A fun email I had to post. Thanks to the anonymous sender.
Wrong E-mail Address…………………
A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read :
To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I’ve Arrived
Date: October 16, 2007
I know you’re surprised to hear from me.
They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in.
I’ve seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!!!!
Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!
Check out the article written in Times Colonist’s LIFE section on Friday, August 7th, 2009.
“Web-savvy seniors outstripping boomers in race to the Internet” by Shannon Proudfoot – Canwest News Service.
Seniors are gravitating to the web for travel arrangements, weather and road reports, a new report from Statistics Canada shows, and they’re even slightly more likely than baby boomers to use e-mail. Boomers, defined by Statistics Canada as those age 45 to 64, are more likely than their older counterparts to surf for fun or download music, but more seniors age 65 and up play online games.
E-mail is by far the most popular online activity for both groups, with 88 per cent of boomer Internet users and 90 per cent of online seniors using it.
Sixty per cent of boomers and 52 per cent of seniors who use the Internet have searched for health information online, while 58 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, have conducted online banking.
The report used largely 2007 data to compare the online habits of Canada’s boomers and seniors, including survey results from about 25,000 baby boomers and 13,000 seniors.
The Travel Stats Prove It!
- More than 81 million older adults are planning to travel in the next year, (estimated as of Spring 2008).
- Collectively, they plan to spend a total of $126 billion on their next trip alone (calculated Spring 2008).
- When it comes to airlines, hotels, motels and cruise lines, boomers and matures display very little brand loyalty with only 10% using the same company all the time.
- Travel is the top of their agendas with 54% wanting to travel more regularly and to long-haul destinations and a further 22% wanting to go on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday in the next decade.
- Travel takes priority over spending more time with friends and family (48%), getting fit (37%), and finding a healthier way of life (31%).
- This is a huge demographic eager to try new experiences.
- They have the most discretionary money to spend (compared to younger adults).
- It is estimated that boomers spend 40% more time vacationing and 74% more money on a traditional vacation than the 18 – 34 year old set.
- According to Canada’s tourism industry: Industrial Outlook (Spring 2008) adults aged 55 to 75 are considered to be the number one largest group and are in their prime traveling time.
What does this mean?
A travel company appealing to this group directly will yield excellent results.
A travel company that appeals to this group with unique experiences, not brands, will get their business.
A company that meets their medical and security needs, so they can travel with confidence, will enjoy their patronage.
My thoughts and predictions – do you agree? (for fun).
The travel industry certainly declined with the economic recession of course. However, with the extraordinary action of governments and financial reserves around the world, the stock market is swinging back somewhat.
Here’s my question… If I were an older adult who saw my fortunes fall to half, then I waited patiently for the market to come back (as it has in some sectors), wouldn’t I then take my money out of the stock market (and the perceived high risk)? Wouldn’t I put it in a safer savings vehicle? While I was at it, wouldn’t I be tempted to go on the trip I always wanted to go on, because, dang it, there are no guarantees in life anyway?
Of course I would! That’s exactly why the travel industry is going to see a big boom!
Let’s just wait and see what happens.
Mathieu Powell, CSA
It seems to me most advertisers don’t really know what I’m thinking about and what I want. Just because I’m getting older and slowing down a bit doesn’t mean I can’t think circles around most people. As a matter of fact, I can out jog my granddaughter because she’s spending too much time in front of the T.V.
I’ve still “got it”. And let me tell you something else! I’ve also “got it” when it comes to money! Now, I hate to brag and I don’t talk about money often, but I think it’s time to set the record straight and make a point to all these young whipper-snappers in the media business who think it’s funny to stereotype me as a bumbling simpleton. That’s not me, darling, so take your funny little “old” jokes out into the garden and bury them.
Here’s some interesting statistics I found on the website. (That’s right, I’m on the web).
Canadians who’ve managed to reach 50…
• Own more homes outright than younger folk.
• Purchase fourty-one percent of all the new cars. (Because we can afford it).
• Enjoy more than 90 billion in income.
• Spend seventy-four percent more on a vacation than younger adults).
• Exercise regularly. (I exercise in the gym three times a week now that I know it helps my bones stay strong).
Even when advertisers WANT to reach us, their biggest mistake is in thinking we’re old. We’re not old. Being a senior means we have seniority. We’ve earned it.
So, advertisers, please don’t talk down to us. We’ve been around for awhile and we’re not dumb. Remember the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial they used to put on TV to advertise that emergency button? That commercial really turned me off. I had thought about getting one before I saw that commercial, but it made me so mad, I even talked my friends out of getting one.
One last thing…please don’t use too many fear messages. We’ll really pay more attention if you treat us with dignity and talk about how you can help us maintain our independence for as long as possible. That’s what we really want to do.
Aggie