Boomers – WTF ! Reboot

My name is Robert Hunter, a semi retired 67 year old Boomer. I spent my 35+ working years in technology roles, starting in Finance, and winding my career thru Manufacturing, Operations, and Business Development, the last few being global in breath. This allowed me to do a lot of travel, including time in China, Europe, the Americas, and the UK, which helped me to gain some insight into how the world works and where I could fine the cheapest Big Mac hamburger, all while going business class. This worldview has been augmented with a lot of reading.

Many moons ago, I used to blog. It was after a serious medical issue, and I was forced to rest and rehabilitate. Being at home, I really missed the office interactions, and decided to start a blog. My focus was on people in my situation with time on their hands, and no direction or goals. I decided that Boomers, of which I am one, had spent the last few decades navel glazing, working hard, not really paying attention to the world around them. Yes, we had women’s, voting, and LGBTQ rights to our credit, but somewhat ignored climate change, the erosion of our education and medical systems, and the growing debt we will inflict onto our children.

Aside from walking for enjoyment and exercise, I am also a stock investor, parsing the financial papers each morning in search of nuggets of information I can leverage into successful trades. I also operate a small bookkeeping service.

Lastly, I have two Millennial daughters with families of their own. They cut me no slack when it comes to their modern society. I get called a social dinosaur often, and the blog is one attempt by me to strip away my perceived old man views, and retool my brain for the new world, which includes social media. 

My mission statement is to help other Boomers thru the same looking glass that my daughters subject me to, essentially getting Boomers to stop being insulated, and use their time and resources to build a better world. Today, I hear the younger generations, our kids, assume that their standard of living will be less than ours. For example, how will they ever afford a house, car, and vacations like their parents do ? Poppycock ! We had the same concerns when we were young, and it all worked out fine. It is true that the Boomers parents, the so-called “Silent Generation”, left us with 70 years of peace, and a growing economy helped thru globalization, while we in turn have saddled our kids with a planet that has been ravaged, and spent some of their inheritance on our habits. My goal is to cajole lots of Boomers into seeking ways to be additive to society, to find things that interest them as a vehicle to give back. While it helps to be a billionaire to donate money to fix causes, like a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett, volunteering in your community is a great way to start.

My focus is on Boomers because they have the time, resources, and grandkids to be interested and able to build a better future. While anyone can read the blog, I hope to use humour to get their attention as well as lighten the message, because Boomers can tune out very quickly. Let’s face it, I have been advertised to for 60+ years, have seen 50 Super Bowls, seen every type of movie ending, and can be a little jaded when in the presence of a messenger. I will be a little provocative,  to try and spark some feedback, hopefully initiating conversations. Lastly, I will weave a story that draws in the reader, engaging their interest to change their mindset.

I suspended my WordPress.com blog due to a lack of views and comments. Maybe that’s the worst thing you can do to a Boomer, ignore them ! Today, I realize that I had no social media strategy, just relied on throwing my content out into the wide world, expecting my message to be delivered to the masses.

My blog was proof that no strategy equals no social media presence. With a blog filled with current events, humour, an interesting juxtaposition of trends and controversial ideas, I have a product. Now the hard part – devise a way to get noticed ! If you have any ideas on my reboot, please leave them in the comments below, and tell me how I am doing. After all, being insular in an exponential world is a recipe for disaster, right ?

Blog name = Boomers – WTF, at Boomerswtf.com, a WordPress.com blog

Twitter handle = Finn4ever