Boomers once again defy conventional wisdom by downloading podcasts

If  you think podcasting is for only the young turks with ear buds, think again. According to a comScore study, sponsored by Ad Infuse, consumers 35-54 make up about half of the audience that embraces podcasts.

That doesn't surprise me much, perhaps because I fit into this demographic perfectly. I'm 50 and download podcasts weekly. I plug my iPod into the sound system in my car and use my commute time to listen to commercal-free music, lectures, interviews and educational programs.

comScore research indicates that the more education and money a consumer has, the most likely s/he is to tune into podcasts. In fact, "individuals in households making at least $100,000 were 28 percent more likely than average to download podcasts, while college graduates were 25 percent more likely."

In short, podcasting may just be a better target for companies that want to reach out to Boomers than more traditional forms of advertising. In general, we have more money, more education, more time and more incentive to listen than we've been given credit for. I like to call us the Boom-mores.

Expect advertisers to grab onto this trend and pour bucks into reaching Boomers by sponsoring podcasts because they realize we're out there listening. What's more, since downloading requires interactivity, advertisers have a greater chance of reaching a very targeted audience simply because of the self-selection process we went through to get the podcast in the first place.

(Are you listening, car manufacturers???? Quit just screaming at us on TV and get inside our heads through our ear buds!)