Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Focus: Special report: Tracking the boomers
Frances Hudson
Financial Times
February 1, 2010

Overview: “Tracking the progress of the baby boomers in the US suggests that while in affluent middle age during the 1980s and 1990s, this group concentrated on accumulating wealth, investing heavily in property and equity markets and thus helping to boost asset prices.”
http://tinyurl.com/ych7aw2

Boomer Green Team is a light for many in the Dallas area
Robert Miller
Dallas Morning News
January 31, 2010

Overview: “Don't you think it's about time we dropped the adjective baby when discussing the boomer generation, especially when the boomers are not only accepting the mature mantle of civic responsibility, but actually grabbling it and wearing it proudly?”
http://tinyurl.com/yectgre

Where can a baby boom find Valentines va-voom? No sex in the city if you're over fifty?
Eastside Uptown Girl
Seattle Post Intelligencer
January 31, 2010

Overview: “It's a positive sign that there's a new line up of activities for Valentines that appeal to all generations. The over fifty crowd has money and time and likes to go out too!”
http://tinyurl.com/yd5xxl9

Baby Boomers Renew Their Connections With Facebook
Neil Vidyarthi
All Facebook
January 29, 2010

Overview: “Almost half of the online Baby Boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) update their Facebook or other social networks regularly. According to eMarketer Online senior Analyst Lisa E. Philips, ‘About 47% of online boomers maintain a profile on at least one social network, according to several sources. Their contacts include family, friends and co-workers of all ages.’”
http://tinyurl.com/ycqvw74

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Women Are The Ultimate Travel Consumers
Stephen Reily
Engage Boomers
February 1, 2010

Overview: “No traveling demographic will grow faster over the next 10 years than women aged 50-75. And none spends more. If that weren't enough, our survey results offer the travel industry even more reasons to win over the vibrant Boomer woman as its friend and partner.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydqg5tn

The Future of Housing Demand: 4 Key Demographic Trends
Luke Mullins
U.S. News & World Report
February 1, 2010

Overview: “Demographic shifts and changing values will increase demand for pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities in both urban and suburban settings, according to John McIlwain of the Urban Land Institute.”
http://tinyurl.com/ye4dvpp

Baby boomers are not just hedonists
Brian Groom
Financial Times
February 2, 2010

Overview: “Baby boomers are in the dock this week with the publication of David Willetts' book The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Stole Their Children's Future and How They Can Give It Back.”
http://tinyurl.com/yektddn

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Market dive means it's retirement crunchtime for boomers
Margaret Price
Christian Science Monitor
February 2, 2010

Overview: “The leading edge of the baby boomers – the postwar generation that led the way on everything from war protests to yuppiedom and two-income families – is about to experience another first: postcrash retirement.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykzvoyz

Facebook is booming with Boomers
Jon Swartz
USA Today
February 2, 2010

Overview: “Last year, social media boomed for Baby Boomers: 47% of them actively maintained a profile, compared with 32% in 2008, according to eMarketer.”
http://tinyurl.com/yjhr5cw

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

The Geezers’ Crusade
David Brooks
New York Times
February 1, 2010

Overview: “A series of longitudinal studies, begun decades ago, are producing a rosier portrait of life after retirement. These studies don’t portray old age as surrender or even serenity. They portray it as a period of development — and they’re not even talking about über-oldsters jumping out of airplanes.”
http://tinyurl.com/yc246z6

The baby boomer economy
Dana Carman
Philadelphia Inquirer
February 2, 2010

Overview: “Despite long résumés with proven results, baby boomers often have an uphill climb competing with younger jobseekers. Older workers may be experienced decision makers with little need for training, yet a hiring manager may see them as expensive, inflexible and old-fashioned.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydcwmts

Crowd Gazing
Dominic Elliott
Wall Street Journal
February 3, 2010

Overview: “Imagine you could look back over the history of mankind and explain all its economic nuances. Imagine if, better still, you could accurately forecast a range of future economic factors from gross domestic product growth and inflation to interest rates. And imagine if there was already a way to do this but it had largely been overlooked or misunderstood by the world's economists, central bankers and politicians.”
http://tinyurl.com/yjku344

Investors Hear The Baby Boom Echo In The Bond Market
Wall Street Journal
February 3, 2010

Overview: “The surge of Americans born after World War II, the Baby Boom, is triggering another boom--in bonds.”
http://tinyurl.com/yl5dzup

