Us baby boomers are getting older. We are just like our parents when they were our age. A scary thought, yes? Well maybe not just like them. After all, we didn't just live through the 60s, 70s and 80; we WERE the 60s, 70s and 80s. WE were the ones that didn't trust anyone over thirty (or was it 20?) WE marched on Washington. WE protested and demonstrated against the war in Vietnam. We wore miniskirts, hot pants, bell-bottoms. It was our generation that dreamed of changing the world, ushering in an era of world peace, feeding the hungry and generally creating a better place to live for everyone.

It is generally believed that to be a real baby boomer you had to have been born post World War II, round about 1946, until about 18 years later. So the oldest boomers will be turning 64 this coming year, while the youngest of us are already in their mid-forties. Just like I said, we're getting older.

I would say that even though the world hasn't changed quite in the ways we had hoped it would, there is no question that the world is a hugely different place now. The incredible internet explosion has had the most far-reaching impact on the way we work, play and communicate. Access to information is light years ahead of what it was a mere 10-15 years ago with the advent of Google (started in only 1999.)And I imagine, as we continue to get older, there will be a surge of products and services designed particularly with the boomers in mind, for several reasons.

Baby boomers are famous for our innovative ideas and viewpoints. Rather than being set in our ways, we are the generation that can be counted on to "break the mold" at every opportunity, especially when it comes to the way things have always been done. This can create some great opportunities for those among us willing to think "out of the box" when creating products and services suited to our very special, and more importantly, mind-expanding, tastes.

Secondly, and even more relevant to filling this niche, is our sheer numbers. And, it isn't just that there are a lot of us - but that we are actually living longer as well.

And perhaps most importantly, boomers are buyers. We are not afraid of new ideas, and just as we accepted (with a vengeance) personal computers, cell-phones, PDAs, social networking, and a host of other products and services that define our era, we are more than ready for whatever new and creative ideas and products will come our way.

Here's one straight from my imagination: A walker with a built in laptop and internet access and a fold away stool to sit down. Although a short walk to the store may take a half-hour or more, depending on how fast you can drag your legs along, you will not miss an e-mail, or an update, or a news feed on Facebook, and you can answer right on the spot, and even take a little rest on the way, maybe even a nap. Oh, and of course it plays our favorite music, from the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and the Who. I am sure it won't be long until some version of this is available. Here's to the future and to getting older in style!