Posted: Feb 29, 08 7:38pm
I was on the Internet and I happened upon www.boomercapsule.com
What a great experience, a site dedicated to my generation, a story told in sights and sounds rather than text. That is why I bought a computer, I want a full multi media experience.
Excited about this concept I contacted the founders through the feedback link. The Boomer Group came to the realization that the Baby Boom generation was the first generation to be hit by a barrage of imagery from mature mixed media.
It sounds strange, but I knew what they were talking about as soon as they mentioned Rocky and Bullwinkle, Choo Choo Charley, and Snap Crackle and Pop. They asked me to consider that these cartoon images where thrown at us while we watched cowboy and super heroes saving the day, or perfect families solving a problem in 30 minutes. Hey and if the family was not perfect that was OK too because you had Genie for your wishes, or a witch to keep your mother in law in line.
I was asked to consider laying television entertainment and marketing imagery over the television news imagery of the Cold War and its promise of nuclear disaster, asasinations, crime rates, and the Korean and Vietnam war, the sum total of all that forges a unique question of how boomers think. A look at our old toys, and the music we listened to, helps in answering that question.
Then I was asked to consider the imagery of a moon landing for achievement, a music industry for love and social comment, a sports industry for competition, a movie industry, an auto industry, and a brewing industry asking us to be adventurous. The result; it is no wonder our generation tends to reach out for the gold ring even while we suffered with the assassinations of our leaders that represented hope.
Much of the old imagery of the Boomer generation has been harvested by the Boomer Group. Then a very unique web site using the images was created. The images are sorted by year and play like a movie. As you watch the imagery go by it tends to open memory passages of the mind. I found that I thought of things from my youth that I had not thought of for a long time. The site Begins in 1945 to build an introduction of the reality The Boomer generation was born from. It extends 18 years past the last year of boomer births since imagery of youth is the most powerful and influential.
Some of the great features of this new web site include the ability to leave your thoughts about each image, and if you click an image the site references and plays videos when they are available. I had a great deal of fun clicking on the old TV show pictures and seeing the old introductions to the shows and hearing the shows themes. I was surprised by the large number of fun old commercials that the site provides, do you remember The Flintstones selling cigarettes? The site is also a valuable record of history. In fact while sites like my space tend to be about who we are, this site gives a generation the opportunity to leave a legacy about who we were.
Another way the site differentiates itself is through its intense focus. While so many sites throw out links regarding every human need, this sites asks not what do you want, but asks what does this bring to mind?
The site is like a remote control that allows you to channel surf the Boomer Years. When surfing through the years memory passages of your mind open and you tend to desire to take a trip down memory lane. When clicking a picture that has a touched you, the result is more information on the subject, you can leave comments about how the image touched your life, and when available the site accesses video hosted on the web for you. What a treat the videos are. By leveraging the technology of the web at the end of the video you are offered more videos of the same subject matter. This application of technology, along with the web sites presentation, allows a user to secure media that is focused around an individuals particular life experience.
If you are a boomer I think you will have fun visiting www.boomercapsule.com. Help build a legacy.
