Baby Boomer Insights

Practical holiday gifts for boomers

Some people know it's fall by looking at a calendar, others by the feel of the air. Me? I just look in my mailbox. I know it's fall when I start seeing Christmas catalogs. This year, though, I'm getting as many pitches to my blog and into my e-mail as I am in my snail mail box. Most of them I toss as irrelevant or uninteresting, but I have come across a few that I thought were worth looking into. Check these out:

> FastPencil lets you write that memoir or children's story or family history you've been meaning to get around to and then publish it. Would-be authors can collaborate with others, upload pictures and solicit feedback until they get it just right, then publish an e-book or a hard copy. Since everyone involved in a project uses the same editing tools on the site, the process goes more smoothly and quickly than the typical back-and-forth of book publishing. The basic service is free, but the site makes its money from offering premium services, such as enabling you to sell your book through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and over 2,000 additional channel partners. They also offer authoring services. What a great gift it would be for boomers and their parents to document their stories for a family legacy!

> Of course, if you're going to write that book, you may need a little help boosting your memory. I subscribe to Bill Cosby's philosophy that our memories are actually in our butts. Think about it. How many times do you go into a room to get something, then find yourself standing there wondering why you're in that room? Just go back to where you were, sit down, and it'll jog your memory! Or... another way would be to follow a 4-week program designed to boost your memory through a combination of food, moves and games. It's called the Brainpower Game Plan and it was created by Cynthia R. Green, PhD, founder of Mt. Sinai's Memory Enhancement Program. She has teamed up with Prevention Magazine to offer a book outlining ways to increase your everyday brain power and prevent  age-related brain disorders later in life. According to Prevention's web site,  readers who tried the plan boosted their everyday memory by up to 78 percent. I plan to check this out, especially after realizing I had to look up the name of the program and the author's name twice while writing this blog!

> Just in time for flu season comes a web site that solves that problem of wanting to provide a hot bowl of chicken soup to your parents, kids or friends who are too far away for you to just drop by. SpoonFulofComfort.com will deliver homemade chicken soup to anyone in a 64 oz jar (4-6 servings) that is reusable and recyclable. A portion of the profits are donated to the American Cancer Society. According to Dr. Steven Rennard, a specialist in pulmonary medicine, chicken soup does in fact provide actual health benefits. I can't tell you how often I've wanted to send chicken soup (one of my favorite comfort foods) to someone and yet, incredibly, it never dawned on me to see if I could actually do that on the Internet!

> If you're one of the 34 million people in the sandwich generation caring for your parents and your children, you can probably appreciate - and learn from - Gloria Barsamian's new book, "Sustenance and Hope for Caregivers of Elderly Parents." She offers tips and advice on how to deal with such a major life change in a way that preserves your sanity and relationships. Barsamian's insights are drawn from 28 years as a social worker helping families deal with catastrophic illness.

I'd love to hear some of your suggestions for gifts to give boomers this holiday season. I'll write another column soon with the collection of ideas.

How to make sure your heirs know how to execute your will and file claims against your insurance policies

Like so many boomers, I'm a member of the sandwich generation, caring both for my parents, who are in their 80s, and my youngest daughter, who is in college. I also have an 89-year-old mother-in-law. That means my husband and I have a lot of papers to keep up with... insurance papers (life, auto, home, long term care, you name it)... medical papers (who goes to which doctor and what meds are they on?). Then, there are financial papers (checking, savings, CDs, safety deposit boxes) to track. It can be absolutely maddening trying to stay on top of our own records, never mind those of our parents.

And yet, it's important to do so. The fact is insurance companies and financial institutions in particular have no way of knowing when someone has passed away, so they aren't likely to reach out and let beneficiaries know what claims can be made. As a result, billions of dollars go unclaimed each year, simply because nobody knew benefits were available and how to file for them.

So I was delighted when I received a note from Tej Shah, 24, co-founder of a new web site that goes live this week called www.WeRemember.org ("So your loved ones don't have to"). Shah said he and his partner, Joe Palmer, 27, started the site to help people have a central place to identify all their important papers to enable people to know exactly where to go to get copies of everything from insurance documents to wills upon the death of a family member or friend. (Some people put all their papers in a safe or a safety deposit box at the bank, but unless the appropriate paperwork has been filed and a beneficiary has access to a key, beneficiaries won't get very far.)