Generativity Revolution
Marc Freedman
Huffington Post
February 4, 2010

Overview: “Under the headline, "The Geezers' Crusade," the New York Times columnist David Brooks calls for a social movement of older adults on behalf of younger people. Brooks calls for a "generativity revolution" to reverse public policies that he says rob the young to serve the old and take from them funding, freedom and opportunity.”
http://tinyurl.com/ycrl84w

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Aging Baby Boomers changing real estate
Sean Sposito
Star Ledger
February 5, 2010

Overview: “Baby Boomers have largely shaped the real estate market for the past few decades. They created demand for three-car garages, amenities such as outdoor kitchens and pools, and McMansions. But who will buy their houses when they’re gone?”
http://tinyurl.com/ycswp34

What's ahead for the housing market?
Marcie Geffner
Bankrate.com
February 5, 2010

Overview: “As the population ages, again due to the baby boomers, smaller homes may be in greater demand.”
http://tinyurl.com/y8nnsxm

Boomers: Action Plan If You're 50 and Haven't Saved A Dime
CNBC
February 4, 2010

Overview: “While many Boomers are trying to take action—even if it's a little late—most haven't saved nearly enough for retirement. The 2009 Employee Benefits Research Institute found more than one-third (36 percent) of Americans ages 45 to 55-years-old had saved $10,000 or less! Yet, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of those forty- and fifty-somethings believe they'll need half a million to a million dollars to retire.”
http://tinyurl.com/ybk4bpy

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

As pot-smoking, pill-popping baby boomers age, new health problems may arise
Kay Lazar
Boston Globe
February 8, 2010

Overview: “Legions of pot-smoking hippies from decades past have apparently morphed into middle-aged Americans who carry with them a potentially large-scale drug problem.”
http://tinyurl.com/yfhlp2o

Real estate experts predict development trends
Ashley Fletcher Frampton
Charleston Regional Business Journal
February 5, 2010

Overview: The “rate of homeownership peaked at 69% a couple of year ago, and it’s expected to fall to around 62% to 64% in the next few years. Among those who will buy in the future, the demand will be for smaller homes.”
http://tinyurl.com/y8cnt7p

What Baby Boomers Want From Technology
Ray B. Williams
Psychology Today
February 7, 2010

Overview: “Boomers show a great deal of interest in purchasing consumer electronics, more than any other age group. Focus groups, aged 50-60, and organized by the AARP and Microsoft, gathered together in San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, and New York to discuss the issue of future trends in technology. Contrary to many public and media perceptions, Baby Boomers have a real interest in continuing adoption of technology.”
http://tinyurl.com/yh8lwag

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Letters to the Editor: 'Deficit' column overlooked census figures
Harry W. Kopp
Washington Post
February 9, 2010

Overview: “George F. Will's Feb. 4 op-ed column, "A deficit's demographics," painted a picture of a youthful, robust China leaving geriatric, feeble America in the dust. But Mr. Will ignored some important data.”
http://tinyurl.com/yewp7n3

Social Media Redux: It's Here To Stay
Anne Mai Bertelsen
Engage Boomers
February 8, 2010

Overview: “Last month, I asked "What Matters Now," and many of you responded with a desire to better understand Boomers and their use of social media. Since then, both Continuum Crew and eMarketer have published studies that suggest Boomers are warming up to social media, becoming increasingly a digitally networked generation. This trend provides important opportunities for marketers.”
http://tinyurl.com/yjk9ljw

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

PGA: Ad Pages Rise 41% In Early '10
Erik Sass
Media Daily News
February 9, 2010

Overview: "PGA said its flagship publication American Profile enjoyed 54% growth in ad pages during the first quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter of 2009. Food title Relish increased 20% and Spry, targeting baby boomers in middle age with healthy lifestyle content, jumped 24%."
http://tinyurl.com/yano3tv

Housing Crash Crushes Suburban Ideal
CNBC
February 9, 2010

Overview: "As the nation's home builders try to claw their way out of the biggest abyss in the sector's history, the future landscape is beginning to look a bit different than they once thought."
http://tinyurl.com/ygvvujp

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Baby boomers and technology: A love affair
Rita R. Robison
Seattle Post Intelligencer
February 10, 2010

Overview: “Baby boomers show more interest in purchasing consumer electronics than any other age group. Focus groups made up of boomers age 50 to 60 gathered in San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, and New York to discuss future trends in technology. Organized by AARP and Microsoft, the focus groups showed that boomers have a real interest in technology.”
http://tinyurl.com/yd9w9fa

