Who We Are We take pride in having advanced to this age. We are women over fifty years old.  Senior, in this case, means we have graduated from one life stage to another. Our interests are varied, our tastes eclectic, our need for information unending. We don't deny it; We want to make the most of it; We want to share this age with you. The site is meant for women over 50, but we've had communications with women as young as 36 and those well into their eighth decade who find this site a home and, simultaneously, a departure location. We've fashioned this site in an attempt to reflect women's issues and concerns. We also hope it reflects those two most compelling relationships, that of community and connectivity. We have been introducing authors, articles and columns that we hope will engage and stimulate.  Taking the title Senior Women Web and the URL Seniorwomen.com for this site is a mark of pride and celebration. Many women over fifty have found new challenges and problems in a society somewhat uncomfortable with its aging population.  Senior Women Web enjoys the contributions of women who bring original content to this site. We have a monthly Culture Watch feature with reviewers Julia Sneden and our charter reviewer and colleague, Emily Mitchell. Emily is now acting off and off-off Broadway, living the life she was reviewing. Angela Pressburger is reviewing DVDS as they reach the consumer market and more of us stay home to view our entertainment. Art reviewer Val Castronovo has taken us to art shows we cannot reach but yearn to see through her writing. We think you will enjoy the reviews of books that will appeal particularly to women (and men) of our age. Our Resident Observer, Julia Sneden, a transplanted Californian these past three decades, living and working in North Carolina, has been producing columns for this site faster than we can put them up. Please consult the authors page for a list of contributors whose humor (Rose Mula, Roberta McReynolds, Liz Flaherty, Pat Beurteaux, Martha Powers, Pam Stone, Rima Magee, Ferida Wolff and the late David Westheimer), experience and expertise enrich this site. Feminist author and political scientist Jo Freeman regularly contributes articles on political trends, personalities, meetings and conventions. Irish Expatriot Jane Shortall entertains with tales from her newly adopted French village. Linda Coyner has won two Garden Writer's Association Garden Globe Awards for her SeniorWomen.com column, Garden Edition. Margaret Cullison has been writing a series called My Mother's Cookbook and Sharon Kapnick, a sommelier and award winning wine author, is delighting and instructing us in the art of choosing wines. Gabriella True has contributed a column on food for the site, Culinary Discovery. Joan James Rapp has traveled to Africa on safari and promises more of her advice and adventures on the road. Jean Harris is writing an ongoing memoir and we have added to our collection of the late Naomi Cavalier's essays. Besides these contributors, the site is responsible for bringing you connections with current studies, interviews, excerpts and other news items of interest. We also strive to bring you a window into the eclectic mix the Web provides.   I have retired from my position as a Senior Reporter for Time Magazine (after a twenty-five year career), in part because this website became increasingly important. We expect a lengthy tenure with Senior Women Web and with those who enjoy and support it. A recent Nielsen study revealed some entrenched myths about the 45-64 population (and, in all probability, beyond): Myth: Younger consumers are a more lucrative target market for marketers in comparison to younger generations – where marketers and advertisers usually focus the majority of their budgets – Life Jugglers and Life Surfers have higher average personal and household incomes and are spending more on almost everything, from phones and mobiles to groceries, financial services, travel and tourism and even technology and the Internet. Myth: Life Jugglers and Life Surfers are brand loyal and won’t try new products and services. While the traditional Baby Boomer demographic has been pigeon-holed by marketers and advertisers as brand loyal and unwilling to change, the reality is that Life Jugglers and Life Surfers are just as likely to switch brands as any other demographic. These switching intentions are driven by their values and are reflected in their preference for Australian made products, their support for the ‘little guy’, their purchase of organic in their quest to maintain health and vitality and their willingness to save on ‘commodities’ and low involvement purchases in order to spend more on the things that are important to them, such as experiences. Myth: Life Jugglers and Life Surfers are resistant to new technologies. When it comes to technology and the Internet, Life Jugglers and Life Surfers are actually driving the continued increase in online trial, with up to 13 percent logging on for the first time in the past 12 months. More than two in every three Life Jugglers and Life Surfers are now online and they are just as likely to have broadband access at home as any other age group, and almost as likely to access the Internet regularly. Home PC ownership is higher among Life Jugglers and Life Surfers compared to those aged under 45, while laptop ownership is on the increase. “The 45 to 64 year old population has long been a misunderstood and poorly portrayed demographic,” noted Andrew Reid, Managing Director, Nielsen//NetRatings. “The reality is that this market is adventurous and is looking for new challenges and ways to improve their lives. They’ve built a set of values over the course of their life experiences and feel liberated to express these values through their purchasing behaviour and lifestyle decisions.” A Business Week article declared that "As a group, people age 50 to 60 are flush, with more than $1 trillion of spending power a year, about double the spending power of today's 60-to-70-year-olds. They're likely to be vigorous consumers as they empty the nest, take on new jobs, relocate, support children they had in their 40s, go back to school, start a second or third career, remarry, inherit money from their savings-minded parents, pursue new hobbies, and tackle the health issues of aging. ' "Marketers are slowly waking up," says Matt Thornhill, president of the Boomer Project, a Richmond (Va.) consulting firm. "If you're going to expand your business, you will have to market to the aging boomer." ' The National Association of Home Builders reports that "Active Adult Communities" designed for buyers age 55 and older represent the fastest-growing segment of the homebuilding industry. See our new house blog. SeniorWomenWeb hopes to continue adding readers who care for our purpose and content. If you are interested in advertising or sponsoring a page on SeniorWomenWeb, please read the Sponsors page or call 510-524-1510 Tam Gray, Founder and CEO Color Tints by Rampline   Information Collection and Use: Please note that SeniorWomenWeb is the sole owner of any information that might be collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement. This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that SeniorWomenWeb is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. We don't participate in link exchanges with other sites as a matter of course. We do add links as we feel them appropriate or of interest to our audience.

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