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    Part of what I see as the mission of this event is to create enough awareness so that even companies not doing specific things for seniors start thinking about seniors.

    This space is more touch-driven, visually easier to see, simplicity is a huge factor, ease to entry is key. The level of frustration will be higher. Oftentimes the people who are selling this technology to them are kids, so they don’t understand. If you’re developing a product for this sector, you need to know that the rules you used to follow aren’t true anymore. And you need to be aware of the frustration level. What do most people do when they get to the point of frustration or fear? They stop using the product.

    —  Chris Valentine, event producer for September’s LivePitch event in New Orleans, on why you should design products for the underserved and underestimated 50+ market.  To submit your company to pitch to angels, VCs, and the toughest critics of all, AARP members, go here. 
     
    2. Aug 14th, 2012     universal designboomersseniorsagingtechnology

  2. The University of Alabama surveyed nearly 8,000 people in 2012, finding that participants over the age of 50 who used Twitter (and Facebook) were one-third less likely to develop symptoms of depression than those not using social media.

    via HuffingtonPost

     
    3. Jul 24th, 2012     technologySocial media50+50+ twitter50+ bloggers

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    AARP members VIP for New York gadget preview

    It’s CE Week in New York City, and technology blog gdgt (say it like “gadget”) is hosting VIP & press preview hours for swanky new gadgets. This time, they want AARP members there. Badly.

    See, here’s the thing: the 22-year-olds might be the first in line for a new smartphone, but the 62-year-olds are the ones carrying the wallet. Plus, they’ve been around the block a time or two, and they’ve got a good idea what works and what’s just hot air and flimflammery.

    You can RSVP here: http://gdgtnyaarp.eventbrite.com/

     
    4. Jun 14th, 2012     ceweekconsumer electronicstechnology

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    The U.S. is a youth culture. We associate social networking with youth, with college students creating these tools. They don’t have the need for it, they don’t yet have the experience of older people. Today’s generation of younger people doesn’t live close to its grandparents. No one is building apps for seniors. We’ve been building them for 12 years at Intel. Look at the number of seniors and disposable income. We don’t like to think about getting old. It’s changed a bit in the last couple of years with baby boomers. There were no conferences on technology in aging 12 years ago. Now there are more conferences, but in the U.S. it’s still academic, it hasn’t crossed over to VCs.
    —  Intel’s Eric Dishman to Forbes. 
     
    5. May 18th, 2012     longevity economyboomerstechnologyuniversal design

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    AARP members VIP for Chicago gadget preview

    Technology blog gdgt (say it like “gadget”) is hosting VIP & press preview hours for swanky new gadgets, and they want AARP members there. Badly. 

    See, here’s the thing: the 22-year-olds might be the first in line for a new smartphone, but the 62-year-olds are the ones carrying the wallet. Plus, they’ve been around the block a time or two, and they’ve got a good idea what works and what’s just hot air and flimflammery. 

    The first event is in Chicago at the Tribune Building this Friday; the second in New York City on June 25 to kick off Consumer Electronics Week. We’ll post details for NYC when we have them… in the meantime, here’s the link to RSVP for Chicago. 

    Where: The Tribune Building, 435 N Michigan Ave, Chicago

    When: Friday, May 11th – AARP Member/VIP access: 6:00 to 7:00pm 

    General Access: 7:00pm to 10:00pm

    Why: Because we know you love gadgets as much as we do!

     
    6. May 9th, 2012     technologygadgetsChicagoAARPboomers

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    Fantastic breakdown of the “longevity economy” from Steve Jurvetson at DEMO 2012.  “Here are some of the points I shared: The 50+ market is huge and a large untapped opportunity for entrepreneurs. In the U.S. alone, there are 100 million people over 50, and that number grows by 10,000 every day. By 2025, the entire nation will look like Florida does today. Demographics is destiny — the aging population is a perfectly predictable dynamic that will have massive economic repercussions. They already represent a disproportionate 45% of U.S. consumer spending, and healthy aging is already a $515 billion business (Furlong). The boomers are qualitatively different as well, both from the generations that preceded them, and from common assumptions. Advertisers often focus on the 18-34 year old segment to find adopters of new products. Let’s compare that to the 50+ segments. The 50+ spend 2.5x as much, and dominate the entire market for some segments (60% of all CPG and automobiles, 80% of leisure travel). But are they laggards? They are 3x as likely to buy online as the 18-34 segment. They buy the most hybrid cars, iPads and even online dating services.”

    Fantastic breakdown of the “longevity economy” from Steve Jurvetson at DEMO 2012. 

    “Here are some of the points I shared:

    The 50+ market is huge and a large untapped opportunity for entrepreneurs. In the U.S. alone, there are 100 million people over 50, and that number grows by 10,000 every day. By 2025, the entire nation will look like Florida does today. Demographics is destiny — the aging population is a perfectly predictable dynamic that will have massive economic repercussions. They already represent a disproportionate 45% of U.S. consumer spending, and healthy aging is already a $515 billion business (Furlong).

    The boomers are qualitatively different as well, both from the generations that preceded them, and from common assumptions. Advertisers often focus on the 18-34 year old segment to find adopters of new products. Let’s compare that to the 50+ segments. The 50+ spend 2.5x as much, and dominate the entire market for some segments (60% of all CPG and automobiles, 80% of leisure travel). But are they laggards? They are 3x as likely to buy online as the 18-34 segment. They buy the most hybrid cars, iPads and even online dating services.”

     
    7. Apr 24th, 2012     universal designdesign for alltechnologyboomers

  7. Instead, I got wrapped up in a conversation between a grandmother and her grandkids talking at the table behind me.
    “Grandma, did you get my text about the Dead Space game I want for my birthday?”
    “Yep, I did. But you won’t know until you open your present!
    —  Adweek on the rise in mobile use among 65+. 
     
    8. Apr 6th, 2012     technology

  8. “Mundie is pushing Microsoft toward a future without buttons — no keyboard buttons, mouse buttons or phone buttons.

    Touch-screens are just the first step, Mundie said. In his version of the future, people will talk to computers without having to type on a keyboard. The computer will understand hand gestures and body movements instead of mouse swipes. He calls this evolution “natural user interface,” or NUI for short.”

    — Via Seattle Times, from the guy responsible for Kinect. Good stuff. 

    (Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com)

     
    9. Apr 2nd, 2012     technologyuniversal designboomerBoomersseniors

  9. State of the Baby Boomer

    ++ Click to Enlarge Image ++
    State of the Baby Boomer [Infographic] - SeniorHomes.net
    Image Source: Senior Homes

     
    10. Mar 7th, 2012     technologyuniversal designbaby boomersboomersinfographic

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    Baby boomers, all over your Internets. 

    Boomers have over $3 trillion in disposable income.


    85% of people 50+ use social media, and 32% of social media users are 45+. The majority of 39-75 year olds say the phone and computer are the devices they use the most to communicate with friends and family.

    75% of 39-75 year olds say they use smartphones, and 54% say the computer is the devices they use most often to communicate. Smartphone owners age 55-64 are up 86% to 6.5 million and those age 65+ accounted for 4.4 million, up 127%. Facebook users 55+ grew 10x in the past 3 years. There were 1 million 55+ Facebook users in 2009, compared to 10 million in 2012.

    Boomers are using dating sites more than any other age group — up 39% in the last 3 years. That’s over 4 million members! The No. 2 group? Singles 45 to 54.

     
    11. Feb 7th, 2012     technologybaby boomersFacebookSocial mediasocial networkssmartphones