Retirement Needs of Latino Baby Boomers
Suzanne Wu
USC News
February 11, 2010

Overview: “Latino baby boomers in the United States make up a population group so diverse and heterogeneous that the common practice of lumping them into a disadvantaged underclass is entirely inappropriate, according to a new report from the USC Davis School of Gerontology and the UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging.”
http://tinyurl.com/ylkzuq5

Online news consumption trending up among Baby Boomers
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
February 10, 2010

Overview: “Baby Boomers at one time were thought to be the last bastion of hope for readers who still read the papers. The good news is that they are vast consumers of news and they're driving recent increases in online newspaper readership.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykvj459

Aging Boomers Could Spell Big Trouble for Walmart
CNBC
February 10, 2010

Overview: “Walmart is a Baby Boomer consumer-based business. As Boomers’ paychecks grew over the years, so did Walmart’s … profits. Now, the retailer is facing a daunting challenge and haunting question: As Boomer demand falls, and Boomer consumption declines, will WalMart’s sales move in the same direction? Let’s take a look from 30,000 feet.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykwxnjq

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

What Older Buyers Want In A Home
Steven Kerch
Harford Courant
February 12, 2010

Overview: “If your idea of a dream retirement home is a luxury contemporary overlooking a championship golf course in the desert, you better be prepared for some mighty small block parties: When it comes to retirement living, golf courses are out.”
http://tinyurl.com/yefaqh6

Growing Reasons to Consider Medical Tourism
Philip Moeller
U.S. News & World Report
February 12, 2010

Overview: “To date, medical tourism has clearly not been a market for seniors … But as baby boomers reach retirement age, there is every reason to expect that they will be seeking more cosmetic touch-ups, along with joint replacements and critical cardiac procedures.”
http://tinyurl.com/y86ldcs

Playgrounds for adults help senior citizens stay active in the UK
Nicole Lyn Pesce
New York Daily News
February 11, 2010

Overview: “Talk about the swingin’ sixties! London is opening its first outdoor playground for senior citizens, according to the Associated Press.”
http://tinyurl.com/ybfvo52

Generation 'Text': FB me
Larry Rosen
CNN
February 11,2010

Overview: Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, discusses generational differences in communication and the impact of text messaging.
http://tinyurl.com/y9ulksc

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Homebuilders Predict Unpredictable Boomers Will Lead Recovery
Media Post News
(Note, story first appeared in Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News)
February 16, 2010

Overview: “Builders across the country are targeting the 55-plus homebuyer, anticipating that buyers in this cohort will make almost 270,000 purchases by next year.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydfxpuh

Writing a new brand book
Jim Gilmartin
Engage Boomers
February 15, 2010

Overview: “Unfortunately, few marketers have figured out how to best target the Boomer and older consumer. While one Boomer might be gearing up to start a business, another might be taking early retirement. Everyone is different. But how deeply do marketers really want to believe that? How many marketers want to deal with consumers under the rule that every one is unique?”
http://tinyurl.com/yz4acea

How to succeed at marketing the iPad
Erica Ogg
CNET
February 16, 2010

Overview: “seemed clear from the get-go that the iPad is technology intended for people who aren't afraid of, but aren't all that comfortable with technology (hello, baby boomers). It doesn't have the makings of a status symbol on campus or in metropolitan cafes--it's sleek and certainly well-designed, but not small enough.”
http://tinyurl.com/yb82gwv

Botox: a Mask for Hiding Our Emotions – from Ourselves?
Dr. Leslie Becker-Phelps
Psychology Today
February 15, 2010

Overview: “As the mass of baby boomers age, it seems our society as whole becomes even more obsessed with holding onto youth, at all cost. Who'd even heard of ‘E.D.' during the rocking ‘60s? But in our fixation with finding the fountain of youth, we might be facing some unintended consequences as we tone our abs and smooth our wrinkles.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydl8s8m

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

10 Ways Baby Boomers Will Reinvent Retirement
Emily Brandon
U.S. News & World Report
February 16, 2010

Overview: “The baby boomers redefined each stage of life as they passed through it. This generation also will retire in a way that is distinct from their parents and will set the standard for generations to come. Baby boomers are likely to live longer, more healthful, and more active lives than any retirees have before, yet few will enjoy the generous pensions and retiree health benefits enjoyed by many of their parents.”
http://tinyurl.com/y9uusob

Baby Boomers' Play Is Not Child's Play
Jim Shea
Hartford Courant
February 17, 2010

Overview: “They are starting to build outdoor playgrounds for baby boomers. I thought we already had outdoor playgrounds for baby boomers, we just called them by a different name: park benches. I know around here we have indoor playgrounds for baby boomers. We call them by a another name, too: casinos. Drop your money in the slot and feel the burn.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykxbgc9