Users of the secure online site can set up a profile detailing what policies s/he holds, where the will is held, and who to contact to arrange claims. To further ensure security, the site does not request Social Security numbers or even account numbers of insurance policies. Anyone can set up a profile for free and give www.WeRemember.org permission to contact (for free) their beneficiaries upon their death. For an upgrade fee of $29.95, www.WeRemember.org will even send the appropriate claims forms to be filed.

Here's how the site works: the company's database regularly connects to the Social Security Administration Death Index, which is where all deaths in the United States are officially recorded. When a match is found, www.WeRemember.org verifies that the match really is one of its profile users. Then, the site contacts the user's third-party verifier (who is not a beneficiary nor family member, but someone who can verify that the user has actually died). Upon third party confirmation of the death, www.WeRemember.org contacts the beneficiaries to tell them how to execute claims against policies and accounts.

The site makes its money from users who upgrade to the $29.95 service, as well as from companies that sponsor educational modules on the site. The sponsors answer questions for users and when someone clicks through to explore options, the site collects a referral fee.

I predict www.WeRemember.org will be a hit with boomers in particular. After all, many of us have a pretty diverse portfolio of insurance policies, 401(k) contributions and complex wills that often entail multiple homes, and  trusts. Oh... and children spread all over the country who are left to deal with it all. What a great example of a site that understands our needs and appreciates our desire to use technology as a tool to help us accomplish something that's important to us.

Social networking sites explode online: should boomers try to keep up?

I'm back after taking a few weeks off for vacations, business travel and just generally getting some down time. I certainly wasn't disconnected, though. I just didn't blog since late June. What I did do was spend a lot of time looking into the plethora of social networks that have been knocking at my door for a while.

At least weekly for the past couple of years I've received invitations to join all kinds of networks beyond the standard: Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. People have tried to link to me through ecademy, Plaxo, MyYearbook, Classmates, Networking for Professionals, and on and on. I decided as an experiment to set up profiles and get to know  these sites personally so I could see what all the hub-bub is about.

If you spend any time at all online, you've probably noticed yourself the explosion in online networks that encourage people to connect, share information and search for - or post - available jobs. The media would have us believe everyone over 35 has a Twitter account now. (For the record, I have one and have several followers, but have not yet tweeted, even though I do follow some favorite tweeting journalists.)

So, what are all these "connected" people doing? According to new research by Anderson Analytics, revealed at emarketer.com, boomers largely use social networks to keep in touch with friends and family. Using the networks "for fun" drew only 38%, as opposed to 61% for Gen Y and 51% for Gen X. That suggests that boomers see social networks in much the same way we see the Internet in general - it's a tool to accomplish something in particular, not just a place to hang out to see what happens. Meanwhile, LinkedIn reigns supreme as "the" professional network (with 43 million current users).

I think it is particularly interesting to note that women over 55 are now reversing a trend they started earlier this year. After becoming the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook in the first quarter (to 1.6 million) , during April and May this same group DROPPED by 650,000, according to Inside Facebook. 

Having spent several hours a day on various networks for the summer, I think I know why many boomers are jumping ship. Many just aren't interested in the constant stream of "status updates" that amount to boring noise. Thankfully, after a flood of complaints, Facebook, the grandaddy of social networks, did alter its site so that users can "hide" friends who post too often. Other sites with similar functions aren't quite as invasive, but I found a lot of "junk" there too.

I use  the Facebook hide function a lot. I have some connections who post more than a dozen times day. Often, the updates are actually annoying, especially the ones designed to  share political views, "inspirational messages," and  brag about business deals. 

Frankly, it can be incredibly time consuming to try and keep it all straight and check in on the various networks regularly. I frequently read advice from the uber-connected who suggest that you should maintain a presence on every network you can. The theory is that the more places you  appear, the better known you'll become and the more branded you'll be.

Here's what I've concluded: most boomers who do well to just pick a lane and drive in it. In other words, select a couple of networks and master them, rather than trying to be everywhere. I've chosen Facebook and LinkedIn, but for entirely different purposes. For me, Facebook is a place to meet up with friends, goof around with stupid (but often entertaining) applications, declare I'm a "fan" of favorite brands, and stay in touch with my family, whereas LinkedIn is where I connect with professional colleagues and business contacts. Only a few people appear on both networks, since I think it's wise to keep your true "social" network separate from your business network.

