In my last blog entry, "
Turning 60: Empowerment and Disappointment," I mention the dearth of products marketed to my age peers and me.
What are these products? I will make a list. They are about convenience and delight. Because frankly, at age 60, if I'm not making money, or having fun, I would rather not be doing it. Let's streamline, and make time for the things that matter!
Feel free to add yours below!
Products and Services I would like to see and buy:
Instant Tech Help by phone: $5 for the first 5 minutes, price goes down and is reasonable for longer help sessions
Flattering clothing for women as their bodies change around menopause and beyond: Once we find styles that work, they would be repeatable, so we could buy a new wardrobe online, having already found what fits. The sizes and fabrics would be standardized. Easy travel is a priority for this age group, and the clothing pieces would be designed for easy packing and combining.
Products designed for outdoor activities such as music festivals -
One Stop Shopping:
Twifties love music outdoors, whether it is Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain, or some music in the local park. There are items that can make this music jaunt a pleasure, however they must all be purchased independently at different stores. Why not package them for one stop shopping?
For example:A folding chair that is light and easily carried, with a pouch for carrying other necessities. The fabric should dry quickly in case of rain. Rain poncho, waterproof ground cloth, travel wine glasses and wine/beer opener. Flashlight. Earplugs.
One company has put together a Twifties Festival Kit. (Yes, it's me!) which contains:
insulated shoulder bag for your water bottle with pockets
Twifties Pocket Flashlight
plastic groundcloth
earplugs
Get the
Twifties Festival Kit here! $39 includes US Shipping. A great gift for the person who only needs good and useful stuff that will delight.
Folding all purpose jacket: waterproof, windproof, secure zipped pockets in the right places, with good looks, and it folds into a small pouch. Handy to throw into your car or pack even when the weather looks unthreatening.
Let's address our vision as it changes: It is inevitable that we will become presbyopic and need vision correction for reading close up, at some age. There should be a wealth of real unbiased information available to us about the options, and there should be lots of easy options such as: folding reading glasses, and contact lens specialists who can share their expertise to help us see! After
cataract removal,(my video) info on the choices of lens implants with their pros and cons should be readily available.
A personal concierge: Yes, that's right. As above, if it's not fun or profitable, I have limited patience and time for it now. My peers have shared the same experiences as me over their lifetimes. Each of us has expertise in some area, accumulated over our lives. Ideally, it should be easy to find "every day experts" to consult who have the answers we need to run our homes and lives.
At this point in our lives, we should find work that we enjoy. Sharing knowlege with those who need it is enjoyable. And we feel good about paying someone who can save us time and hassle, and send us in the right direction.
For example, managing our belongings so they are neat and edited is a project that a personal concierge who finds this work enjoyable could help with or manage.
Moving now or in the future (my video) is a big project, and divesting is part of it. Divesting of our "stuff" can be onerous, or pleasurable, depending on the time frame and help available
Finding help in this area is not always quick or easy. Having a pool of everyday experts available would be a plus. Think of Fiverr.com, where experts offer up their talents and pricelists. But put it in the real world, so we can find people in our physical area to help. The internet is a perfect way to put help at hand.
Post Script: the episode of "Modern Family" I just watched showed a gift card for an "E-Butler" concierge available by phone and in person. Bingo! Btw, "Modern Family" is another show with no one near my age, although 3 generations are represented.
Twifties on the Go! How often
do Twifties
travel? Has research been done? Short trips, seasonal moves, visiting grandkids for a few weeks? I spend over half of my time away from my home bed. The conventional suitcase, descended from a steamer trunk and then from a flight attendant's carry-on, is no longer the most efficient method of carrying things. It has to be unzipped to access the contents, and then laid on a large flat surface.
When that surface is not available, it's laid on the floor for you to then step around and rummage in. And how about packing the car for a road trip? Where is a handy place to keep your folding all purpose jacket (see above) and umbrella and running shoes/boots? Mine are strewn around my car for lack of an answer. We can do better, creating a Twifties Travel Solution. We were promised convenience when we were young. I am ready to collect on that promise!
Product Reviews from buyers: Imagine that you are in the market for a new cell phone and/or carrier. Or a cruise. How many hours do you expect you will spend online reading reviews and shopping? Remember, if it's not fun, or profitable, I don't want to do it. However I grew up in the era of Consumer Reports, and I don't want to make an uninformed and possibly expensive wrong decision. The internet is an easy way to "share what works" so we don't have to each reinvent the wheel and spend hours shopping to select each important product that we need to buy.
Let's share what works, and what doesn't! (My video.)
How to be healthy and choose the right medical path. My video. Let's share what works, and what doesn't! Lifestyle, and non-medical solutions encouraged! Inflammation is the root of everything that goes wrong spontaneously in the body. Find out what is causing it (probably an allergen that you are not aware of) and quash it so the immune system can heal.
Activity Companions: People
born around 1956 often hung around in groups
for social
activites in high school and beyond, as opposed to strictly one on one "dating." As much as I looked forward to formal dating when I was a kid watching "Bye Bye Birdie" and "West Side Story,"well that bird had flown by the time I was of age.
We would gladly enjoy the informality and camaraderie of group activities now, if we could easily find groups. Why not have a designated spot at events where the fun people over 50 could meet others to enjoy an event with. It would relieve the "burden" of first dates and allow people to go to events that their friends might not be able to attend without feeling alone. The Twifties Chill Spot has successfully drawn Twifties together at several events and is a good model for a way to find Twifties Activity Companions.
Movies: We grew up in an era of smart, entertaining and thought-provoking film, in theatres. At one point in my life around the 90s, I went to a movie every week. Explosions and guns were the exception, not a staple as they are now. I would go to more movies if there was more product available to suit my tastes. I surmise that my age peers would do the same.
Classic Rock Radio with Deep Cuts: We grew up listening to radio. Transistor hand held radios were our portable electric device. Underground FM radio stations played cool music that our parents didn't know about. Car radios were another way we tuned in as we gained control of the wheel. And we owned records, and for a while, eight track tapes. We knew the music from the whole album. Sometimes there were gems on a record besides the one or two cuts that were the big hits.
We still drive, and we still listen to the radio. We still like rock from the greatest era of music ever. But the radio stations that play that music play the same 300 songs endlessly, ignoring the deep cuts and the merits of the bands who made them. Play us the rest of the album, and the less popular bands too! For the benefit of all!
...more to come. Add yours!
I envision a gathering place online where all of this information can be shared, Like a Craigslist for Twifties!
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Lauren Traub Teton is a conceptual visionary and has created: Twifties and VibeMatch, The Teton NameScale, SnowboardSecrets.com and SnowboardSecrets.TV, and more.
