US Baby Boomer Facts

• On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers turned 65
• Every 8.5 seconds a baby boomer in the U.S. turns 50 years old.
• The baby boom generation is the largest generation in American history -There are approximately 77.6 million baby boomers in the U.S. - 28% of the U.S. population
• In four years time (2015), people aged 50 and older will make up 45% of the America’s population. 
• A 50-year-old female baby boomer can expect to live 82.5 years; while a male boomer will live on average 78.5 years.
• The baby boom phenomenon is responsible for over half of all consumer spending in the United States (and I would say in NZ, Australia, Canada and Uk too)
• 80% of all leisure travel is taken by boomers.
• Beginning in January 2011 about four million boomers will be ready to retire each year, and will do so for almost two decades.
• Baby boomers account for  (The U.S. Census)

How are they going to fill their next 30 years?

Wednesday World Changers: International Volunteer Manager's Day

It is just seven weeks to go until International Volunteer Managers Day 2011 on 5^th November!

International Volunteer Managers Day is celebrated on November 5 and seeks to recognise the important work which those who lead volunteers make in the process of effective volunteering. IVMDay offers volunteer management professionals an opportunity to 'celebrate through educating' others about the work they do. The Day is supported by many groups around the world. Most of the National Volunteer Networks are supporters. I say most because Volunteering Australia continues to actively refuse to support the day which is disappointing.

Did you know about the day? If not find out more here: http://www.volunteermanagersday.org/

• Follow the day on Twitter and promote it by mentioning @IVMday in your tweets.

• Get in touch to tell the IVMD Team what you have planned for 2011 and they’ll promote it on their website

• ‘Like’ the International Volunteer Managers Day page on Facebook and post your plans there too.

A small group of volunteers have worked to build the day up which has taken off in many cities, states/provinces and countries around the world.  Thank you to those people. 


 They are seeking new blood to join the committee and take International Volunteer Managers Day forward into the future. If interested, please send the committee an email outlining a bit of information about you, what you like about the Day and what one change or development you’d like to implement to take it to new heights.

I will keep you updated by what I know.

Tuesday Tech: Facebook Changes Unfurled

If you are a Facebooker and as of last week, 800 million people are, then you would have noticed some changes to your Facebook and/or lots of complaints about those changes!

A number of the changes are clearly in reaction to Google+ which yesterday was rolled out to everyone after a couple of months of invitation only. See my post on Google+




The changes that I have picked up are:

1. Updates are now known as Stories-thats a fascinating shift. We are now seen to be publishing about ourselves in the same way a newswriter or an author publishes a story
2. Real Time News Ticker: There is now a live mini stream of my friends’ updates. You can click on one of the little updates and you get a pop up with the full story. This was previewed for some of us a few weeks ago. I alternate between switching it on and off. You can hide it by downloading a groovy app for Chrome or Firefox.  This is the first Facebook attack on Twitter but it doesn't come close to replacing the way Google+ does it so well
3. Facebook has now combined the two feeds you used to tab between on your page (one was for Recent news and the other popular news). That in itself was a new feature not that long ago surely?  Now you have one feed but a Blue Corner now appears on the stories that Facebook thinks will interest you more (as seen below).  How they are choosing what  is important, I don't know. Any ideas anyone?     I have been fascinated by the choices so far!                     .    
4. In the right hand corner of every news story is a downward arrow, Clicking on it brings up options as to what I want done with that story.  For example, I can now mark some stories as top stories which means they will get more attention
5. Timeline -this is another response to Google+...and turns our main profile page into a Blog like experience. I have been testing it for a few days and I am yet to like it. I am not saying I dislike it, I just dont get it yet.
6. When I look at a Facebook business (or community group) page, there’s a new Friend Activity  link so I can see what friends are saying about the Page
7. I don't have to "Like" a Facebook page to be able to comment on that page- useful for not for profits
8. Choosing who reads what. I can now share which story with which audiences. ie Do I share with everyone or just my family or. This is another reaction to Google+. I dont like this change as a reader because I like learning about the random details of my friends not what they selectively want me to see!
9. Not for Profits can request that any duplicate Community Pages be merged with their Facebook Page (yay) and any Facebook Places (now Facebook Locations) are being integrated in as well. See my earlier Blog Post on this.     
10. Foursquare Venues, Gowalla Spots, and Yelp Pages are now integrated into Facebook Places Pages! This means that when people "check into" one of those tools, their check in will be linked to a not for profit page. This means any agency with a physical address, location or shop need to think about what they do with people checking in to your locale.
11. Hidden biggie: while everyone is moaning about the real time feed etc, the change that is getting less attention is that the external apps (the companies that pay for Facebook and make money from us) have more power over our information. Any app that is part of Facebook can collect info on my likes and broadcast it at anytime. These apps will broadcast to Timelines and Tickers separately. So if I like a new page, a company, a news story or song on an external app, then my friends will know through Ticker. My timeline will probably show a summary of that info. An advertiser can start to build an even more accurate picture of us and even more narrowly  advertise and market to me.

