ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP

Jane Hamsher left the following response to our statement in the comments section so I thought I'd pull it up to the front page:

AARP had a $20 million advertising campaign last year, "Divided We Fail," that included no blog advertising component. So I find this statement curious:

"AARP would never allow advertisers to dictate our editorial content based on the amount of ad space purchased, and we would be hesitant to buy ads with any media that suggested it might act otherwise."

What exactly are you alleging?

Jane - DWF is one of many campaigns AARP is a part of and, while blog ads weren't a part of that particular campaign to date, the allegation that AARP somehow does not advertise - or worse that we don't see the value in blogs - is incorrect.

Regarding your second statement - we're not alleging anything. When we advertise DWF or any of our other campaigns with CNN, FOX, and others we never expect news coverage on their stations. Similarly, our pitches to producers for story ideas were not met with questions about how much advertising we had purchased. Your concerns about AARP advertising with blogs directly link news coverage and ad dollars. We were simply stating that we would never put our journalists/editors/writers in such a position.

There's been a recent debate in the blogosphere about who - or more importantly, who's not - advertising on various political blogs. AARP is a non-partisan organization that strongly supports all reaches of the online community and values the contribution of the millions of Americans who use blogs to share information and to express their views.

AARP has a robust online presence, with a vibrant online community, an active blog and daily online news source for 50+ America, Bulletin Today.

Because we understand the influence and reach of online communities we have worked with BlogAds, an important resource for marketers targeting blog communities, on targeted ad campaigns over the last year. On May 4, 2007, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas stated that, "...Blogads has been perhaps the single most important component to the rise of the liberal blogosphere. And it will continue to play a huge role as we grow in years ahead." Thanks to BlogAds, AARP ads have been made available to the likes of Daily Kos, Wonkette, Atrios, Talking Points Memo, Americablog, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Political Wire, Red State, Outside the Beltway, Power Line, Townhall and others.

Our ongoing commitment to supporting and participating in the online community means that we intend to continue working with bloggers and to support the growth of this community.

As publishers of the world's largest magazine and the preeminent online destination for individuals 50+, we understand the desire to pursue advertising revenue. Additionally, no one is immune from our current economic crisis and we can appreciate your plea for increased ad revenue. That said, we also strongly honor the integrity of our journalists and writers/editors/content developers. AARP would never allow advertisers to dictate our editorial content based on the amount of ad space purchased, and we would be hesitant to buy ads with any media that suggested it might act otherwise.

- Andrew Nannis, Director of Media Relations for AARP

While we know that the number of older folks using Facebook are skyrocketing, it looks like Twitter users are catching up too. And they ain't all young.

For those of you who don't know how this social networking site works, it's easy as pie - while Facebook allows you to "update your status" in real time so friends can see what you're up to, Twitter does just that. Rather than having a profile, applications, picture albums and all the other facets of Facebook, Twitter only allows you to update your status for your friends to see.

In a way, Twitter is more appealing to those not internet savvy because it's so much simpler than Facebook. Type in your thoughts, press enter, and you're done! So it makes sense that more folks are catching on, and middle aged folks are among the increasing group of new users:

ComScore found that people aged between 45 and 54 are 36% more likely than other age group to use Twitter, making them the highest-rated age group, followed by those aged 25 to 34, who are 30% more likely to Tweet out updates about their life and work.

Older users also spend more time on Twitter than their younger counterparts. Now we need to do some research on folks older than 54 - after all, Boomers can be Tweeters too!

Just yesterday, actor Kal Penn announced he would be leaving Hollywood for a job in President Obama's White House. You may recognize Penn from his role as Kumar in the Harold and Kumar franchise:

(Kal Penn, Right)

He also played the role of Dr. Kutner on Fox's House:

Penn will take on the roll of Associate Director of the White House's Public Liason Office. Lest you think the actor received special treatment in gaining this appointment, he says he filled out an online application just like thousands of other people.

This isn't the first time Penn has gone to bat for the Obama administration, he has backed the President since early in his Presidential Campaign:

Never got around to saving a bunch of money for retirement? Retirement account take a big hit when the market tanked? Many Americans find themselves looking into a gap between the savings they have and what they need to retire. For some of these people, retiring abroad may be able to bridge the divide. In many countries the cost of living is significantly lower than here in the U.S. You may be able to greatly reduce your retirement costs without sacrificing quality of life by moving to another country. Just keep in mind, there are a few important things to keep in mind when retiring abroad. For starters, you'll need to find health insurance as Medicare won't cover you. Despite having to deal with changing your currency and dealing with differences in local culture, spending your retirement overseas could be the key to resolving your financial woes.

For the next two weeks Congress will be in recess. What does this mean? Well Congressional Delegations will be going home to their constituents so there will be tons of stories on visits they make. It also gives voters a chance to discuss the votes their Congressional Delegations have made on their behalf. Take this time to talk with your elected officials about how they have voted this term. We've been tracking some votes to help you see where your Senators and Representatives have stood on some key issues.