Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

The Boomer Boom
Christopher Musico
Destination CRM
November 1, 2008

Overview: “Revolutionary from the day they were born, Baby Boomers will continue to dictate—with their wallets—how they're targeted by marketers.”

http://tinyurl.com/6e953o

Boomers take nonprofit route
Bob Moos
The Dallas Morning News
November 2, 2008

Overview: “Move over, Bill Gates. You've got company. The former full-time executive of Microsoft and present co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is just one of an estimated 1.1 million baby boomers who have traded jobs in the corporate world for work at nonprofit organizations.”

http://tinyurl.com/5p4qyx

Surfing the Web Stimulates Older Brains
Julie Edgar
WebMD Health News
October 14, 2008

Overview: “The study, which looked at brain activity during web searches, resulted in a fascinating finding: Middle-aged to older adults who know their way around the Internet had more stimulation of decision-making and complex reasoning areas of the brain than peers who were new to web surfing.”

http://tinyurl.com/6aur7d

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Generation We, Boomers and the Limits of Generations
Brent Green
Boomers
November 3, 2008

Overview: “Laying blame on Boomers for today’s malaise is not uncommon, but, especially in the case of Generation We, it lacks historical perspective.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Subsets Of A Digital Age
Jack Loechner
Mediapost.com
November 4, 2008

Overview: “Retired consumers prefer traditional direct channels. Of interest is the reality that email now fits into this category, along with direct mail and telemarketing.”

http://tinyurl.com/5fyu4c

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Working beyond retirement could be good for you. Or not
Kim Painter
USA Today
October 26, 2008

Overview: “While most of us really won't end up working until we die, the trend toward delayed retirement — in full swing even before this financial disaster — raises an interesting question: Will working longer be good or bad for our physical and mental health?”

http://tinyurl.com/6yawf3

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomers: The Boomerang Years
PR Newswire
November 10, 2008

Overview: “According to Mrs. Strewler-Carter some progressive corporations have already developed cutting-edge programs and policies that adapt to the ‘boomerang’ concept. Corporations are moving quickly to tap the potential of this new class of baby boomers and the changing nature of retirement.”

http://tinyurl.com/5c8e66

Boomers Beleaguered but Still Optimistic about Financial Well-Being
Business Wire
November 10, 2008

Overview: “Despite historic market turbulence that has pounded 401(k) plans and retirement savings, American baby boomers surveyed Oct. 20-23 still believe their long-term financial health will be just fine. But the outlook isn’t all rosy.”

http://tinyurl.com/5sk7f8

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Knowledge-transfer strategies help plug generation gaps;
Expected boomer exodus raises desire to nurture next leaders
Mike McLean
Spokane Journal
November 6, 2008

Overview: “As they brace for an expected exodus of baby boomers, some large employers here hope to transfer corporate knowledge to younger employees via methods ranging from internal leadership grooming to posting in-house communications on YouTube.”

http://tinyurl.com/5e4enn

An open apology to boomers everywhere
Heather Havrilesky
Salon.com
November 7, 2008

Overview: “Your earnest, self-important prattle has gotten on Gen X nerves for decades. But now we finally get it.”

http://tinyurl.com/6mfhbc

Boomers Play an Active Role with Parent's Medication Decisions
PR Web
November 11, 2008

Overview: “According to a new survey from Caring.com, baby boomers caring for an aging parent are playing an active role when it comes to decisions about their parents' medications.”

http://tinyurl.com/6mu3pt

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Grandmotherness
Susan Rosenbaum
BoomerCafe
November 8, 2008

Overview: “Here’s a boomer milestone: even the youngest boomer today is now old enough to be a grandparent. We saw a fun piece by Susan Rosenbaum on MomLogic.com about how she’s handling ‘grandmotherness.’ Quite well, we think!”

http://tinyurl.com/5g45to

Playing the Baby Boomer trade
Jonathan Ratner
National Post
November 07, 2008

Overview: “He highlighted several sectors that are exposed to this massive demographic trend, noting that consumer companies that target older households could see more growth than those who focus on the broader or younger population in the next few years.”

http://tinyurl.com/67auo6

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomers who aren't ready for retirement go in new directions
Sara K. Clarke
Orlando Sentinel
November 13, 2008

Overview: “As baby boomers approach retirement age, they're not looking for the golf-and-shuffleboard lifestyle typical of their parents. Many are starting new businesses based on personal interests or going into business with their children.”

http://tinyurl.com/6g8q9z

Healthcare restructure needed for Baby Boomers: report
Jennifer Macey
ABC Online, Australia
November 13, 2008

Overview: “A new report shows that the majority of people aged between 55 and 65 don't have enough superannuation or private insurance to pay for their future healthcare needs.
And the Aged Care Association of Australia says this will put a massive strain on the public healthcare system. It's now calling for more government funding for long-term and community care.”

