, 2008

Overview: “As baby boomers age, they're demanding better options for where and how they live. In response, senior-living companies are raising the bar on the level of accommodations and activities available for seniors who can afford it.”

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10340071

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

A Social Splash
Brigid Schulte
Washington Post
September 1, 2008

Overview: “Group beach houses for over-50 singles do a Boomer business.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090102590.html

Baby boomers ' fuelling adventure holiday surge'
World First Travel Insurance
September 2, 2008

Overview: “Two out of three US tour operators are reporting that baby boomers are the new adrenalin junkies, with a sharp increase in bookings for adventure holidays.”

http://www.world-first.co.uk/home/travel-insurance/sports-and-activities/adventure/baby-boomers--fuelling-adventure-holiday-surge$9140.aspx

Boomers, Cultural Creatives, and the next U.S. President
Brent Green
Boomers
August 29, 2008

Overview: “Shortly after the first Baby Boomers entered their teen years in the early- to mid-1960s, a new class of Americans began to form and ascend. This group is noteworthy for having participated in — or having been influenced by — one or more of the social and consciousness movements, beginning with civil rights activism in the early sixties.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

The findings described by guest blogger, Harris Poll Chairman Humphrey Taylor, of the Harris Interactive survey of nearly 4,000 Americans was refreshing on so many levels.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomer Bands Rock for Fun and Maybe Profit
Katy Marquardt
U.S. News & World Report
September 3, 2008

Overview: “Who says you can't be a rocker after 50, or even 60? Take it from Mick Jagger, who's still touring at 65, or the members of Aerosmith, who are pushing 60 yet have a new album in the works and a headlining role in a new edition of the video game Guitar Hero. And aging rock stars aren't the only ones still jamming: Scores of baby boomers across the country are playing in garage bands, booking gigs, and performing for fun and maybe a little profit.”

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/retirement/2008/09/03/boomer-bands-rock-for-fun-and-maybe-profit.html

America's most affordable places to retire
Maurna Desmond, Forbes
Financial Post
September 3, 2008

Overview: “A significant number of Baby Boomers in North America will soon retire, but many won't be looking so much for a place -- perhaps in the United States -- to settle down as to live it up.”

http://www.financialpost.com/money/story.html?id=766477

Baby Boomers Redefining the Role of Grandparent
Street Insider
September 3, 2008

Overview: “The baby boomers are becoming grandparents and they are changing some perceptions about the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren along the way.”

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Baby+Boomers+Redefining+the+Role+of+Grandparent/3958959.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomers Boosting Resort And College Town Real Estate Markets
Patrick Woolford
NuWire Investor
September 3, 2008

Overview:” While the housing crisis continues to pound many regions in the United States, a small subset of college and resort town communities have continued to grow, largely because of their popularity among retiring and second home-owning baby boomers looking to spend more time in their favorite vacation destinations.”

http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/blogs/commoncensus/2008/09/baby-boomers-boosting-resort-and.html

Women's Lib - Boomer Sylte
Doreen Orion
Huffington Post
September 4, 2008

Overview: Orion writes, “I always thought I'd hate turning fifty, but now that it's looming, I can't wait! What else will I discover I don't care about?”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doreen-orion/womens-lib---boomer-sylte_b_123405.html

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Survey shows rise in baby boomers’ illicit drug use
Bill Glauber
Journal Sentinel
September 7, 2008

Overview: “When it comes to using illicit drugs, some baby boomers still have a hard time just saying no.”

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=791748

Women's work: Long Island boomers make an encore
Patricia Kitchen
Newsday
September 7, 2008

Overview: “It's part of what Debbi Honorof calls the ‘encore movement,’ in which baby boomers are looking to design their encore stage of life - new careers, new volunteer opportunities, new social contacts, with the notion of traditional rocking-chair retirement nowhere in sight.”