What do you think? Do you make an effort to separate your personal and professional networks? Why or why not?

P.S. In case you haven't seen it, check out this article about the most annoying types of facebook posters.

Designer boomer web site bites the dust: TeeBeeDee's ample funding, content not enough

I was disappointed - but not surprised - to learn that TeeBeeDee has closed down, due to lack of participation by the very people it targeted - Boomers. Despite being well-funded and having experienced leadership with a track record of success, the site just didn't draw the 45+ set as intended.

The content was great, the site was well designed, and the information was interesting. But, the fact is Boomers don't want to hang out on web sites that filter for them based on their age. In other words, we don't see ourselves as a group of people who are so different from other generations that we should have separate sites.

When Boomers go online, it's usually to learn something, do some research, get a question answered, or share information with friends and family. We aren't looking for sites to just "hang out" with people our own age. Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace will do just fine for when we want to socialize or enhance our network. Even the granddaddy of Boomer sites, Eons, has had to lower the age of entry just to survive.

Expect this trend to continue. That means marketers who want to reach Boomers need to go where they are, rather than try to find new ways to draw them. I can tell you from personal experience that I've seen an explosion in Boomers using the same social networking sites as their children and grandchildren. And why not? It makes staying in touch much easier. As a bonus, many all-purpose social networking sites make it easy to share photos, videos and whatever else we want.

Already, another trend is emerging - for better or worse. Boomers, like the generations below them, are starting to use the message functions of social networking sites as a replacement for e-mail. It makes sense in many ways - if you're already on Facebook to check on friends or see new pictures, why not just click on the message function and use it, instead of going to yet another site and logging in just to send a quick note? (Personally, I don't like this trend - I'd much prefer to get an e-mail in my personal account. I have a bit of a paranoid streak and never completely trust the confidentiality and integrity of sites not designed speficifically for e-mail. )

What's your experience, Boomers? Do you find yourself being increasingly satisfied to "use what the kids use"?

Niche social networking sites that really matter: CaringBridge sets the bar

Despite the fact that I'm pretty involved in online social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, numerous blogs and forums, I've come to appreciate a whole new type of niche social networking that serves a very specific - and often short-term - purpose.

I'm referring to CaringBridge, an online source that enables people to set up a personal, customized web site to facilitate support from loved ones during an illness or accident. Using a journal format, you can keep friends updated on your condition, treatment and recovery. In turn, subscribers to the journal can share their encouraging words, comments and insight.

Last week, one of my dearest friends lost her husband of 17 years to a brain tumor at the age of 51. Phil was diagnosed 18 months ago and his wife immediately set up a CaringBridge site to keep his many friends and colleagues up to date on what was happening. I'm so glad she did. Over the past several months, I've learned so much about him, not just through their daily experiences shared online, but through the comments left by friends, some of whom dated back to elementary school.

Regularly, new pictures were posted and stories told about what it was like to go through the roller coaster ride that became their daily existence. We readers shared the emotional ride too and learned a lot in the process, not just about the disease, but about them. When you have literally dozens and dozens of good friends and family members, this is a great way to keep everyone informed without having to do it one-on-one.

CaringBridge is free to users, supported purely through donatons, which come from individuals and corporations (including hospitals and healthcare entities). When Phil died, his wife asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to CaringBridge so they could continue to provide support to others in need of such services. I considered it an honor to donate in Phil's memory.

But in Phil's case, the social networking extended beyond CaringBridge. Even the funeral home that arranged his visitations and memorial service used an interesting social networking platform. A page was set up on the chapel's site and friends could leave messages, which many did. There was even a way to upload photos of Phil and share stories. What a wonderful way to celebrate his life!

Both of these sites offer ways to create a permanent product from the entries, such as the Caringbook, a hard copy publicaton of the patient's CaringBridge web site. The funeral home offered a CD of the pictures and messages. 

Boomers have been quick to embrace technology, including social networking sites, and I predict they'll be the ones to keep these specialized niche sites going. Facebook is fun. LinkedIn is productive. But a site that lets you experience life when it matters most is truly special.