General Mills Targets Three Groups to Fuel Growth
Emily Bryson York
Advertising Age
February 16, 2010

Overview: “General Mills spelled out its recipe for profitable growth: Hispanics, baby boomers and millennials. The Minneapolis package-food company revealed products and marketing plans designed specifically for those segments at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference this morning.”
http://tinyurl.com/y9dlzcr

Young adults 'less religious,' not necessarily 'more secular'
Kathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today
February 17, 2010

Overview: New study indicates generational differences in religious practices.
http://tinyurl.com/yhf7ueh

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Unemployed rates drop slightly for baby boomers
Rita Robison
Seattle Post Intelligencer
February 17, 2010

Overview: “The unemployment rate for those 55 and older fell to 6.8 percent in January, down from 7.2 percent in December, reports the AARP Bulletin. For those ages 45 to 54, the jobless rate dropped to 7.6 percent last month from 7.9 percent a month earlier.”
http://tinyurl.com/yjafgy7

Study: States must fill $1 trillion pension gap
Mark Scolforo
Associated Press
February 18, 2010

Overview: “States may be forced to reduce benefits, raise taxes or slash government services to address a $1 trillion funding shortfall in public sector retirement benefits, according to a new study that warns of even more debilitating costs if immediate action isn't taken.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydwc3x8

New DC Law Appeals to Boomers’ Green Sensibilities
By Guest Blogger Sherie Winston

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd forgotten about the new District of Columbia law that went into effect on Jan. 1: All stores selling groceries and alcohol are required to charge customers 5 cents for every paper or plastic bag the store supplies.

On a spontaneous dash into Trader Joe's one day last week -- my first trip for groceries this year - I was reminded of the change while waiting in the cashier’s line and noticing all the other customers with their own bags. I could blame my lapse on the unplanned quest for dinner ingredients, but the truth was less environmentally friendly.

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Merrill Aims to Set Retirement-Income Agenda
Thomas Coyle
Wall Street Journal
February 19, 2010

Overview: “Merrill’s increasing focus on retirement income for affluent baby boomers makes sense–especially now that is has Bank of America’s retail-banking muscle behind it. A huge number of baby boomers will be tipping into retirement over the next 25 years, and they control about 40% of all U.S. private assets.”
http://tinyurl.com/yf6spes

Frey: Counting Americans is complicated but key to the nation's future
William Frey
Austin American Statesman
February 18, 2010

Overview: “As baby boomers age over the next 20 years, the nation as a whole will see a surge in senior citizens. But different parts of the country will be aging at different rates, largely because selective "younging" is going on. That's evident from census estimates showing that during the first nine years of this decade, 25 states — mostly in the Northeast, Midwest and Great Plains — and Washington, D.C., exhibited absolute declines in their child populations, while 25 others, led by Nevada and Arizona, showed gains.”
http://tinyurl.com/yfdk8df

Boomers: The Case for Age Diversity
Aman Singh
CNBC
February 18, 2010

Overview: “As more [boomers] join the ranks of senior job seekers … they are increasingly coming up against an age barrier preventing them from returning to the workforce.”
http://tinyurl.com/y92glkx

Press Release: Marketing to Boomers and Beyond Workshop May 14, 2010 in Manhattan
PR Newswire
February 18, 2010

Overview: Boomer marketing conference “Marketing to Boomers and Beyond: How to Build Your Business with the Mature Consumer” occurring May 14 in New York City draws more than 15 top experts on marketing to older demographics.”
http://tinyurl.com/yf9dlo2

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Wine, retirement ... and cremation? Portland baby boomer expo offers advice on the inevitable
Steve Beaven
The Oregonian
February 21, 2010

Overview: “Apparently, the grim reaper is part of the baby boomer lifestyle. He hovered over the Baby Boomer Lifestyle Expo in Portland over the weekend, a none-too-subtle reminder of mortality at a gathering aimed at the eternally youthful.”
http://tinyurl.com/ydt5yr9

Fleeting Youth, Fading Creativity
Jonah Lehrer
Wall Street Journal
February 19, 2010

Overview: “According to the NIH, much of the shift reflects the aging of the baby boomer generation, which has increased the number of older faculty at major medical schools.”
http://tinyurl.com/yfmclsz