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/business/ny-bzleft5833982sep08,0,371290.story

Insurance is bliss. The reason I know that insurance is bliss is that I read it on a giant billboard on a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, riding past at 55 mph in my insured Saturn. In truth, my car insurance company is not State Farm (sponsors of the moment of curbside inspiration cited above) but nevertheless, I not only noticed the billboard and duly counted my blessings, but was inspired to revisit the relationship between spirituality and marketing, particularly as applied to the men and women of the boomer generation.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers: The Greenest Generation
Sarah Mahoney
Mediapost.com
September 9, 2008

Overview: “While conventional marketing wisdom holds that it's the idealistic Gen Y shoppers who are most committed to buying products that are less harmful to the environment, a new study finds that baby boomers are the greenest generation.”

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=90191

Seedtime for the Aging of a Generation
Brent Green
U.S.A.G.E
September 5, 2008

Overview: The latest in Brent Green’s series on aging and entitlement.

http://boomers.typepad.com/usage/

Baby Boomers Redefine Retirement Through "Village" Concept
Kavitha Cardoza
WAMU 88.5 FM
September 05, 2008

Overview: “The first wave of baby boomers will turn 65 during the next few years, and these new "senior citizens" are re-defining what retirement means. Some are creating villages, organizations where members help each other with needs ranging from changing light bulbs and weeding gardens to installing bathroom handrails and providing rides to a doctor's appointments.”

http://wamu.org/news/08/09/05.php

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

American Dream on Life Support: Boomer-Plus Americans Believe They Will Leave World in Worse Shape
PRNewswire
September 12, 2008

Overview: “Older Republicans and women report they are more likely to volunteer in their communities, according to a comprehensive report released today by AARP.”

http://tinyurl.com/6y97ax

Report: Baby Boomers Watch Online Video, Buy DVD
Erik Gruenwedel
Home Media Magazine
September 9, 2008

Overview: “Once considered primarily the domain of teens and young adults, online video and social networking sites have become a target for baby boomer Web users (ages 44 to 61), according to a new report.”

http://tinyurl.com/5qumc2

When Boomers Work for Gen X and Gen Y
Tammy Erickson
Across the Ages
September 8, 2008

Overview: “Recently some of my Boomer friends have been venturing into new companies - ones founded and run by members of Generation X or Y.”

http://tinyurl.com/5q8q6q

In our exploration of the intersection between meaning and marketing in relation to the boomer generation, it is important to understand that spirituality and religion come in various stripes and colors. In my next blog, I’ll discuss the distinct religio-spiritual archetypes and how they relate to the stages of adult development. Marketers should pay heed lest they get on the divine express only to discover that a transcendently-grounded message perfect for one spiritual type ineffectively or even disastrously lands on the door stoop of another.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

How To Profit From The Baby Boom
Melanie Lindner
Forbes.com
September 11, 2008

Overview: “There are hundreds of ways entrepreneurs can tap this massive market--from small shops started on a shoestring to larger operations that require serious capital.”

http://tinyurl.com/623nzd

Spiffy new convertibles target new crop of Baby Boomers
Chris Woodyard
USA Today
September 10, 2008

Overview: “Nothing shouts midlife crisis like a convertible — and automakers are rolling out new models to appeal to Baby Boomers hitting prime time.”

http://tinyurl.com/5hsoda

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Clothing stores rediscover Boomers
Jayne O'Donnell, Laura Petrecca & Sarah Butrymowicz
USA Today
September 12, 2008

Overview: “In recent years, as more middle-age women have tried to dress more youthfully, retailers have been flummoxed about how to respond. Most have floundered in their bid to attract those who don't want to dress like either their daughters or their mothers.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2008-09-11-fashion-boomer-women-talbots_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Study: Social Nets Snare Boomers
Steve Miller, Brandweek
Adweek.com
September 12, 2008

Overview: “NPD's findings confirm what many marketers already know: ‘Younger brands’ like Apple and Red Bull have paved the way, and now ‘older brands’ must realize that there's a more mainstream approach to reaching all types of consumers, said Akin.”