http://tinyurl.com/5fzcgh

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Baby Boomers & The Economic Collapse
Chuck Nyren
Advertising to Baby Boomers
November 13, 2008

Overview: “What Baby Boomers will still be buying but not buying as much of: houses and condos in retirement villages, financial services, expensive vehicles, expensive vacations. Health-related products and services will be the only ones to remain steady, or grow.”

http://advertisingtobabyboomers.blogspot.com/

The New York Times Quote of the Day for Tuesday October 21, 2008 attributed to John V Miller, chief investment officer of Nuveen Asset Management, focused on the easing of global credit markets. Miller said that "Fear really appears to have receded considerably." The same day I read in AARP’s The Bulletin of the hundreds of people who are over 50, working and homeless and among the hardest hit by foreclosures.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

President-elect Obama, are you a Baby Boomer?
Brent Green
Boomers
November 14, 2008

Overview: “Since Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States, transcending over three centuries of racial stereotypes and social and economic barriers erected around minorities, dozens of writers and bloggers have been rushing to define and redefine his generational identity.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

Baby boomers don't take their parents' kind of vacations
Debra O'Connor
Pioneer Press
November 14, 2008

Overview: “That's why they love to travel, with many seeing it as a necessity, rather than an extra, especially after their nests empty. And experts say boomers' vacations tend to be different than those of the previous generation. More than simply relaxing, they want to achieve something”

http://tinyurl.com/6xxozr

Baby boomers take to more high-energy hobbies
Cara Trager
Newsday
November 15, 2008

Overview: While many find satisfaction in creative-yet-sedentary hobbies such as painting, arts and crafts and flower arranging, others are turning to more strenuous activities, such as kickboxing, rock-climbing and, Hahn's favorite, belly dancing.”

http://tinyurl.com/6qkr7l

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomer Women “Word of Mouth” Generates Greater Likelihood of Purchase Intent Than Younger Women; Prevention Unveils Groundbreaking Word-of-Mouth Report Tracking Year’s Worth of Conversations
Business Wire
November 17, 2008

Overview: “Recognizing the power of personal recommendations in purchasing decisions, Prevention, partnering with Keller Fay Group, has released a first-of-its-kind report that aims to better understand the influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) communications among Baby Boomer women.”

http://tinyurl.com/6xh9ay

Throne Occupied; Try a Comfy Recliner
Ruth Pennebraker
New York Times
November 15, 2008

Overview: “The arc of Charles’s life is quite different. At 60, unlike the rest of us, he still hasn’t realized his full potential, he still looks ahead to a greater future. He hasn’t found the secret to eternal youth that would be prized by all baby boomers. But he has perfected a life of almost-youthful expectation.”

http://tinyurl.com/5mmsxu

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Financial Woes Force Boomers to Work Longer. That's Good
Kristina Dell
Time.com
November 18, 2008

Overview: “A November study from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) titled "Why Baby Boomers Will Need to Work Longer" finds that having a workforce that continues a few years beyond the traditional retirement age is the only way for boomers to prevent a decline in their standard of living and not drag down U.S. economic growth.”

http://tinyurl.com/6jyrvn

TeeBeeDee Poll Results: Layoffs are #1 Boomer Work Worry
PRWeb.com
November 19, 2008

Overview: “Online Boomer Social Network TeeBeeDee surveyed hundreds of Boomers and found the top concern at work is layoffs; value of 401k is second biggest worry.”

http://tinyurl.com/5h4a7x

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

How Boomers Will Confront, Impact & Adapt to the Next 20 Years
MarketWatch
November 20, 2008

Overview: “Developed through ethnographic profiling of a diverse group of those born between 1946 and 1964, Boomers: The Next 20 Years, Ecologies of Risk, paints an extraordinary new picture of this much-studied demographic as they confront a longer lifespan, the widest rich-poor gap in recent generations, a global energy shortage, new economic realities and a Web-based infrastructure. The conclusion: boomers will, as they have in the past, be resourceful and self-reliant, forming economic, health and social collectives -- and families of choice -- to adapt to the future.”

http://tinyurl.com/56u9cd

The Baby Boomer Vote: Sandwiched Again
Emily Brandon
U.S. News & World Report
November 19, 2008

Overview: “Here's a look at why baby boomers, who narrowly supported Obama, may have voted the way they did.”

http://tinyurl.com/6maqya

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Boomer Alert — Peace and Love: Have a Hippie Holiday
Brent Green
Boomers
November 20, 2008

Overview: “Last April in this blog I offered appropriate homage to the 50th anniversary of the Peace Symbol — a logo that most would agree summarizes the tone and tenor of the sixties. It’s the most iconic image linked to Boomers and their impetuous youth. It did not occur to me when I wrote the post, but seems obvious now, that some enterprising retailer would adopt the symbol this year as a selling tool.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

A Big-Button Cellphone for the Boomer Generation
Azadeh Ensha
New York Times
November 19, 2008

Overview: “Palm-size gadgets with barely-there buttons aren’t always a baby boomer’s best friend. The ClarityLife C900 mobile phone, however, is trying to offer something a little friendlier."

http://tinyurl.com/5vpyqj

A guest blog by Carol Orsborn, Ph.D., co-founder of FH Boom and Senior Strategist for VibrantNation.com

AARP The Magazine now covers the topic of “finding meaning”, right alongside financial advice and diabetes prevention.