Time for 50+ to Make a Comeback
Karl Jacobson
Ad Week
February 22, 2010

Overview: “Too often in the ad world, younger people are hired instead of older ones, and there is a belief that youth in and of itself is good. However, the near 80-million strong baby boomer market, of which I'm a part, and where consumers spend billions of dollars, is still very important -- and perhaps should be spoken to by people actually part of that generation.”
http://tinyurl.com/ycw7zc3

Why We Gain Weight As We Age
Patti Neighmond
National Public Radio
February 22, 2010

Overview: “There are some particular biological changes that happen as we age. For one, aging muscles actually contribute to the increase in the amount of fat we store in our bodies, says Cheryl Phillips, president of the American Geriatrics Society.”
http://tinyurl.com/yzu3nxa

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

How Boomers Will Impact the Health Care Industry
Shelly Gigante
CNBC
February 22, 2010

Overview: “As the first wave of Baby Boomers reaches retirement age, predictions for the nation’s health care system have been nothing short of apocalyptic.
Many predict the surge in demand for medical care associated with the aging population will so strain our resources that future generations will face permanently higher inflation, higher taxes – or both.”
http://tinyurl.com/yfyyw9q

Marijuana use up for seniors as Boomers age
Matt Sedensky,
Associated Press
February 23, 2010

Overview: “In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine. Some classical music, preferably Bach. And every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.”
http://tinyurl.com/yhs7nzn

Editorial: Boomers rage against dying of the light
John Lloyd
Financial Times
February 22, 2010

Overview: “There has been much dark material put into the public debate this month concerning the fate of the baby boomers. That generation, born soon after the second world war, is in the autumn years – and in these years a man or woman’s fancy turns to thoughts of winter: how cold it will be, how soon you will be sans everything, and what the manner of becoming so will be.”
http://tinyurl.com/yzllapl

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow ... Or Not
Matt Thornhill
Engage Boomers
February 22, 2010

Overview: “Boomers are entrenched in middle age, feeling their age, facing mounting debt as the kids go through college and the parents face healthcare needs. Squeezed by both and suffering from a shrinking 401(k) balance and an economy destined to remain soft, it is not surprising that some of that youthful optimism has faded.”
http://tinyurl.com/ycyfcmm

Top News From Today's “Boomiverse”

Brokaw to look at Baby Boomers
Paul Briand
Examiner.com
February 23, 2010

Overview: “The guy who wrote the book -- literally -- on the Greatest Generation will take a look at the Baby Boom Generation.”
http://tinyurl.com/yc8wzmo

Dem Youth Support Waning Amid Gov't Gridlock
Associated Press
February 24, 2010

Overview: “Just 46 percent of 18-to-29 year olds said they believed Obama had changed Washington, compared to 48 percent who said he had not. Only baby boomers were more cynical, with 52 percent saying Obama had not changed the way things work in Washington.”
http://tinyurl.com/y8d7azs

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

AARP studies D.C. seniors who join aging-in-place networks
Annie Gowen
Washington Post
February 25, 2010

Overview: “A recent AARP study of D.C. seniors who joined "aging-in-place" networks say the move has made them feel more engaged in their communities and more comfortable with their decision to stay in their homes.”
http://tinyurl.com/yetxepq

Myine Electronics' Abbee radio strips out ads and DJ chatter
Edward C. Baig
USA Today
February 24, 2010

Overview: “The Abbee base has storage for about 100 songs. But you can transfer and store about 500 songs on the Music Lock portable. … Myine founder Jake Sigal … considers Abbee, named after his wife, an iPod substitute for aging Baby Boomers and folks like his parents. The easy setup involves little more than tuning to a station and plugging in the portable. I found some operations confusing just the same.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykszgl5

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Did Woodstock hippies lead to US financial collapse?
Mark Guarino
Christian Science Monitor
February 25, 2010

Overview: “A conservative activist says hippies-turned-boomers are responsible for excessive spending, the mortgage crisis, and recklessness on Wall Street. He tells the story in his film, ‘Generation Zero.’”
http://tinyurl.com/yc22us2

Baby Boomers Needed For Focus Groups
Shannon Dillon
KBTX.com (CBS Affiliate)
February 25, 2010

Overview: “These days most Baby Boomers are busy with jobs, grandchildren and other hobbies. But have you ever thought about what you'd like to do after you retire and the grandkids are all grown up?”
http://tinyurl.com/y94tfc7

Baby Boomers: Be Your Own CFO!!
CNBC.com
February 25, 2010

Overview: “The challenge for many boomers is to identify the areas that are most likely to yield significant cost savings. Knowing the part of your budget that may be most beneficial to examine can be helpful. Here's a list to help you on that path.”
http://tinyurl.com/ykqwcf3