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i6e1ea93903c4b3a3b3a23192143c1f77

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Uncle Sam wants you, boomers - to fill jobs
Mark Miller
Newsday
September 15, 2008

Overview: “Uncle Sam wanted Ann Vande Vanter - and he might want you too, if you're older than 50.”

http://tinyurl.com/5zs7qt

Nostalgia in ads may be a plus -- or just plain silly
John Droschner
Bradenton Herald
September 14, 2008

Overview: “Is this clever or stupid? To market its progressive lenses -- bifocals without the telltale line that might hint at a person's age -- to baby boomers, Essilor did a commercial a few years back with bespectacled middle-age protesters rallying on behalf of better lenses, as if they were '60s demonstrators.

http://tinyurl.com/5qewzz

These gleanings from a single day of online news dispatches should be enough to deflate even the proudest member of the boomer clan. File these under the heading of “believe it or not,” or perhaps “would you believe??”

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Single boomers face cash-flow woe
Haley Mick
Globe and Mail
September 15, 2008

Overview: “When their parents retired, most were still married to their original spouses. No one expected to survive on a single pension, or on RRSPs cobbled together after a mid-life divorce and years of raising children on one income. But in a new era of divorce, approximately 25 per cent of Canadians born between 1946 and 1964 are single - and on the cusp of entering retirement alone.”

http://tinyurl.com/5zdr4e

Sleepy Economy Keeping Boomers Stirring at Night
PRNewswire
September 15, 2008

Overview: “Nearly three-fourths of American baby boomers are not getting a full eight hours of sleep each night, blaming sleepless nights on economic, financial and family woes. In fact, one in six of the eighty-two million strong generation report chronic sleep problems -- difficulty falling asleep every night of the week -- according to a recent sleep survey of U.S. boomers (44-62 year olds) conducted by the Better Sleep Council (BSC).”

http://tinyurl.com/6qdvmf

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Men at work: Variables for Baby Boomers
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
September 17, 2008

Overview: “An older man's ability to work at a later age depends less on the state where you live and whether or not it has a high unemployment rate and more on factors such as your health. That's according to a new brief from the Center of Retirement Research at Boston College.”

http://tinyurl.com/6bfswl

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby boomers may decide the next U.S. president
Steve Gools
Oakland Press
September 18, 2008

Overview: “In most elections, older voters tend to commit early and form a base for one candidate or the other.This year, Boomers form an outsized bloc of swing voters and may well decide the winner of the White House. Neither Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama can afford to take 50-plus voters for granted and both candidates need to do a better job of explaining their positions on the issues better.”

http://tinyurl.com/3otg63

In the previous blog, we exposed the spiritual underpinnings of the leading edge of boomer women, the group that has a history of influencing the culture as a whole. But hers is but one voice amongst many in search of meaning in their personal lives, work lives and, of special note to marketers, even in their role as consumers of products and services.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Zooming Into New Age
Hollie Shaw
Financial Post
September 19, 2008

Overview: "Today, the creator of CityTV, MuchMusic and Bravo is building a new media conglomerate aimed squarely at Baby Boomers, a generation he says is ignored and unloved by advertisers."

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=805395

Boomers and the Economy
Liz Harrison
ABC30.com
September 18, 2008

Overview: “The volatility in the stock market and the general state of unrest in the economy right now has many Americans wondering whether they'll have any money when they retire - especially baby boomers or those born between 1946 and 1965. Many have to work beyond their predicted date of retirement.”

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=6400402

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers Tend To Shop Green, Volunteer
Environmental Leader
September 21, 2008

Overview: “Though Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are often called the ‘Me Generation,’ according to a report from Focalyst they are increasingly focused on both donating their time to causes they believe in and patronizing merchants that promote the environment, Marketing Charts reports.”

http://tinyurl.com/4ox3g2

BOOMj.com Is the Most Visited Baby Boomer Social Network on the Web and Breaks Into the Top 50 Global Social Networks
PRNewswire
September 22, 2008

Overview: “BOOMj, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BOMJ) announced today that http://www.BOOMj.com, the leading social network for Baby Boomers and Generation Jones, was the single most visited Baby Boomer social networking site according to August 2008 Compete data.”

http://tinyurl.com/4spolb

Baby boomers come face to face with America's faltering economy
John Przybys
Las Vegas Review-Journal
September 22, 2008