The annual conference program for the National Council of Aging and the American Society of Aging more than quadrupled the number of presentations on spiritual/religious themes, from 21 in 2007 to 104 in 2008, and added “Purpose and Meaning in Aging” alongside “Religion and Spirituality” as conference categories.

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

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Lament of the baby boomers
Kelly McParland
National Post
November 23, 2008

Overview: “But God, it turns out, does have a sense of humour, and just as we toddle off into our golden years he’s delivered the bill. Dog food for dinner and jobs at Wal-Mart -- who ordered that? Everyone get out your wallet; time to ante up.”

http://tinyurl.com/5csn9e

Boomers Expected to Cutback this Holiday Season
BoomerCafe
November 22, 2008

Overview: “Blame it on the Grinch … the economic market Grinch, that is. Many baby boomers expect to cut back on their 2008 holiday giving, spending and travel due to market concerns, according to a national survey of 947 Americans age 45-64."

http://tinyurl.com/56xzvv

3 Reasons Baby Boomers Are the Richest Generation in History
Emily Brandon
USNews.com
November 21, 2008

Overview: “Baby boomers may not feel rich right now, but they're still the wealthiest generation in U.S. history. Boomers have collectively earned $3.7 trillion, more than twice as much as the $1.6 trillion that members of the silent generation did at the same age, according to a new McKinsey Global Institute report.”

http://tinyurl.com/6qmao3

Best of the FH Boom Daily Digest

Boomer Women “Word of Mouth” Generates Greater Likelihood of Purchase Intent Than Younger Women; Prevention Unveils Groundbreaking Word-of-Mouth Report Tracking Year’s Worth of Conversations
Business Wire
November 17, 2008

Overview: “Recognizing the power of personal recommendations in purchasing decisions, Prevention, partnering with Keller Fay Group, has released a first-of-its-kind report that aims to better understand the influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) communications among Baby Boomer women.”

http://tinyurl.com/6xh9ay

Baby Boomer Men, The Next Marketing Frontier
Brent Green
Boomers
October 10, 2008

Overview: “While the Boomer male today may justify lesser emphasis with respect to marketing budget priorities — and consumer purchasing evidence supports the primacy of targeting Boomer women for mass-market, gender-neutral brands — obviously and rationally, substantial opportunities remain to justify marketing to middle-aged men who have also grown and matured in an aggressive consumer society, just as have their female counterparts.”

http://boomers.typepad.com/

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

'Gen X' Author Tells How Guys Really View Age
Douglas Coupland
MSNBC.com
August 4, 2008

Overview: “I have this theory about men and aging. We have two ages: the age we really are, and the age we are in our heads. Most men are almost always about 31 or 32 in their heads — just ask them. Even Mr. Burns from ‘The Simpsons’ is 31 in his head. One of the most universal adult male experiences is of standing before a mirror and saying, ‘I'm sorry, but there's been a horrible mistake. You see, that's not really me in the mirror there. The real me is tanned, throws Frisbees, and kayaks the Columbia River estuary without cracking a sweat’.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25847518/

Step Away From The Computer, Kids: Baby Boomers Embrace Social Media
Tameka Kee
Mediapost.com
June 23, 2008

Overview: “Advertisers may see the Web and all its iterations--from online video to casual games and social networking--as an ideal channel for reaching young adult consumer, but new data from the AARP and the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication shows that Americans over age 50 are also Web 2.0 denizens. And sometimes they even use the Web more than their younger, more tech-savvy counterparts.”

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

Study: Baby Boomers Are "Savvy Shoppers" Who Brand-Jump More Than Younger Generations
Chris Walters
The Consumerist
July 9, 2008

Overview: “If you or someone you know is between the ages of 40-59, you won't want to miss this very important message—but to summarize it for the ADD crowd, it seems younger folks are (slightly) more likely to choose a brand based on fashion and hype, whereas Boomers are (slightly) less brand-loyal and seek greater value.”

http://consumerist.com/tag/marketing/?i=5023389&t=study-baby-boomers-are-savvy-shoppers-who-brand+jump-more-than-younger-generations