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BOOMERPDX INTERVIEW

WHAT WAS SAID, WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAID

ALWAYS SEEK THE BEST ADVICE IN TOWN

ALWAYS SEEK THE BEST ADVICE IN TOWN. THANKS MAYOR KATZ

Good interviews, like the one on soloproradio.com with Jackie B. Peterson, start with a list of questions like this:

1. Talk about your life time journey that brought you to be a super blogger on boomerpdx.

— As an award winning writer with an important message, a blog is a perfect venue. (With no follow-up question to explain ‘award winning’ I didn’t have to mention the $25 gift card I won for a post on oregonsportsnews.com)

2. What work did you do for the Oregon Historical Society.

— It was an older staff and I was the new young blood ready to change history. (I met my wife while I worked there, had kids working there, and graduated from college working there. It was the right career choice at the right time.)

3. You’ve published an ebook. Tell us about it.

— Two ebooks, one a series of flash fiction about living in Brooklyn, NY, the other a series of expanded blog posts dealing with sports and health issues. (My world traveling friend said every international airport he’s been in is full of people reading kindles. They need something good to read.)

4. What work have you enjoyed most?

— Anything that leaves an impact on those associated with the work I’m doing. In the museum it means finding donated material when the donor wants to see it. In writing it means connecting to those looking for better reads. (The best of the best was coaching rec-sports teams for my kids and their friends.)

5. What led you to start boomerpdx?

— A free blog is a great resource, but other bloggers consider that ‘share cropping.’ I took the chance of failing with boomerpdx to earn online respect from my peers. (Also, the class Better, Smarter, Richer seemed geared toward getting committed to your aspirations, so I took the big step.)

6. Do you see a market for your blog in the new ‘longevity economy?’

— Yes. The longer people live in good health, the more they want to see others stepping beyond comfort zones. It makes them feel better to know others struggle with relevance too. (An aging neighbor once said, “I’m 87 and don’t know why I’m even here.” I liked telling him he was here for me to talk to, and thanked him each time.)

7. Do you have a specialty or point of view you cover on boomerpdx?

— The main topic is baby boomer fitness. Without that you can’t do as much. With good health you can lead a normal, active, life. Then I review places for those boomers to go. (The biggest aspect of my work is being a big believer in where you are and what you’re doing, and doing more.)

8. What led you to take the Better, Smarter, Richer program?

— My wife. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever known and she said she thought BSR would be a good jumpstart. (BSR also led to boomerpdx because one good turn deserves another.)

9. What are your plans for boomerpdx?

— I want it to be an example of inventing a job that isn’t being done yet. With lots of writers, journalists, and editors looking for work, I want them to stay true to their story and keep working. (A writer was asked once if they thought college discouraged writers. She said, “Not enough.” I’m more on the encouraging side of things.)

10. How are you growing your readership?

— I started boomerpdx with the Genesis framework and News theme from StudioPress on the wordpress.org platform. Doing it that way meant starting with an SEO optimized site instead of using as many plug-ins. (And I surf heavy for relevant sites and blogs to contribute to so they know I’m in the building. My key words are on google’s front page. Search ‘Portland baby boomers’ and ‘Portland baby boomer business.’

11. Do you know any successful blogs that you might emulate?

— Financial success is hard to judge unless you see the books, but any blog with ads and sponsors and corporate logos must be successful, right? Stick with boomerpdx for links to boomer blogs like Boomer Cafe.

12. Are there other blogs focused on the Boomer Economy? Can you link to them?

— Every good blog relates to the biggest financial force in the nation. That’s good business. Linking to them? Not yet. Leaving comments with links to related topics posted on boomerpdx? All the time.

13. What are your plans to monetize boomerpdx? Are Boomers computer savvy enough to subscribe to blogs?

— Networking is the key to attracting advertisers and sponsors with the idea of expanding to other cities. (Boomers invented so much of the internet and online services. They’ve forgotten more technology than anyone. Can they manage to copy and paste an email address in a subscription box? Yes, they can.)

— Show how tech savvy Boomers are by subscribing to www.boomerpdx.com and leaving comments on posts that move you.

What’s next? A link party.

About David Gillaspie

I am a writer. This is my blog story day by day.

Comments

  1. Hey David, Thanks for the Solo Pro Radio shout out. It was a great show. You and Jackie had a really great chat with TONS of value for Solo Pros and for encore careerists as well.

    ~ Barbara

    • David Gillaspie says

      You’re doing a great service keeping us all informed of the cutting edge Barbara. Hope to do it again soon. Boomerpdx Radio Hour? lol.

      Thanks for coming in,

      David