Overview: “Like most first- and middle-wave baby boomers, Natalie and Doug Ahlstrom can feel their retirement getting closer and closer all the time. Natalie, a self-employed bookkeeper, and Doug, an architect designer, are both 51. And, even as they continue to sock money away in their retirement accounts, a less-than-vibrant economy is making them re-think their golden years. The basic problem: a stock market that ‘keeps going down and not up,’ Natalie says.”

http://tinyurl.com/3unsgd

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

50 Is The New 50. Period.
Gene Grant
Albuquerque Journal
September 22, 2008

Overview: “But there's something fascinating about 50. It's liberating. And by the way, 50 is not the new 30. I absolutely cannot stand that phrase. Fifty is the new 50. Period.”

http://tinyurl.com/3jdlpo

To retire comfortably, it all boils down to time
Lynn O'Shaughnessy
USA Today
September 22, 2008

Overview: “Everyone knows that wannabe retirees are in a bind today as they consider whether they have the financial security to make the leap.”

http://tinyurl.com/4u454q

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Retailers Leave Baby Boomers Dry
Jeanine Poggi
Forbes.com
September 24, 2008

Overview: “All of a sudden, being middle-aged is somewhat trendy. But as much as Baby Boomers might want to follow these stars' lead and turn to fashion to stay young, they're having a hard time doing it. Retailers are not keeping up with Boomers' demands, and they're struggling to survive as a result.”

http://tinyurl.com/43qq86

Here's a Plan: Work Longer; Why you'll work longer...and love it.
Ashlea Ebeling
Forbes
September 29, 2008

Overview: “Boomers say that they're ready to retire later and work in retirement. Good thing.”

http://tinyurl.com/4unes6

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers, Zoomers and a Profit Named Moses
Brent Green
Boomers
September 23, 2008

Overview: Green blogs about media mogul Moses Znamier and Zoomer magazine. He writes, “Suffice to assert my opinion here that ZoomerMedia has the right stuff to rebrand aging in Canada. And their success is our success.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Five ways boomers are redefining retirement
Jonathan Chevreau
Financial Post
September 25, 2008

Overview: “Baby boomers are redefining retirement and financial advisors that fail to realize how are at risk, says consultant Dan Richards.”

http://tinyurl.com/4sh7uj

Eye Health Top Concern for Baby Boomers
Newswire.ca
September 24, 2008

Overview: “Baby boomers are more concerned about losing their vision than they are about losing their memory, physical mobility and other attributes of personal independence as they get older, according to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Association of Optometrists to kick off Eye Health Month this October.”

http://tinyurl.com/4pmn6p

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Employers learning gray matters
Betty Beard
The Arizona Republic
September 28, 2008

Overview: “More employers now realize they need to recruit and retrain older workers -- especially Baby Boomers. But many aren't sure how to go about that.”

http://tinyurl.com/3neova

Looking Younger – The Commitment
Cynthia Rowland
Bestsyndication.com
September 24, 2008

Overview: “The Baby Boomers always knew they would look younger and indeed they have. Whoever coined the phrase ‘sixty is the New Forty’ certainly must have been a Baby Boomer who grew up defying anything that reeked of old.”

http://tinyurl.com/3rmy6e

Top News From Today's "Boomvierse"

Diverse workforce mixes young, old
Jessica Willis
Berkshire Eagle
September 30, 2008

Overview: “Is it possible for a Millennial to teach a Traditionalist a thing or two about technology? Can a Boomer earn a paycheck alongside a member of Generation X? Welcome to the new work force: A slippery place intersected by four generations of employees and employers born more than 60 years apart, where age doesn't necessarily equal more job experience, or even a bigger paycheck.

http://tinyurl.com/4t5l5p

Hi kids, we're home: Boomer parents move in
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
September 30, 2008
Overview: “There are the empty nester Baby Boomers, whose children have flown the coop to be on their own. And there are the boomerang children of Baby Boomers, who moved out only to come back to live with their parents.”

http://tinyurl.com/4exvsc

US senior centers plan for boom of 'boomers'
Stephanie Reitz
Associated Press
September 29, 2008

Overview: “Changing food preferences are among many adjustments that senior center directors nationwide, including Lather, expect to make in the next decade as they balance the wishes of their elderly stalwarts with those of baby boomer newcomers.”

http://tinyurl.com/45s27b