Microsoft Ads Target Boomers




Home \| Elder Rights \| Health \| Pension Watch \| Rural Aging \| Armed Conflict \| Aging Watch at the UN

	SEARCH	SUBSCRIBE
			Mission \| Contact Us \| Internships \| Donate Now!

back

Microsoft Ads Target Boomers

by the Associated Press

February 2, 2004

SEATTLE - Has the print on your computer screen gotten too small? Is that auto-alert you've set up too faint? Can't find your cursor?

Hey there, Microsoft says, maybe it's not the technology troubling you, but the inevitable signs of aging.

On Monday, Microsoft will unveil a marketing campaign aimed at workers the software company says "may be entering the 'awkward age of computing."'

The technology it's touting, such as text magnification, speech recognition and filter keys, already exist in Microsoft products, and was developed mainly for disabled users. But with the

U.S.

work force getting older, Microsoft figures more people are finding their computer has become "awkward."

The technology behemoth has set up a Web site and is hoping to attract baby boomers and their employers with tips, studies and cartoons that poke fun at getting old. The target audience is workers over age 40 -- a group that includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who will turn 50 next year.

"Whether it's rock 'n' roll or hot tubs, or now face lifts and Viagra, the boomers have had a strong impact on changing our culture, and so we do believe that they will change the culture as they move later in life," said Madelyn Bryant McIntire, director of the Accessible Technology Group at Microsoft.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft, said the campaign is also a good way for the company to try to get more use out of products it's already spent money developing.

Other software companies, such as ScanSoft and DataHand, also offer products aimed at making computers more accessible. But in general, there aren't many companies focusing on computing and the aging work force yet, said Jim Emerman, chief operating officer with the American Society on Aging in San Francisco .

Older users, he said, "might not be the ones playing the video games and using the instant messenger, but they can't be left out of the loop when it comes to technology because their work life depends on it."

For the most part, Rosoff said Microsoft -- like most technology companies -- gears its products toward people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

He said it makes good business sense to think of ways to appeal to older computer users, but he's not sure accessibility is the biggest issue for that group. Older computer users are more concerned with whether computers are dependable, safe and as easy to use as, say, a television or a radio.

"That's really the broader picture: To make the PC as usable as any electronic device," he said.