The Savvy Boomer

Web site helps reunite lost cameras with owners

With the low price of digital cameras today, the worst thing about losing one is usually losing the pictures on the camera's card rather than the camera itself.  Unless you have incredibly unusual or stunning pictures on it, chances are no one is going to post them online and have them seen by millions of people.

Ifoundyourcamera is a blog where you can perhaps find your lost camera if: a) the finder knows about the site b)the finder is honest.  It's a long shot but it's also a great use of the web.

Moronic move by Matt Drudge to get readership back.

Last month I read an article that the blog that broke the Lewinsky story, the Drudge Report, was suffering flat line growth and was perhaps even losing readers.  So today, it decides to report that Prince Harry is fighting in Afghanistan despite the fact that all the world's major news sources agreed not to report on the story until Harry was back in the UK.  So by reporting it, Drudge confirmed today what a lot of people have always thought:  The Drudge Report is not a major news source.

Generational profile survey-how do you liase with other generations?

This is a survey that I think will be of interest to a lot of boomers.  The Savoy River website describes it thusly:

For the first time in US history, there are four generations in the workplace and where we live, work and play there may be more. The Generational Profile as an assessment system that determines a person's generational tendencies and traits. The profile also helps identify conflicts a person may have with their own generational perceptions and perceptions of the other generations.

The Generational Profile is designed to show close alignments, splits in generational tendencies and those tendencies that may be in direct conflict with corporate goals. The majority of the industry determines what generation people are in based on age ranges. Never once does the industry determine generational differences based on an individual's traits, experience, or skill. When you take your profile, you will be given lists of traits you might have problems identifying. Simply answer based on how you feel and that is it. Never online has such a comprehensive profile been offered to the public for absolutely no cost or obligation.

I completed the survey and while it confirmed some things I already knew or thought about my views of the four generations, it also gave me some good insights and perspectives that I was either unaware of or felt I was in need of education.

As you can see from the above chart, I identify with boomers and millenials.  I guess the latter is because of my proclivity for technology.

It also gives you a very detailed report about how you interpret each generation and compares it to the accepted norm.

to Savoy River's Generational Profile

Websites for Grandparents

If you're a boomer, chances are you are a grandparent.  Of course the web has a place for you to become an even better grandparent ie: you will probably find a lot of ads for things your grandkids are going to like.  But there are also going to be some articles that may make you a better, if not happier about yourself, grandparent.

Grand Magazine calls itself the "official magazine for grandparents."  I like publications that call themselves "official."  I guess that makes their competitors "unofficial."  And they will have a new competitor in a couple of months called Grandparents.com.  They have already produced quite a few newsletters which you can subscribe to.

If I were Grand Magazine, even though they have 125,000 subscribers, I'd pay attention to the new kid on the block.  From just a few minutes that I spent on the 2 sites, Grandparents will probably have a much cleaner, Web 2.0 look to it when it launches and Grand Magazine seems to be stuck in the 90's with exactly what it is-a magazine with a web site.  Just because grandparents are older doesn't mean they don't want an attractive up to date looking website to browse.

Websites help find pet friendly accommodation

Us boomers love our animals and we love to travel.  It's tough leaving your pet behind when you travel but it can be even tougher to find a place to stay that will take pets.  Petswelcome.com not only gives you over 25,000 listings but also travel tips and a forum for pet owners to exchange information.

Other sites include bringyourpet.com and letsgopets.com.

"Everyone in the whole world thinks it's super creepy when adults have facebooks"

Do you even know what Facebook is?  If you have school age kids you do, but you may not if you are a boomer only, no kids (BONK).  And the kids flock to it.  It describes itself as:

" a social utility that connects you with the people around you."

Of course what it doesn't say is that it is mainly for younger people in school or university.  So when a mother decides to join to the horror of her daughter, she gets an inside look at the site.  Read the humorous results in the New York Times article here:

Another new boomer+ dating site

I start this post with a disclaimer.  I am not being paid to post this, as a matter of fact, I doubt the site I'm about to discuss has any knowledge of The Savvy Boomer.  I have never accepted any money to post anything on this site.

A few of my boomer single friends and associates have used online dating sites recently and some have entered serious relationships as a result.  I had dinner with friends last weekend and one of them is a professional man approaching 50 looking for a lady, but when I suggested internet dating, he wasn't real enthusiastic since most of them are targeted at the under 40 crowd.  Well, I hope he's reading this post because one of the heavyweights in the game has recognized the boomer/senior market with the beta launch of lavalife prime  and while it's still in beta, it's free. 

They say it is for 45+ so perhaps my friend won't be real interested because while he is in that age group, he is looking in the 35-45 range.  Maybe they need to target this group of guys with another site called "mid life crisis" and target it for men  40+ who want a younger woman and the women who sign up there realize that.  Or perhaps a site called "Cougar life" for women in the same age group looking for younger guys.  OK, now that I have pissed everyone off, I'll say no more on that topic.

Will they make a go if it?  I'd bet on them because about 5 % of my traffic comes from search engines with the keywords like "boomer online dating" and end up here I guess because of my post on another dating site.  For those looking-"Good luck," no, that's not sarcastic, I really do wish you well.

Need a great domain name?

A better question might be, are there any great domain names left?  With millions of sites out there how can there be?  Since many boomers and seniors  got a late start on the internet, they might be well concerned that the pickings are slim.  Well, if you're willing to pay $50, there's a service out there called Picky Domains that will try to help you.  This is not a service that already has a number of domains for you to choose from, they actually suggest names that are available based on your needs.  Better yet, if you don't like their suggestions, you get your money back.  Click on their logo to get the details.