If you have not seen these changes, you soon will. You will get a little prompt and a message asking if you would like a tour of the new features.

Negative Reactions

The reaction to these changes has been hugely negative by users with comments appearing like:
••• "Facebook is starting to feel like that deadbeat boyfriend you just don't know how to break up with." -- @ScrewyDecimal

••• "Facebook continues to reinvent itself, by making itself less usable yet somehow exactly the same." -- @modeps

••• "Complaining about Facebook format changes is the ultimate 1st world problem." -- @Jenn1ferJun1per

••• "Why doesn't Facebook have a Dislike button?!” — Every jackass you know -- @hugsformonsters

••• "im a bit behind but what's wrong with facebook today?" -- @integratedmalay

••• "Facebook is banned in Pakistan. Can we do that in India too? Please." -- @desijourno

My thinking is that there are three reasons why Facebook changes get such huge negative reactions to changes:

1. Facebook has now become part of our identity and so every time it gets tinkered with, we feel like its  a part of us. 
2. Facebook gave almost no warning.  Change takes time. We need these ideas warned about a few times. 
3. I don't fundamentally believe we trust Facebook. We might all use it but their poor handling of privacy etc accompanied by sudden (and what seem dramatic) changes makes us remember they are in control and we are not sure we trust whoever is in control. 

The question is are these changes enough for us to switch off Facebook? Will Google+ gain and Facebook lose or will this mean more people using both or some switching off both platforms for good?

What I don't understand is why Facebook has this heavy handed change all approach? Why not roll these  things out as options. If I want a blue corner, let me choose it. If I want a real time news ticker,  why not let me choose it?

My biggest realisation is that through these changes, I feel a lot less like a customer and much more of a commodity to be marketed.

Ironic, seeing I teach not for profits how to use Facebook to reach donors and volunteers.

Whats your reaction to the changes?

Monday Motivation: Energy

Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you're going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.
Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, July 2003

Facebook....three years

Discovered I have been on Facebook for three years! 2100 friends later!

http://www.facebook.com/martin.j.cowling

Am playing with the new timeline version which will be released next.  It has some good features but wonder how many people will disengage because its a change!

Canada notes changing boomers

The Vancouver Sun has picked up the concern that I have held for a while,  that we are not ready to face the decline in volunteering amongst boomers. They note the "sandwich generation" of baby boomers, for instance, are likely to be so busy holding down full-time jobs and caring for their parents and children that they won't have time for charity work that I share about in my training.

The National Seniors' Council of Canada  in 2007 noted "three main barriers to securing boomers as volunteers:

1.  their lack of time (because its filled with so many other options)
2.  inability to make a longterm commitment (I would prefer desire to not make a long term commitment rather than inability!)
3. their preference for giving money rather than their time (which is linked in their consumer mentality-they are massive consumers)

These are definitely not unique to Canada. I am seeing same things in UK, Australia, NZ and USA. See my earlier blogpost where I talk about the massive drop in boomer volunteer numbers in the USA- I note that no one there seems worried. 

A great quote  in the article comes from Lorelynn Hart, program manager for Volunteer BC.
"The challenge is, when people are gone how do we replace them? Seniors are still the crux of many organizations. They're flexible, they have more time and they want to give back to their community. My in-laws are in their 70s, but they're the busiest retired people I know."

This is my question too: "How do we replace them?".

The answer is not filling the same volunteer roles. It means completely re designing volunteering. It means making volunteering an attractive, meaningful activity and not just a cheap substitute for paid workers. It means marketing volunteering very differently?

Is anyone ready for that?

Update

I have been very busy this last week! Somehow I managed to publish three drafts yesterday instead of a completed post!

Am in the middle of a major report for a client due next week. I am very excited by it.

Finally, I have some amazing news about my other blog: Wild about travel. 

Keep you posted.

Tuesday Post: World Meeting Planner

Love this tool especially when I am travelling.

 timeanddate.com’s allows me to arrange an international teleconference online and on my Iphone.

Anyone else use this or something similar?

Monday Motivation: Tenacity

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.

Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)

Monday Motivation September 2011

“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.”


 Aristotle quotes (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)