Posted 07/06/2010

Aging in Place Technology Watch News for June 2010

What do boomers on opposite ends of the demographic have in common?

By Laurie Orlov

No new technology . . . huh? Sometimes ya gotta wonder. Listening on a call to a group of senior housing executives recently, I was intrigued by this comment: "There isn't any new technology." The context was a rationalization of the technology areas the execs are currently engaged in (home monitoring, senior communication). I was reminded of that old cliché, "You snooze, you lose." In this, as in all technology categories, every day an entrepreneur wakes up and says, “I can do that.” I know—I hear from them. They are reminded somehow of population demographics, or they are engaged in the care of their grandparents, or they just walked out of a senior housing community and could not believe how out of touch the management was—and therefore they would become—if their parent moved in. Company of the month that I bet the speaker hasn't heard of? InTouchLink—software for seniors—yeah, appropriate for senior housing organizations.

Forbes and the Wall Street Journal: Certainly there is interest from the press in new and enabling tech for an aging population. I spoke today with a reporter from Forbes looking into this category of technology. And the Wall Street Journal spent quite a few inches on robots recently—Paro, the $6,000 toy seal for dementia units. How sad that the labor shortage makes this seem like a good use of money, instead of $4,000 for Cyberdyne's HAL, which could reduce the effort to help wheelchair-bound residents, or Gecko Systems' CareBot, a robot that could actually accomplish a few caregiving tasks. My take on robots right now? No rush—wait for more useful formats, more services, and smart integration with other existing technologies.

What does a boomer care about anyway? I spent some time at a boomer-focused event in Santa Clara a few weeks ago, which makes me mull this so-called category a bit. If you wanted to bring together the vendors that matter to boomers, what's it gonna be? Travel? Food? Medical devices (the business plan competition winners)? Products related to sex? (Who knew? AARP presented new survey data.) I wonder if there is a unified baby boomer market. I know, there's an age range that SOUNDS like a demographic, but do 46-year-olds and 64-year-olds having anything in common besides fitting into the age range? What can a marketer do with this information? Color me skeptical.

By Laurie Orlov
Aging in Place Technology Watch Blog

[First posted June 29, 2010, at Laurie's Aging in Place Technology Watch Web site.]

Contact our Silver Advisors ButtonOur Silver Advisors™ are professional geriatric care managers and other experts who provide phone consultations on preventing falls, navigating Medicare, evaluating senior driving challenges, and other issues baby boomers must resolve while caring for an aging loved one. Silver Advisors clarify concerns, suggest a plan of action, help prioritize next steps, and furnish personalized written plans and recommendations. All callers receive a complimentary 15-minute consultation.


What We Do
Silver Planet® helps baby boomers guide their parents to age in place by providing services and products related to aging at home and housing options.